Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
The key is the seat-to-handlebar dimension. Women tend to have longer legs relative to their torso length so consequentially, most often fit better on a bike with a shorter top tube.
I was also looking at the Raleigh Merit 3 (same company). That's their male 105 endurance bike with basically the same components. The frames look similar but the Raleigh costs more. The reach on a 54cm Raleigh is 373mm, the Arien is 371mm and either is fine with me. The TT lengths are 54.5 vs 54. The biggest difference is the Arien has a stack that's 24mm taller but that's fine with me as well. The only thing that wouldn't work for me is the female saddle but I would change that anyway.