Sizing
 

Hi there. I'm looking to get a bike through the cycle to work scheme and have decided that a hybrid with accessories (pannier rack, etc) would be best for my needs. I've always been into cycling, albeit it recreationally and for commuting but I love it. I had a very bad ski accident away back in January and I am now ready to get a new bike (having given my bike away to my cousin).

I've been to some bike shops and have narrowed down to two bikes:

Trek 7.3 FX - I had a trek years ago and was really impressed with it.

Specialized Sirrus Sport.

I'm not sure which one I should go for; they both look very nice and ideal for what I want to use them for.

The other problem which I need advice on is sizing - I'm roughly 5'6 (168cm).

The bike shop I went to about the Specialized has said that a small frame would be ideal.

Two different bike shops have given me different size frames for the Trek bike - one shop said 15" and another shop said 17.5".

Thanks in advance for all your help.

J

You have very good taste. I know and like both bikes. I would find it very hard to choose between them myself. Luckily, both are outside my usual commute bike budget. That wasn't so helpful, was it. Maybe this would help: if the Sirrus were available in red, in your frame size... I'd call that pretty cool beans. Size is tricky. There is overlap. 5'6" (female?) isn't that small... what is someone 5' or even shorter supposed to do? Truth be told, you could probably fit a medium very well on either bike. I'm not saying the LBS guys are anything less than true children of God but they are all flesh in the end. If you had a bunch of small framed bikes in the back that weren't going out the door fast enough... ...

H