[I Are Baboon]

to me, slick on an MTB can't compare to a road bike.

Agreed. Slicks on an MTB are fine if you want to just commute and bum around town on your bike. But if you want to do any "real" road riding, there simply is no subsitute for a road bike.

MBC bought me skinny slicks for my MTB when I wanted to get into road riding. I rode that and she was on her road bike. She completely blew me away on our rides. I mean, it wasn't even close.

 

[DRB]

Frame material:
you have two ends of a scale:
responsive -------------------- plush
Aluminum ------- Steel -------- Carbon Fibre
An Al frame will transfer every bit of power you push into the crank arm towards propelling your forward.
A CF frame will give you the smoothest ride, but will feel almost sluggish next to the Al.

I'm not sure that you can shoehorn bikes into this simplistic view any longer, especially carbon fiber. Any more manufacturers are doing so much with all materials to tune rides to specific applications that the old way of thinking is outdated.

Look no farther than the tour. Do you think that a Madone SL is going to be almost sluggish compared any bike regardless of material?

 

[bluebug32]

Hey Beth,

I didn't see anyone mention femme-specific bikes... Since you mentioned you are short in the arms and torso, a feminine-specific bike would be ideal for you.

Bike size: measured from the center of the bottom bracket to the top of the seat tube. Bikes come as small as 44cm. I'm 5'5" and ride a 50. The geometry of the bike is largely determined by the bike height.
Because a woman's legs are longer and her torso is shorter than a man's of the same height, a femme-specific bike has a shorter top tube. The result is that you don't feel nearly as stretched out. I highly recommend a femme.

Manufacturers who make femme-specific bikes are: Specialized, Cannondale, Trek (not sure of any others). Be aware that some manufacturers will SAY they have a femme-specific, and it has pink stitching on the saddle or something, but the geometry is the same as the men's.

Frame material:
you have two ends of a scale:
responsive -------------------- plush
Aluminum ------- Steel -------- Carbon Fibre
An Al frame will transfer every bit of power you push into the crank arm towards propelling your forward.
A CF frame will give you the smoothest ride, but will feel almost sluggish next to the Al.
Your choice.
Many Al bikes have a CF fork or seat stays that will soak up road vibration to some degree.

I work in a bike shop. Let me know if you have any questions. If I can't answer them, I'll find someone who can.

-sunny (laura)

Thanks!

I've actually been looking into the WSD geometry. I really like it and it fits much better. I'm looking at a Specialized or a Trek right now in a 51. I'm hoping to find a nice end of season sale, but it's difficult to find the WSD in my size as a leftover.

 

[Pau11y]

Ok, stuck the drops and STIs on the Cove and the verdict is "no good". It was too over the front and WAY too long. It may have worked w/ a 50cm stem, but w/ the 100, the front end felt too sluggish. So, reverted back to the riser and mtn BB7s. Think I'll keep it like this so I can use it as a XC/race rig, and a city trails ripper by swapping wheels.