goagain

Saw two more posts after I replied.
Thanks for pointing out the LLB gear thing. I probably need all the help I can get on the hills!

Re the pedals forward thing: Does the Sedona also have those? This is a little confusing to me, because no way could I have sat on the Cypress saddle yesterday and even tippy toes touched the ground. The saddle could probably be lowered, and the BS (hee hee) guy said it looked too tall for me, but I don't think I could have come close to doing that. I do want to ride them; I just had no luck with that at the BS yesterday. I didn't get to sit on it, much less ride it. I hope to have better luck at BS#2.

Thanks all!

goagain

Bella--Thanks for the suggestion to phone cust service, and for sharing your experiences with steel/alum and the wheels. Maybe I can persuade Giant to tell me the weight if I mention the BS said it would weigh at least 40 pounds!

How are the 700c's for hill climbing? I'm not concerned with speed but need to get up those hills. And I'm short. Thanks

teicher

Sorry, wasn't implying that you should have to know if the designers made good choices, really meant that you have to look at the bike as a whole, not just at the material used for one of many parts. These bikes are made by Giant, a company that makes good bikes for their own brand and manufacturers bikes for other well known brands. Giant has been making aluminum frames for a very long time, they know what they are doing. Heck, I have a entry level Giant commuter bike with an Al frame and no suspension and I love it. It's perfect for what I do (riding around for fun and to run quick errands on pavement), which is very similar to what you want to do. The thought that the aluminum was delivering a harsh ride has never once crossed my mind. As for your question about the suspension forks, I don't think are on those bikes because of the alum frame, I think they're on those bikes for marketing purposes.

Don't over think and over research this, just go to the other shop and test ride them.

goagain

Thanks, will try to do that.
But why are the susp forks on all of the alum ones and never on the steel ones, that I've found?

Scooby214

Good question. Other than cheap Wal-Mart or Target steel bikes, most steel bikes have a good enough ride that most cyclists don't need them. Also keep in mind that wider tires (like the ones that come on the Sedona) absorb road impacts as well and help to negate the need for a susp. fork.

I can't answer with any certainty about the aluminum frames having suspension forks, but they usually are on an increased price version of a bike than the ones that have rigid forks. Perhaps (warning: conspiracy theory) the manufacturers make more money by adding the susp fork and increasing the bike's price.

teicher

Jamis makes an Al frame with a hi ten steel fork (Hudson 1) and a steel bike with a suspension fork (Explorer 1). I think it's all about price point and product positioning, not about the frame material.

Scooby214

+1 This is what I couldn't find the words to say above.

qmsdc15

No and the Cypress doesn't either. Both have steep 73º seat tube angles (74º on the XS size Cypress).

Burton

Couldn`t get the `personal experience` kind of information I was hoping for because apparently there are differences between the American and Canadian models and a cromoly frame isn`t even offerred in Canada - which is a shame.

I did spend a 12 hour day at McWhinnies on Sherbrooke St in Montreal yesterday and although my work keeps me busy most of the day - Tom managed to chase me down a Giant Cypress in a size small in both the rigid cromoly fork version (Cypress R W in Canada) and the suspension front end (Cypress W in Canada).

As expected - the rigid frint end is slightly lighter - the stanchion tubes in the front end of the suspension are steel and easily weigh as much as the entire cromoly fork on the R model. The good news is that either model weighs less than 26lbs. The front end on the rigid model definately behaves better when braking hard. The suspension version of the Cypress is listed on the floor at $415 and the Cypress R W (rigid) is listed at $350CDn.

In spite of the low prices - the entire Giant line is an excellent value and quality. Giant makes some frames for a number of other companies including Trek and Kona so buying a Giant brand will get you more for your money in most cases.

Apparently the cromoly version of the Sedona and even the rigid fork models are distributed in Canada so I can`t give some direct info. However the Via models have cromoly frames and by Sunday I should be able to get you a weight on an equivalent - which I am expecting to me less than 30lbs.

JacktheFlash

My gf rides a Sedona w/26" wheels and it is not a paperweight. Specially compared to my LHT, lol
I don't think the Sedona weight is a big deal.

Fiery

Did the tyres on both bikes have the same tread, pressure and width?

goagain

Re being about price point: These are all cheapies as bike shop bikes go: $400 and $330, not a lot of difference in $$.
The BS guy weighed the Cypress with the suspen fork and said it weighed 33 lbs, size S. ???
i tried to phone Giant, but by that time they were closed. Missed it today, too, but will definitely try to phone.

Yet another question: Are the bottom brackets, etc. the same distance from the ground on the Sedonas and Cypresses, in the same size? Still thinking I need to be sort of low to the ground if possible. Someone on another thread said the Sedonas are higher off the ground because they are a little more like mountain bikes, and the Cypresses would be lower to the ground because they are a little more like road bikes. ???

Who knew this was so complicated? (not that I can even locate these bikes, and when I do find one, I can't even try to sit on it) *sigh*

derf36

Actually, it doesn't need to be as complicated as you are making it. Trust me, I can sympathize as I'm a bit of an over researcher myself. I'd suggest you pull back a bit, go sit on a couple of bikes and pull the trigger. I suspect you know yourself that you are over thinking this.

Good luck and enjoy this bike process, don't agonize over it.

goagain

"Go sit on a couple of bikes" is the problem. That is proving hard to do! If I have to order one without even seeing it I need info. Thanks--

goagain

Visited BS#2 and had a better experience, but they didn't have any bikes in my size or the next larger size, so I still didn't get to try one. I'll go back after they get a new shipment of bikes in.
Also considering the Trek 7000 WSD, will do a new thread. This never ends...

goagain

I spoke with someone at Giant today and will pass on the info he provided to me:

The cromo/rigid fork Cypress ST W would NOT weigh close to 40 pounds. He would not give exact weights but said the cromo model would only weigh "a little" more than the alum/suspension fork model. (BS#1 did give me BS.)

For riding on pavement or smooth dirt, I do not need a suspension fork. (BS#1 did not get this memo!)

He recommended the Cypress ST over the Sedona ST for me, saying the larger wheels (700c) are more stable once they are rolling, and take small bumps better.

Suggested I get a helmet.

Said the Cypress in size XS fits heights from 5'2" through 5'4", so I would need size XS.

Hoping I can eventually locate one in size XS to try. Thanks for all the helpful posts!

Scooby214

Armed with this information, perhaps you will be able to get one of the shops to order a Cypress ST for you if it isn't in stock. It is a really good bike for your planned purpose.

goagain

@Scooby-- Yes, BS#2 said he would order one when he places a new order in a few weeks. He first said I could special-order it, but I would have to pay the shipping and a restocking fee if it didn't work out. I didn't want to do that, so I will just wait until he has one in the shop. I like this shop much better than BS#1, and it irks me that BS#1 is giving false info to customers about the cromo models.
I'm glad you think this will be a good bike for me. As you can tell I am very hesitant about all this. Thanks, all! This forum has been very helpful to me.

goldfinch

Like you, I had trouble finding bikes with small enough frames to try out. Unlike you, I had a number of great bike shops willing to help. One of them had a very small bike that would likely fit. They held it for me for two weeks, when I was next in town, for me to try. I had to put a deposit on it but they agreed that if I did not like the bike it would be refundable. Nice, eh?

Another bike shop actually built up a bike for me to try. I did not have to pay anything.

Another bike shop said they would order in a bike for me and if I didn't want it, they would just sell it to someone else. No issues.

As a result, even though I am only 4'11" tall I was able to try several different very small bikes and actually had a hard time choosing between some very good choices.

Sorry that you do not have more cooperative bike stores in your area. I shopped in two areas. One was in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Given the large metro area I can understand that dealers would not be too worried about being stuck with something they couldn't sell. But I also shopped in Iowa City, Iowa, which is a midsized town. The dealers there were equally cooperative.

Oh, and every bike store was willing for me to go on as long of a test ride as I wanted. I just had to leave my drivers license and a credit card and go. For miles and miles.

Good luck.