Does this sound right?
So I ordered a Fuji Absolute from the LBS, as they didn't have one in a big enough frame. I met with the store owner and he was knowledgeable. He had me riding a 21" Absolute and said he thought it looked too small for me, so we ordered a 23". I have a 35" inseam, 6'2", that seems reasonable.
Went back in with my wife, because she was interested in a bike as well. No intention to buy TONIGHT but I'm certainly interested in using the LBS rather than elsewhere, so we thought we'd swing by while we were in town. Another guy there, not the owner. He sat her (5' even) on a couple of bikes, Canondale, Fuji, the stuff they carried. Oddly enough we found the Absolute to still be the best bang-for-buck and features for her. He said her on a 13" model which was too small, needing to raise the seatpost nearly all the way up in order for her to stretch her legs out. Then he sat her on a 17" (they didn't have a 15".) With the seatpost all the way down, it was still a little big. He said "no problem, because we can always cut the seatpost down" and suggested we go with the 17".
So, everything I'm reading suggest that if the seat needs to be all the day down, then the frame is too big. Much less if you need to trim down the seatpost. I mentioned that, and he said that they can always adjust the stem and handlebars to compensate. He seemed knowledgeable. He himself was an avid rider. Did we get bad advice, or is that stuff pretty typical? It seems like 15" would be a sweet spot, and I'm certainly not opposed to ordering one through the LBS (or otherwise). I was just surprised at the prospect of dropping the seat practically onto the frame and fitting from there; especially since my wife has the typical female short-torso, long-legs build.
Your thoughts? I'm FAR from an expert, but before I take his advice and we go with the 17" model, I'm interested in your point of view. Am I worried over nothing and on a bike with lots of adjustments for the stem and bars then it's no big deal?
Since we're still in the looking/research phase for her, we are going to check out other shops, too. The owner was there this time but busy leading an indoor workout class. Looks like they drag out a bunch of fluid trainers in a part of the shop on certain nights in the winter and guys and gals bring their bikes in and ride. Pretty cool! (And beats those spinning machines, I assume)