My girlfriend MTB's with me all the time. When I go on a road ride she hits the trail. She is thinking about getting a road bike. However, she is not sure if she will like it. A bike in the 500 - 700 range is what she want, but she needs a 47cm. Most common bikes in the price range are not offered in this size. i.e. Trek 1000 50cm next size down 43cm. Sure they offer the WSD, but they start around $1000. Do you ladies have any suggestions?

I don't know alot about different types of bikes, but Lovemyswift did a really good post about road bikes for women a little while back:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthrea...&threadid=31657

Hopefully, that will help, but if you need additional help, I would suggest dropping her a PM.

Koffee

Koffee the link doesn't work. I am bbarend's riding buddy and our ladies ride together they both want to become roadies, so I would like the info too.

Got the link- this one should work. I don't know why the other one doesn't work. It has more to do with how to find a bike that works for you rather than the price, but once you decide what will work for her, then you can start calling around and asking for prices to match the kind of bike you're looking for.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ht=lovemyswift

Drop me a PM if it still doesn't work.

Koffee

Hi,
my wife recently got a Bianchi Strada, a flat bar road bike. I am told the same bike is also offered with drop bars. It's a very nice bike for the money; the crank length for the 47cm is just right, for example.
If she has a couple extra bucks, swap out the wheels for something better.

Fuji Women's Finest is the best value womens road bike
https://www.fujibikes.com/road/

In terms of proportions and the component sizes, it is better than a lot of more expensive WSD type bikes.

Hi Late,
My bike is a Strada and I love it! But, I've only been riding a short time... I was wondering- what kind of wheels would you recommend upgrading to?

(Already I'm thinking of getting the drop bars put on it.)


Thanks!

Definitely get the drop bars for the Bianchi Strada.
It would get you ready for your first CycloCross race (saw your Intro thread ). Here's my Strada, built from a 2001 frame.

Very nice! I have the 2001 frame, too. It sure looks nice with those drops... But where are the shifter-thingys?

What kind of tires are those? I've never seen so few spokes. Did you have to get new brakes?

Thanks for your help!

PS Cyclocross! Oy vey!

I've already asked my non-cycling friends to just shoot me if I get to that level of depravity. ;P

Hi,
my wife has Mavic Open Pro rims with Ultegra hubs. While these are very nice wheels, I am not sure I would say that ought to be apriority right now. If you want drop bars, you will also need a new stem, and new shifters. The shifters int e pic above are called STI. They are the most common, and the brake lever acts as a shifter when pushed sideways. I have that on one bike. You could also get bar end shifters, which sit on the ends of the bars. If you do, I like the old Durace brake levers, they are more comfortable than most of the old style brake levers. You can also get down tube shifters. Super cheap and reliable, ask your dealer to show you a pair. They do involve reaching down every time you shift. But we all used those for years and years in the old days. If you want my preference, I like STI. But it's also the most expemsive. For a bar, you might look at the Salsa Poco. It is a great bar for small to medium sized hands. The stock seat on the Strada is pretty grim. You might ask your dealer if you could try a different seat. My wife uses the Terry Butterfly, my Sis uses the WTB Speed She Ti, and the Brooks B17 is a classic leather seat that a lot of people love. There are a million seats to choose from, avoid extremes like real thick or paper thin. But you can never tell until you try one. If you decide against adding drop bars, there are a lot of choices for wheels. Open Pros/Ultegra make a great value wheel. There are others. Btw, have you tried a really good tire? I asked at the shop for the best tire money could buy for a non racer. He said he liked the Vredstein Fortezza;and over half the people in the shop ride them. I tried them once, and they are really sweet. Lastly, if you are serious about major upgrading,it can get surprisingly expensive why not consider trading it in on a better bike?

Wow! Thanks for the info. I'm going to copy off your message and then sit down with my English-Cyclist dictionary to try to understand what you just said.

Interesting point about just buying a new bike...

Thank you!

I built my frame up to be a commuter bike after much time and almost as much expense (as a new bike) gathering the parts together. Unless you like wrenching or want something that's somewhat unique, a new bike is less costly. However, I ride it nearly everyday and love it because I built it. Here's the run down on "my Precious":

• 2001 Bianchi Strada frame/fork -- it's steel just like we like it, comfy and sturdy.
• Shimano Total Integration (STI) Ultegra brake/shifter levers -- shift while keeping your hands on the brake lever. I prefer STI over bar-end or down-tube shifters.
• Drop handlebar and stem -- more positions than flat bar; top of brake hoods ("on the hoods"), flat parts next to stem ("on the tops"), and bottom of the curve part ("in the drops").
• Shimano WH-R535 Wheels -- not as light as some wheels but are durable (for my 145 lbs) and looks cool.
• Bontrager Select Invert tires 700x38c -- wide for a comfortable commute, inverted tread for fast rolling, and work ok for light trail riding.
• Celeste colored Bianchi Azoto saddle and Crux seatpost -- ahh, Bello in Selle.
• Race Face Cranks 48/36 -- traditional cyclocross gearing, no triple because the STI shifters I found were double only.
• Deore XT rear/105 front derailers -- to handle an 11-32 cassette for that big hill I climb to get home.
• SPD-compatible clipless pedals, bottle cage, blinky light, and soon Planet Bike Freddy Fenders.

If you plan to take the bike off-road on anything resembling a steep downhill, you may hold off on the drop handlebars. The drops are great for on road but put you _way_ over the front wheel if the trail gets steep. Without suspension and mountain bike geometry, that gets very "exciting" unless you are very good at bike handling off-road.

A nice "comfort" road bike (with no performance compromise) is the Specialized Sequoia. There are several models and one in your price range. Nice components, carbon forks/seatposts/seat stays. Lots of praise for this bike which premiered in it's current state last year. A very nice, easily adjustable, comfortable and quick ride. Check out roadbikereview.com on this one. Year 2003 road bikes.

I have the Elite model on lay-away. Right now I am riding a Trek 7500fx, another "road bike like" hybrid. This one has gobs of reviews on roadbikereview as well. Mountain bike upright position with road bike feel on 700cc wheels. It's a very versatile ride. I really like mine.

Terry has some 2003 Symmetry's selling for $900 and Isis selling for $1400 on their website. They also have some 2001 Symmetry's selling for $675. I brought a printout of the website to my LSB and they sold me a 2002 Symmetry for $650! I'm happy!