Road Cycling - Perplexed re road bike purchase

I am a 56 year old woman planning to purchase my first road bike after having ridden my hybrid about 15 miles per week for 5 years. I want to upgrade to a lighter bike that will enable me to enjoy riding more. I want a lighter bike (mine is pretty heavy), I need to be able to shift gears without taking my hands off the handle bars, and I want a gear indicator to help me know what gear I am in. I am interested in bikes designed for women. I am finding that many of the sales persons in the bike stores I visit don't take me seriously as a bicyclist. I'm looking for suggestions.

I am a 56 year old woman planning to purchase my first road bike after having ridden my hybrid about 15 miles per week for 5 years. I want to upgrade to a lighter bike that will enable me to enjoy riding more. I want a lighter bike (mine is pretty heavy), I need to be able to shift gears without taking my hands off the handle bars, and I want a gear indicator to help me know what gear I am in. I am interested in bikes designed for women. I am finding that many of the sales persons in the bike stores I visit don't take me seriously as a bicyclist. I'm looking for suggestions.

I think your requests are reasonable with the exception of the gear indicator. These do exist (or they use to), but the numbers are small and it's likely you'd have to wear reading glasses while you ride to see them! Since the rider is the "motor" on the bike, you can feel through your legs whether or not you've chosen the right gear. So consider learning how to work the gears to get the gear you want rather than a "gear number". When I owned my shop, I taught a lot of novices to do this. It is not difficult.

I can't vouch for the quality of the shops in your area, but perhaps some of them have a knowledgable women cyclist on the staff. That being said, a number of companies (Trek, Specialized and others) make women specific bikes. All of the modern road bikes have shifting systems which do not require you to take your hands off the bars.

I think your requests are reasonable with the exception of the gear indicator. These do exist (or they use to), but the numbers are small and it's likely you'd have to wear reading glasses while you ride to see them! Since the rider is the "motor" on the bike, you can feel through your legs whether or not you've chosen the right gear. So consider learning how to work the gears to get the gear you want rather than a "gear number". When I owned my shop, I taught a lot of novices to do this. It is not difficult.

I agree with what you say about gear-picking strategy but I disagree that gear indicators are hard to read. I don't think the inline OGD or the digital OGD on the FlightDeck and ErgoBrain computers are that hard to read. Also, I think we may be assuming that the original poster wants gear indicators to use as a primary tool for knowing what gear to choose. Maybe like me, they are more curious about what kind of situation their chainline is in to avoid cross-gearing or being in a situation where they might throw a chain due to high loading in a cross-chained scenario while going up a hill and contemplating dropping the front to the inner chainring. I know that on roadbikes with extremely short chainstays, attempting to drop from the outer to inner chainring while in a large rear sprocket can cause the chain to overshoot. Knowing what gears I'm in by quickly glancing down at the OGD allows me to make the decision to upshift the rear a couple of cogs to striaghten out the chainline so I can safely drop the front. Granted, proper shifting practice dictates I should never be in that drastic a situation in the first place but these things do happen.

I agree with what you say about gear-picking strategy but I disagree that gear indicators are hard to read. I don't think the inline OGD or the digital OGD on the FlightDeck and ErgoBrain computers are that hard to read. Also, I think we may be assuming that the original poster wants gear indicators to use as a primary tool for knowing what gear to choose. Maybe like me, they are more curious about what kind of situation their chainline is in to avoid cross-gearing or being in a situation where they might throw a chain due to high loading in a cross-chained scenario while going up a hill and contemplating dropping the front to the inner chainring. I know that on roadbikes with extremely short chainstays, attempting to drop from the outer to inner chainring while in a large rear sprocket can cause the chain to overshoot. Knowing what gears I'm in by quickly glancing down at the OGD allows me to make the decision to upshift the rear a couple of cogs to striaghten out the chainline so I can safely drop the front. Granted, proper shifting practice dictates I should never be in that drastic a situation in the first place but these things do happen.

Good post...I didn't know about the Flightdeck and Ergobrain setup...I use the retro-grouch method of looking at my cassette to determine whether I need to adjust the chainline.....I need to get out more often!

Good post...I didn't know about the Flightdeck and Ergobrain setup...I use the retro-grouch method of looking at my cassette to determine whether I need to adjust the chainline.....I need to get out more often!

Thanks guys!!! I appreciate the info. I like to be able to glance down at the numbers to help me plan when I an approaching a situation requiring me to be more cautious. Mainly I shift based on the feel of the bike and the terrain ahead. Nonetheless, being able to glance at the numbers is reassuring and helps with strategy.

It is nice to know that you guys are out there. I have been chatting with folks in our bike group (multi- age, gender, race, etc.) as well as other senior athletic type buddies of mine. Four of the six athletic seniors I have chatted with in the past week have reported having negative/disrespectful experiences in regional sports shop. The common denominator seems to the gray hair, not so much gender. It seems logical to me that stores would be working to attract the business of active seniors who have steady jobs and the resources to pay for the equipment we need - instead of alienating us.

If you were to practice looking down and learning the basics of shifting and how your bike feels in the various gears, maybe you wouldn't need to rely on a "number" to tell you what gear you are in. I'm imagining that if you're walking in to your local bike store asking for a gear indicator for a road bike, they probably aren't taking you very seriously. It's pretty simple really, and with the STI shifting you just need to remember which way to click to go up or down. You'll probably be in the smaller (or middle - get a triple if you have any hills around) chainring, and you'll spend 90% of your ride varying between several gears while in the middle ring.

I'd advise you to find a friend who can help you with some of the finer points of shifting and get comfortable looking down to see where you are. Read lots of magazines and use this forum to learn more about the particular bikes you're interested in so you can be somewhat informed about such things as: frame materials and their advantages/disadvantages, the levels of componentry (Dura Ace= top of the line...Sora=entry level), wheel types and why some are more expensive, etc. Consider just how you like to ride and what you plan to do with a road bike so you can ask for special features you need (braze-ons for carrying panniers? adjustable stem?, suspension seatpost?).
I hope you have fun doing some of your pre-shopping homework! I am excited for you as you begin to shop for a road bike - you will truly notice a difference. Keep us all posted as you start to narrow down your choices. And tell those bike shop folks to get on the ball - you may have grey hair, but I bet you'll pay cash for that new bike!

I'm imagining that if you're walking in to your local bike store asking for a gear indicator for a road bike, they probably aren't taking you very seriously.

Hmmm... that'd be an interesting scenario...

Customer: Hi, I'm looking to buy a Colnago C50 with full Campy Record... Oh and I also want the ErgoBrain computer with the gear displays.

Salesperson: Ooohkay.... sure /* thinks to self: what a noob... */

Come on... Shimano and Campy don't just market their gear-display enabled computers in their higher-end groups for nothing. Consider that the Shimano FlightDeck is a 6500-level (Ultegra) component that was originally only available for Ultegra and Dura-Ace and was updated (SC-6502) when the 10-speed Dura-Ace was introduced. Campy introduced their ErgoBrain in the Record group and immediately updated it when Record went to 10-speed too. Now I'm not necessarily saying that only serious cyclists ride hi8gh-end groups or that high-end groups are only meant for serious cyclists but I think it's too presumptious a statement to say that if you go into a bike shop and ask for gear indicators, the salesfolks won't take you seriously.

khuon, don't be such a smartaleck. a C50 costs >$5000 and the ergoBrain itself costs like $200. it's totally legitimate to suggest that somebody who rides 15miles/week but wants to get more out of cycling should learn how to know what gear she's in without spending more than the price of her bike on a high-end computer.

about the rest of the question:
smb, there are plenty of choices but it'd help a lot to know your budget. i'd suggest trying to get a steel frame bike that fits you well, preferably with a Shimano Tiagra or Shimano 105 component group. Avoid the Sora component group if your budget allows as they are not compatible with the nicer groups and you'll end up riding Sora for the life of the bike as upgrading a component group is nearly equal to the cost of buying a new bike.

Bianchi Brava - sora, but inexpensive brand-name steel bike
http://www.bianchiusa.com/brava.html

Bianchi Imola - much fancier bianchi, with lighter steel frame and shimano 105
http://www.bianchiusa.com/imola.html

Jamis Satelite - you can save by buying from lesser known but still quality brand names like Jamis
http://www.jamisbikes.com/bikes/04_satellite.html

Fuji Roubaix Pro Womens - this bike doesn't actually cost $1500 like the link says, but if you fit nicely on it Performance carries the regular Fuji Roubaix for like $870
http://fujibikes.com/road/bike.asp?category_short_name=road&myArray=87,88,89,90,91,92,93,102,94,95,96,103,97,104,106,99,98,100,105,101,107,108,109,112,110,111,1 13,114&myArrayID=20&yr=2004

Hi...going from hybrid to road bike, might I strongly suggest you take a look at the Specialized Sequoia "comfort road" bike? I am 49 and I am going back to a road bike after riding a Trek 7500fx hybrid for over a year now. I enjoyed this bike, but it just did not "feel" the same as riding a lightweight, fast-geared roadie.

Depending on what type of hybrid you were riding, you might be satisfied with the road bike feel and handling of the Lemond Wayzata or the Specialized Sirrus. Both are "flat bar" road bikes, enabling them to use Shimano "rapidfire" shifters, wherein you CAN see what gear you are in. These shifters can also be put on any road bike, but you will have to switch out to a flat handlebar.

Hope this helps and gives you some points to ponder...