Long Torso, Short Legs.

[kelleil]

Soooo everyone loves the Amira... Interesting!

I live outside of San Francisco so I've got every dealer nearby. Soooo lucky.

I am so thankful for y'all, I'd never even thought men's.

I like Felts but I get gnarled at the color choices (I'm against anything in the color white, which is vastly stronger than my dislike of trek or cannondale. I know, it makes no sense. I also hate bananas but love plantains. This color problem will most likely keep me off binanchi's)

Marin's, Jamis any good? The giant time trial bike is sooooooo hot but otherwise I'm skeptical based off on nothing more than hunch.

Y'all seriously rock!

[zoom-zoom]

For some reason I'm anti-trek and cannondale. Can someone talk me out of that? Its so lame.

Don't be anti-Cannondale...they are awesome. I'm also anti-Trek, even though my homestate is Trek central. I've heard too many warranty claims horror stories in the past year to ever give them the time of day, though I DO love their Bontrager saddles.

[Koronin]

I agree that some of the colors Felt has can be interesting at best. Most of the F series have a black base color. We have last year's F 5 bikes, hubby's is the base colors of black with orange (this year's F-5 is black with green). Mine is a special edition that is black with blue. I didn't look at the ZWs at all. I know their cruisers have some really wild colors.

[Owlie]

Soooo everyone loves the Amira... Interesting!

I live outside of San Francisco so I've got every dealer nearby. Soooo lucky.

I am so thankful for y'all, I'd never even thought men's.

I like Felts but I get gnarled at the color choices (I'm against anything in the color white, which is vastly stronger than my dislike of trek or cannondale. I know, it makes no sense. I also hate bananas but love plantains. This color problem will most likely keep me off binanchi's)

Marin's, Jamis any good? The giant time trial bike is sooooooo hot but otherwise I'm skeptical based off on nothing more than hunch.

Y'all seriously rock!

C'Dale makes nice bikes. Their aluminum CAAD10 rides about as nicely as the carbon version (Supersix) for a lot less money. There's a good chance the CAAD10 Women's is going to be my next bike, provided there's no geometry changes between the 2012 and 2013 (when I graduate--present to myself!) models. (I'm the opposite of you--short torso, long legs.) Jamis is also nice. Check out their steel road bikes (Satellite/Quest). I have no opinion of Trek or Marin.

(I don't like white either--I spent an hour yesterday putting nail polish over all the scratches on the white bottom half of my bike. I can't find a true color match, so it's sort of obvious.)

[MGM]

Soooo everyone loves the Amira... Interesting!

I live outside of San Francisco so I've got every dealer nearby. Soooo lucky.

I am so thankful for y'all, I'd never even thought men's.
!

The Amira's a fine bike, but I didn't like the ride. It's harsher, but that's because it's more of a performance or racing bike. It does have a lower, more aggressive posture. Give it a try - but do try that Roubaix. If you loved the Ruby the Roubaix might do the trick. I also felt cramped on the Ruby until I realized I had to go up in size to a 54cm, not a 51. And then we did the fitting to adjust everything just right.

[kajero]

What do you mean when you say you felt "cramped." I test road a Ruby 44 and it feels so small to me, but the LBS said he felt that was the correct size. I know he wasn't trying to sell me a floor bike because he had a 47 on the floor and ordered the 44 from specialized. My Giant Bike is one size bigger than the 44 and is a hybrid. So I really don't now how to feel.

I already bought the Ruby 44 but it is at the shop due to my accident. So I really do have time to change my mind regarding size.

[Koronin]

The Specialized 44cm is basically what a Trek 47cm is or a Felt or Felt 48cm is. Specialized measures their bikes differently.

[winddance]

Soooo everyone loves the Amira... Interesting!

I live outside of San Francisco so I've got every dealer nearby. Soooo lucky.

I am so thankful for y'all, I'd never even thought men's.

I like Felts but I get gnarled at the color choices (I'm against anything in the color white, which is vastly stronger than my dislike of trek or cannondale. I know, it makes no sense. I also hate bananas but love plantains. This color problem will most likely keep me off binanchi's)

Marin's, Jamis any good? The giant time trial bike is sooooooo hot but otherwise I'm skeptical based off on nothing more than hunch.

Y'all seriously rock!

I LOVE my Amira. LOVE. Yeah, it's a bit of a "harsher" ride compared to a Ruby with all of the vibration-dampening inserts built in, but I've always liked a stiffer, more aggressive ride. It's a very responsive bike, you ask and it gives back. I actually went into the shop intending to buy something more like a Ruby but based on my feedback they got me on the Amira, and I got off with a huge grin on my face. I knew I had blown my budget and found my bike.

My other contender aside from the Ruby was a Trek Madone WSD (I can't remember which number.) I did like the fit but it wasn't as nimble as the Amira and felt a bit clunky in comparison. It was a nice bike for the (closeout) price, however, and I did consider it, but it didn't make me go, "Wheee!" the same way the Specialized bikes do.

I did also like the feel of the Cannondale CAAD series, but they were too long in the top tube for me. Since I had just gone through that with my unisex Orbea frame, fixing that at the stem was the last thing I wanted and the more compact Amira cockpit felt better.

I would actually say the Cannondale I rode was the closest to the Amira in exciting me - but I just wasn't willing to go there with the top tube. I know there are lots of C'dale fans here and that you're not one (I'm usually not either since the fit is usually all wrong for me) but don't talk yourself out of a really good bike for you!

[kelleil]

I do my first shopping tomorrow. First go is to ride Specialized Roubaix, Ruby, Amira. Then orbeas. THEN jamis and felts. Then giant and Fuji. Trek, cannondale, marin last.

And no white!

Thoughts on clips? I've never clipped in.

[kelleil]

What do you mean when you say you felt "cramped." I test road a Ruby 44 and it feels so small to me, but the LBS said he felt that was the correct size. I know he wasn't trying to sell me a floor bike because he had a 47 on the floor and ordered the 44 from specialized. My Giant Bike is one size bigger than the 44 and is a hybrid. So I really don't now how to feel.

I already bought the Ruby 44 but it is at the shop due to my accident. So I really do have time to change my mind regarding size.

I felt like I was kneeing my boobs constantly (I'm not large chested so that was an accomplishment) and my upper back felt like it was tied up in knots!

Boooooo accident. Hope you are ok!

[kelleil]

"Wheee!" the same way the Specialized bikes do!

yes! Exactly! I want that wheeee factor and I hope my budget and ego don't get in the way!

[Koronin]

Personally I'm not comfortable with clipless. I have a set of pedals that are platforms on one side and clipless on the other side. I have no issues clipping in with my left foot, but I still have issues with my right foot. So I prefer these pedals.


For my feeling cramped on the both the Dolce and the Lexa was feeling my back was too curved due to the top tube and feeling like my arms/shoulders were being forced to be too tight to my body. Part of the reason I prefer the men's/unisex bikes as long as I can find ones that have a low enough stand over height. For me this just proved to me again why the WSD bikes are not for all women.

[kelleil]

Personally I'm not comfortable with clipless. I have a set of pedals that are platforms on one side and clipless on the other side. I have no issues clipping in with my left foot, but I still have issues with my right foot. So I prefer these pedals.


For my feeling cramped on the both the Dolce and the Lexa was feeling my back was too curved due to the top tube and feeling like my arms/shoulders were being forced to be too tight to my body. Part of the reason I prefer the men's/unisex bikes as long as I can find ones that have a low enough stand over height. For me this just proved to me again why the WSD bikes are not for all women.

That's sage perspective. My commuter is unisex and I feel better on it even though it's not perfect. If I can get the rear support I felt with the Ruby and not feel too curved, that will be the one.

Clips unnerve me but I know it's best for power throughout.

[Owlie]

That's sage perspective. My commuter is unisex and I feel better on it even though it's not perfect. If I can get the rear support I felt with the Ruby and not feel too curved, that will be the one.

Clips unnerve me but I know it's best for power throughout.

You don't have to get clipless pedals immediately. It took me a year of riding to make the jump. (I went straight from platforms to clipless, rather than using the cages that came with the bike.)

While I need a short top tube, I find my back is happier with a more aggressive posture. It's strange.

[MGM]

For my feeling cramped on the both the Dolce and the Lexa was feeling my back was too curved due to the top tube and feeling like my arms/shoulders were being forced to be too tight to my body. Part of the reason I prefer the men's/unisex bikes as long as I can find ones that have a low enough stand over height. For me this just proved to me again why the WSD bikes are not for all women.

Yes, WSD frames are not for all women. Some are more comfortable on the unisex frame and that's fine. It's good to have a choice. I have a bike that's a men's frame, and two that are WSD. I have a Specialized, Trek, and Cannondale. They are all terrific bikes. Each one felt completely right for that type of bike, but the brand didn't translate into guaranteed comfort on another. For example, my hybrid road bike is a Cannondale Quick 3. I thought I'd love the Cannondale Synapse when looking for a road bike. I liked it alot, but it didn't feel quite right, and the aluminum didn't give me the "whee!" factor (though the carbon did). The Specialized frame geometries were more comfortable for me on the road bikes. It's great that there's so many choices available to us even though it can be confusing initially. Good luck on your quest today, kelleil! Oh, and do get properly fitted. The potentially right bike can feel totally wrong with a bad fit!