Road Cycling - looking for 43-44cm Carbon or Titanium ... any ideas?

i hope this hasn't been discussed to death ... i've searched the forum and couldn't find anything, so i apologize in advance if i'm rehashing old news.

I currently ride an all aluminum Trek2300 (2001) it's tiny, with 650c wheels ... because it's so small, and my center of gravity so low, i feel every tiny bump, pothole, etc.

i've tried Trek, Cannondale, Lemond and Specialized ... doesn't look like any of those brands have what i'm looking for.

$$ is always a factor, but i'm willing to pay for quality, but most importantly fit.

thanks in advance ...

Hi Yvonne,
how tall are you? Did you get a chance to try a trek 5200 WSD? They claim a top tube length of 49.8 (effective). That's pretty short. The Aegis Swift has top tubes that are even shorter...48/48.5/49 for sizes 44/46/48. But they are very expensive. There are a lot of WSD bikes out there now; but I suspect you may still have some trouble finding a top tube length that suits you.

thanks for the reply, late
sadly, yes ... smallest 5200 is 47cm. the standover is 75cm, i can manage a 71-73 but not more, without the top tube getting more personal than i'd like!

i've checked out the aegis website ... you're right, they are pricey. may have to go custom, but i'm hoping someone here shares my dillemma and can save me from myself :)

Hi,
just looked at the specs for the Eros Donna. Looks like it might be worth a test ride. It has a short, sloping top tube. The Lemond Reno Women's comes in a 45cm.
Have you seen that one?

I see you've already looked into the Swift which is what I would have recommended too. If it still grabs you, you might want to ask ilovemyswift about her bike. If you think carbon and custom are the way to go, you might want to check out Calfees. Calfee is one of the few who will do custom carbon frames.

The price is definitely worth the money. I thought I was spending way too much too but the aluminum Cannondale I had was the same problem, too stiff. I felt like I rode a jack hammer all day. The Swift is so smooth, asorbs all the road shock. I ride over rough parts of the road that other riders avoid.
The Swift is specifically designed for small riders, Aegis has been making it since around 1997 or so. That says something for the quality of this company. They saw the need for a high quality small frame and stayed with it. With carbon the builder can put the right amount of stiffness and flex in the frame. Aegis certainly did this with the Swift.
Originally, to save money, I bought the frame and had my lbs put the Shimano 105 components on it from the Cannondale. Later, I swapped out for Campy Record. My lbs also built my wheels.
I get many compliments on how well this bike fits me.
I have not tried the trek wsd carbon so I can't compare.
I test rode a Swift that was way to big for me and I could feel the difference immediately. Also, I don't know why this is, but the Swift tracks downhill better. Its just more stable in its handling with better control. It's even better than my steel mtn bike.
Calfee was my second choice if the Swift didn't fit. My frame size is 44cm.
If carbon is you material of choice the you can't go wrong with the Swift.
Check Titus Bicycles, they make small frames, however, I just paid as much for my new Titus mtn bike as my Swift.
If you spend lots of hours on your bike like I do (I'm actually riding more on the Swift than I did on the Cannondale) and you're a lightweight you'll appreciate having a good carbon frame.
Good luck in your search.
Kathi

Hi Yvonne,

I have an Aegis 100% carbon fiber for sale. It is almost brand new it had been on the road for around 1500km. Let me know if your interested. I could then provide you with more detail.

Thanks
Stephan.

Yvonne -

Your situation sounds very similar to what I just went through. I had an aluminum Canondale that I have been riding on for the last 8 or 9 years. Now at 42 I really can't take the road beating and wanted a much smoother ride. You sound a little shorter than me, I am 5'1.5" and ride about a 48 or 49 cm size bike. I really wanted a titanium and was having problems finding one to fit me that had the componetry I was looking for as well. I wound up choosing to go with a Serotta, which is custom fit to the "T". They have a bike fit system that you get measured on that worked out great. Serotta was one of the more expensive brands because of the custom fitting, but when all was said and done, I wanted this bike to last me the rest of my riding career. So when you amortize that over the next 10 to 15 years, it was reasonable. So think long term. I picked the Serotta Concours which is their titanium low end frame, the bike with Campy Centaur, 1/2 paint 1/2 polish exterior ran me about $4,500. It was a tough decision, but I know I am going to be happy with my selection. I also looked at Litespeed and Lemond. Trek WSD only had carbon and i really didn't want a carbon bike. Well I hope I have been some help, good luck with your purchase. :)

I have to say that since I am a shorty too, that yvonne's question interested me. So I've been doing some surfing of the titanium frame builders. Several have recently added small WSD frames to their line-up, but since they are new, Yvonne, you will need to be the pioneer girlfriend. Here is some of the info I found
Litespeed bella(smallest) s.o. 67.6 cm ETT 49.5
Airborne WASP45cm s.o. 26.7 inches ETT 49.9
merlin camena 40cm s.o. 67.7 ETT49.3
all of these have a much longer ETT than the trek which is 48.5 cm
(they all spec 650 wheel sets)

You may also want to consider a custom frame from Habanero Cycle's (http://www.habcycles.com/). You can get one for under a grand. A complete Ultegra bike with carbon fork is around two grand total. From what I've seen, Mark Hickey seems to be a pretty good guy and is very responsive to his customers.

lots of good leads here, still shopping around, and trying to find the right combination at the right price! i'll keep you posted.

yvonne,

have a look at this site:
www.billato.com
there's no distribution in the US, but they'll supply you direct. The size xs compact may be similar to what you're riding now, but the ride could be dialled to suit your needs. Custom carbon is also an option. if you need any more info, PM me.

Custom carbon is also an option.

Wow... I'm seriously impressed. Full carbon monocoque has got to be expensive though. A customised lugged carbon construction can be done competitively priced (relatively) but custom carbon layup OTOH is a lot of tooling overhead. I didn't think anybody did it except for maybe to support race teams with big budgets.

Wow... I'm seriously impressed. Full carbon monocoque has got to be expensive though. A customised lugged carbon construction can be done competitively priced (relatively) but custom carbon layup OTOH is a lot of tooling overhead. I didn't think anybody did it except for maybe to support race teams with big budgets.

That’s exactly where most of the production is going! Billato got into CF manufacture in the early 90’s when they were involved with LeMond, before Trek bought out the brand. The project lay dormant for a while but was revived about 4 years ago. Methods developed outside the bike industry were brought in to add to the technology already in place. This led to the development of a method of construction that differs greatly from what you’ll find elsewhere, such as thermo lugs bonded to tubes or alu; or steel, alu and Ti sockets controlling the frame geometry with carbon tubes intersecting the points in between. Billato are already experts at this type of production and custom monocoque fabrication seemed the logical ‘next level’ for them to perfect.

The process is about to be patent approved and final testing has been completed with great results. Full production is now underway. Most of the immediate production will be for race teams, or go under different brand labels as ‘top-of-the-range-wish-list’ bikes. The money involved in supplying a Tour-De-France or Giro riding team (manufacturers are now paying in excess of $250k to have a top team ride their frames) means that you won’t see a team equipped with Billato-labelled frames, but rest assured they’ll be there, albeit under a different name. Billato have been producing frames for others that have gone on to win Tours, Giro, Vuelta, Classics, Worlds and Olympic titles for the last 50 years.
Cost is comparable with top-level carbon-based production frames, although these can't offer custom build. Up to now this was an extremely expensive option, but this was a major consideration of Billato when the project got underway. The absence of a huge marketing budget helps in this respect too, so what you pay for is bike, not hype!

Hi Yvonne,
Have you been able to test ride any bikes? let us know.

i hope this hasn't been discussed to death ... i've searched the forum and couldn't find anything, so i apologize in advance if i'm rehashing old news.

I currently ride an all aluminum Trek2300 (2001) it's tiny, with 650c wheels ... because it's so small, and my center of gravity so low, i feel every tiny bump, pothole, etc.

i've tried Trek, Cannondale, Lemond and Specialized ... doesn't look like any of those brands have what i'm looking for.

$$ is always a factor, but i'm willing to pay for quality, but most importantly fit.

thanks in advance ...

I have a custom Titus Ti bike and I love it with the 650 wheels. I believe it was worth every penny. Yes, I was very nervous spending the $. There is no way you could get it out of my hands now. They do it exactly to your specs and each ti bike is done separately and under very tight spec conditions. Anyway, if the house is on fire, you know what I am taking with me. Best money I ever spent..

Hi Yvonne,
Have you been able to test ride any bikes? let us know.


hi there!
well, it's been a long search (nearly 4 months!) but i finally made a decision and a purchase! I ordered a custom built Seven Alaris. Titanium, Full Ultegra components, Reynolds CF fork, etc. I pick it up next weekend! Can't wait to ride it and report back. Thanks for all of your feedback and suggestions. They were very helpful ... in the end, i went with Seven because of the reputation with custom builds. with my wierd geometry requirements, they were the best way to go for the cost (>$4,000 but hoping it's worth every cent!) i really wanted to go carbon, but couldn't find anything that fit well enough for the $. I almost bought the Serrotta FierteTi, but the top tube was just a cm or two too freindly if you know what i mean!

thanks again!

i'll post a photo when i get it!
Yvonne