WSD road/trail bikes...
 

Good news is I have a 08 Tricross Singlespeed... Bad news is, when we got the bike, I didn't know what I was getting myself into. My boyfriend got me into riding, and I think that if equipped with the proper bike and attire, lights, shoes, petals, etc... I could possibly (note possibly being the key word) go for the long haul. Most questions are answered from my boyfriend, and I am grateful, but sometimes I feel like he gets annoyed with me. So I'm going another route. He had warned me about my singlespeed, and urged me to try something different, but I didn't. I didn't know anything about shifting gears, and am still new to the process. He just recently bought a new bike that just blows our singlespeeds out of the water, and has me thinking about a new one as well. We went and tested some, the Trek 1.2, and 1.5 WSD and I wanted to know if there were any others to be suggested for me. Eventually, I want to be involved in triathlons, but with the amount of things I currently have on my plate, commuting is the route for me to go.

Do you need a WSD bike? My wife has the frame of a guy, WSD's aren't always needed.
Test ride all ya can, make sure they have rack/fender mounts. If you want a smooth ride or more grip in foul weather, ability to fit 32C or wider tires + fenders is a good idea. If you're not bringing it inside, keep the price down, nice bikes run a high risk of being stolen. Also, avoid suspension, on cheaper bikes it's more of a safety risk (bike nose dives under braking) and adds useless extra weight.

I'm a woman, and I don't have a WSD. Personally I'm insulted by the women's specific designs offered (pastel colours, references to "riding in style"). I find that you can get a good fit by adjusting your stem length and getting a decent women's specific seat.

WSD are frames proportionally tuned to fit a woman's body. Meaning shorter riders. But many of them can suit short men as well so its not really a gender issue.

Also, WSD may have modified shifter/levers for smaller hands. You may or may not benefit from this, but there is a real reason for WSD.

My wife's even has a complely different set of drop bars on it. Were it not for WSD, she wouldn't come close to fitting the bike she has due to the geometry differences.

My wife's a bit over 5'2"... She's got a women's-specific MTB (Gary Fisher Tassajara) and a Specialized Sequoia "normal" geometry road bike. The need for WSD depends on the particular bike and your personal "geometry" - You may or may not benefit from one.

Similar bikes are the Giant OCR series and the Specialized Allez. There's a women's version of the Allez that's called something else, but I can't remember what it is.

Of those bikes I believe the OCR might be the most commuter friendly. It has a little bit more tire clearance and a slightly more relaxed riding position.

My recommendation, especially since you're new to gears, is to stay away from the triple versions of these bikes. Or if you do get a triple, make sure you test the shifting out thoroughly on a test ride before buying it. I'd also make sure that you can reach and shift the brakes easily from both the upper and lower ("drop") position of the handlebars.

I have and like the Allez. I use it both for triathlons and commuting. Commuting can be very helpful in training for triathlons if you're strapped for time BTW. That said it's not the greatest bike for commuting if the roads in your area are really in bad shape or if you have to haul 20 lbs. of books or other stuff on your ride.

Err umm, I'm not really sure what exactly your question is.

If you are going to be competitive in any races you will need a geared bike. SS is just not efficient and probably not a good choice for a first bike as they can take experience and strength to ride. You will learn the gears quite quickly so I wouldn't be worried about that.

For the frame and other components, get whatever is comfortable for you, whether that is WSD or not.

As of right now, I'm only looking at commuting. SS is what I have because I didn't know better, I was well warned but I am stubbron. I have no problem with the strength, my endurance lacks at the moment. I got my SS a little over a year ago, experience is something I do not have. My question was what bikes would others suggest that are WSD that is good for commuting and trail?

Well, the 1.2 and 1.5's in the Trek's you listed earlier sure aren't. I'm thinking the Trek FX series in WSD, or maybe something in the Specialized lineup, since they have a lot of WSD choices.

For commuting, if you get something with a front suspension make sure it has a lockout, since you won't want the lost energy of the suspension on pavement.

My partner & I have been riding together for >25 yrs.
About four years ago she wanted a new bike for touring.
It was early fall with various sales going on.
We looked at a number of bikes at several shops, there were not many WSD models around
and none were a touring bike. I thought WSD was more of a marketing gimmick. However
we invested a lot of time changing and swapping parts to get this bike to fit just right. She
has now happily ridden this bike several thousand km.
About a month ago - one day we were out riding and she says "you know I really would like to try
a road bike". A few days later were in our LBS, who happened to have some bikes on sale. In the sales area were two almost identical bikes from the same well known maker- one a regular small [my wife is untall] and one a "WSD" small. She tried both- neither fit well. Other than a pink splash and saddle, I couldn't tell them apart. I know the LBS owner, who could see I was a little puzzled by the bikes similarity. Well I got out a tape and started to measure them. LBS owner said don't bother, they measure the same. He had already checked. She tried a couple more bikes, one was a so called WSD. The fit was just about perfect- geometry, handlebars, shifter, saddle all just fell into place; probably as well as a custom frame would. Well that bike came home with us. She has ridden it a couple hundred km now - each time she goes like the dickens and hops off that bike with a smile on her face. Point of this rambling is to echo what others have suggested - the fit is what counts; but I want to add - watch out for the bike moniker. It may not be what it seems.

Thank you :) I appreciate all the input. Everyone is different and have different tastes. I'll be looking.

Send a message to a moderator to give you access to the womens forum (if you dont' already have it). Not that this isn't the right place to ask the question, but I just think they will give you a better answer.

Around here lately all most people are capable of recommending is what they own. Since they're mostly men, they can't recommend much of anything. As evidenced by a thread full of blather about WSD.

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Things to think about... do you like the handlebars on your current bike? If you're looking to stay with a road bike, the Giant Avail line offers a wide variety of pricepoints. Most brands offer a womens line. The tough part could be finding what you want in-stock somewhere.

Thanks, I sent a message to a moderator when I first signed up, but nothing... Kinda irritated about it too. I got a few good suggestions on this thread... Lots of stories, and fashion (color and such)... Not a fan of fashion, I just want a bike that will get me to where I am going with comfort and ablility to hold up in rain/snow/all weather. My boyfriend just got a La Cruiz (which he is still yet to ride for the reasons of petals and shoes) but I want to be able to keep up with him when we go on rides and if WSD specific bikes will not do it then what will? I really like the feel of the WSD but I can always get a different seat, and narrower handle bars. Commuter bikes I found out do not have anywhere to put racks... At least the carbon ones I was looking at. Found some I really liked. That was an irritation. Also, considering I live in Portland/Metro area, road specific bikes may not be the best. Any other suggestions on this one?

You might want to look at cyclocross bikes. They have room for larger tires, fenders and racks but are still fairly light. You can throw some skinny road tires on them and have a decent road bike as well.

As for WSD, it depends on your build. My wife has a build that WSD designs tend to shoot toward. Long legs, shorter torso. When we bought her new road bike, she test rode everything the bike store had that was even close to her size - men's and women's. She ended up with a Fuji Finest 1.0 WSD which fit her like none of the men's bikes did. The key is to ride as many bikes as you can to see what works best for you.

:) Thanks.. We're also looking at Vintage bikes, some pretty cool stuff. Cyclocross bikes have been on the list, and I am opening up to the non wsd bikes. Still looking :)

I also just found somewhere that only after a month of posting that I can gain access to the womens forum... It would have been nice to have known that, but then again, who would have been able to inform me of this information?

You can write to Tom the moderator. If he can't help, no one can.