I won't bore you with more hate mail, although regular readers know how much I love my gears.
Regarding your frame geometry question, the bottom bracket height and the top tube length are two of the reasons two frames of equal nominal size (seat tube length) will fit and feel very differently from one another. Since women tend to be longer in the legs and shorter in the arms and torso than men of equal stature, a bike with a short tube can be great for a female rider.
In the bad old days, some manufacturers used almost the same top tube length across a range of frame sizes, resulting in too-long (horizontally) 53cm frames and too-short 62cm frames.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069