Originally Posted by
Sabby
I'm actually a statistician so my mathiness will be a little different than yours. Making that matrix is second nature to me.
I think what is important in the next few days is to try the Roubaix style geometry and then perhaps the Tarmac and see which one, in both sizes, I like best.
I have a feeling I won't be able to tell from riding for a few minutes. Things like cricks in the neck or fatiguing arches, CHAFING, etc, don't come up until the ride is more than an hour.
Oh, god, chafing. I, of the thunderthighs, will be on the lookout for potential chafing.
Where does one usually chafe on a road bike? On my mtb if I chafe it's inner thighs about 3-4 inches down from the lady parts. IF I go for a long ride I'll wear compression shorts under my running shorts. I have yet to buy cycling shorts. I'm too pudgy for tights, get self-conscious (I'm very fit, just not very lean). I'll probably get the looser kind.
/ramble
OMG, a statistician. One of the few people on Earth who really understands how it works! Trouble is, you can't convince anyone else, right? Do you have a room where you can go to close the door behind you and scream?
There are good products to prevent chafing in various places. Men, of course have different problems than women. The product I like is called Body Glide. It comes in a stick with a plastic housing like deodorant. Runners and cyclists both use it. I'd say it doesn't work the same for everybody. The personal satisfaction with the product probably plots as a bell curve. My results put me at about +2.5 sigma. You will probably land elsewhere on the curve.
Hey, I am just having some fun with you. I'll stop now. Body Glide is good stuff.
BTW, when you test ride, you might want to ask for a woman's saddle, which generally mean wide at the back. With wider pelvises women generally have wider spaced sit bones. If/when you buy from Bikes Direct, I wonder if they will change the saddle to a comparable women's model. No substitutions and all that. You may have to plan on changing it yourself when you get the bike and reselling the original saddle. No big deal.
I can't say for sure, but I think you will find that lycra shorts will be more comfortable than loose ones. You will get more chafing with loose shorts than tight ones. And a quality pad (use to be called chamois) is essential to long riding comfort. I know it seems like just fashion, but folks wear the specific clothes for very good functional reasons.
Robert