[msharleygirl]

I'm a 56 year old woman (as of today) who has been bitten by the bicycle bug at a relatively late age. I've managed to loose 90 lbs in the past 9 months and still have a bit to go before I am satisfied in that respect.
I currently ride a Trek 850 with bontrager 1.25 slick tires on the street. Needless to say it is difficult to keep up with the local road bike clubs on club rides.
I want to purchase a new bike this next month and have narrowed my choice to three basic models.
My first choice is a Felt F4C, followed by the Specialized Roubeau (cant spell it sigh), and the Trek 5.0 Madrone.
I will be racing crits this next season and would like some advice on which might be the best of these or if there might be a better choice than these.
I will be getting a 58cm frame since im vertically challenged (I'm 5'12").
Look forward to hearing from you all.
Caitlin:

 

[ito]

First off, 5'12" (6 foot?) isn't too vertically challenged.

And on to the bike stuff. I helped a lady about your age pick up a bike earlier last year. It took her a while to get fitted and be comfortable, but the final pick was a Trek Pilot 5.0 WSD, an awesome full carbon rig. I would suggest it over a Madone as it has a much more relaxed position, which will be more akin to your 850 (except that it won't suck ). More upright and stable positioning will be safer and probably be more comfortable.

The Specialized Roubaix is a bit of an inbetween bike. It is more stable and upright than the Madone, but more aggressive than the Pilot. Also a very nice riding bike and it has more lateral stiffness than the Pilot. so between the Pilot and the Roub. you'll have more comfortable or more racy, but both will feel more appropriate to you than a Madone, since you are coming from a mountain bike.

I don't know anything about the Felt.

I'd also suggest looking at the WSD models of the Trek bike or the Specialized Ruby. I have a friend picking up a Ruby after riding an Allez (same geometry as the Tarmac) and she is in love with the fit of the bike. The women specific bikes provide a great fit and definitely seem to work better for the women cyclists.

The Ito

 

[msharleygirl]

Well 6' is vertically challenged for a woman. Takes me out of most of the WSD ranges be it in clothing or bicycles, smile.
Not a lot of us tall women out there. Ill look into them though, something I hadn't thought of.

 

[ito]

Well 6' is vertically challenged for a woman. Takes me out of most of the WSD ranges be it in clothing or bicycles, smile.
Not a lot of us tall women out there. Ill look into them though, something I hadn't thought of.

Ahhh, by vertically challenged you mean TOO tall. Silly me

I just noticed they don't make a WSD larger thn 57cm. In that case I'd still be looking at a Pilot, but you'll most likely need a larger size than the WSD.

The Ito

 

[rooftest]

Those are some fairly expensive bikes - get fitted so you're not wasting your money on the wrong size.

 

[SofaKingBanned]

Not just get fitted, but get measured. If you're going to race, then you must know someone who knows someone that does measuring.

$150 to get properly measure is a great investment. Especially since a pro doing the measuring knows what questions to ask you... questions many shops don't know and wouldn't bother asking.

And I say get a custom built frame. It will be exactly what you need and might not cost any more... just might take a month or two longer.

Failing that, let your measurements detemine which bike you buy.

 

[sunny]

Caitlin,

Women's specific bikes are good for women who fit a typical women's geometry: longs legs, short torso. Most often, women who are taller than 5'9" no longer fit into this scenario (they have longer torsos). At 6', you should be able to ride any bike.

Women's specific bikes include:
1. shorter top tube relative to the seat tube
2. narrower handlebars to accommodate narrower shoulders
3. wider saddle to accommodate wider sit bones
And may possibly include:
4. wedge in the shifter/brake lever to bring the lever closer to the bar and accommodate smaller hands
5. lighter tubing (Specialized does this) because the way women apply power is physiologically distinct enough from men that this is possible


The Roubaix and the Pilot are great for longer rides. The geometry is a bit more relaxed (less aggressive than the Allez or the Madone). The headtube is taller, and allows you to position the stem and handlebars taller. These are rather versitile bikes style-wise (suitable for long distance and certainly appropriate for racing as well)

You can make the Roubaix or the Pilot as aggressive as you want by inverting the stem.

However, more aggressive, snappy, responsive bikes like the Allez or the Madone will not easily allow you to position the stem very high. Because they are designed to be snappy, responsive bikes, on longer rides when you are fatigued, the Allez or Madone may feel not as stable as the other two.

You need to decide which is more your riding style and what you expect to do most over the next 2-5 years.

Another manufacturer you should consider is Terry Bicycles. They make bikes and components specifically for women, and have the largest selection of bikes for taller women than anyone I have found.

My shop does custom fittings for people who purchase bikes from us. Call around and find someone who can address your needs. And let us know how the search goes.

Good luck!
-sunny

PS. Happy birthday!! And ROCK ON!

 

[Pau11y]

Caitlin, just FYI about Madone (actually I'm referencing things off of a 2003 OCLV 5900/110 frame). By your height, you and I may have similar numbers (33in inseam and overall reach of 69cm). A 58cm Madone fits more like a 56cm from everyone else. I recently got my mitz on a 5900 and the owner told me it was a 56. All the measurements agree w/ my Strong, which is a 56 long (58cm top tube, 56cm seat tube c-c). Actually my Strong's top tube sits higher than the Trek by about 1/2 inch. But when I was building the Trek frame up, the drive side dropout clearly says its a 58. The measure from the center of the bottom bracket to the top of the seat tube. The top of the top tube sites a good inch below that and the middle of the top tube (where most manufacturers measure their frame sizing) sits another inch below that.
With this in mind and the size of the head tube (it's pretty short), without a steeply rising stem you will be in a very aggressive riding position. My position on the 5900 has my saddle a good 2-3 inches above the handle bar w/ a flat stem (-10 degrees to the steerer tube). When I'm in my drops my knees almost touches my chest when I flatten out my back.
Lastly, I believe the Bont fork is a 45mm rake making the Madone a fast steering bike. I switched mine to a Ouzo Pro w/ a 43mm rake to ease up the quick steering.
All in all, the 5900/110 frame is a very quiet and has amazing acceleration. Hi freq vibs are pretty much all damped out by the carbon, and she climbs like a goat. I can loose one gear in the same climb I do w/ the Strong. And, at size 58, my bikes comes in at 16.5lbs w/ cages and pedals. The Madone 5.9SLs are even lighter than the older 5900 110s.
I have nothing on the Specialized roadies except that the Tarmacs have similar numbers/layout to the Madone, except w/ taller head tube. They're about as light tho.

 

[yadadada]

My 2 cents...
I'm 5'10"

I went road bike searching in 04 and mtn bike searching this past June and I didn't fit on a single WSD. I tested them, and just about everything in the shops, to get a good feel for the different bikes. I talked to a lot of different mechanics and shop workers to really get an understanding of the geometry and components and gained a good amount of knowledge. My best piece of advice is to ride a few different bikes (at least a few) and ride them a few times. Don't make a hasty decision and wait until you find the bike that really fits you.

 

[yadadada]

Oh, and I did look at Terry when I was buying my road bike, but the dealer pushed me towards Felt or Trek rather than Terry because they are WSD and not usually the best fit for taller women.

 

[loco-gringo]

First off. Congrats on the birthday and the weight drop. That's awesome.

I actually like Giant quite a lot for value. That said, ride lots of bikes and find one that fits well. Find good shops to work with. Most really good shops will have a good fit person there.

Good luck.

 

[msharleygirl]

thanks everyone for all the suggestions! As for WSD I have pretty much but them out of the running for many of the reasons mentioned, including the bars are a bit narrow, etc. I looked at the Specialized Tarmac Expert today and comparing it with the Felt F4 (for 2007 on each) its a tough choice. Felt killed my favorite color red but I can deal with the carbon fiber showing through sigh.
As for fitting I will be getting properly fitted by a pro. I have no desire to lay out that amount of money and by and off the self skirt, so to speak!
So I guess what it will all boil down to is try riding all three at the local shops and make a determination based on how they feel with equal setups.
Thanks again for all your help!
Ill also be obtaining the services of a certified coach to make sure everything is set up properly, etc.

Caitlin

 

[f0ggy]

My mom is also around 56 and in June we got her a Trek Piolet 2.1 she loves it, its really great to see her get out on the road, loose weight and have fun doing it. I know the madrone is an awesome bike, I have not ridden it myself but my LBS had one and it looks madd sickage, Dont worry about WSD bikes, Its what feels right for you not what feels right for other women, also, you can get this seat thats specificaly mad for women, and my mom loves it too!

good luck with getting a bike