why don't you post your measurements here and let the collective wisdom of slowtwitch help narrow your choices. you could also email companies like cervelo and yaqui bikes and they'll give you some personal guidance. as long as you get a frame that suits you reasonably well, other things can be adjusted to make it a better fit.

of course, none of this is a complete substitute for a real fitting by a real professional fitter, but that's up to you. i bought my cervelo frame after a few emails with gerard and it suits me fine (after various adjustments to stem length, seat position, etc).

spend some time investigating your purchase if you plan to spend some $$ on it.

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Marty Gaal, CSCS
One Step Beyond Coaching
Triangle Open Water Swim Series | Old School Aquathon Series
Powerstroke® Freestyle Technique DVD

<<I am in the midwest and am about 10 to 11 driving hours away from Dearborn. I'd consider doing that in a weekend, but my girlfriend wouldn't come>>

Perhaps a bike is not the only new thing you need...

"Got this here bike for my girlfriend. I sure am gonna miss her."

I think you are on the right track. you did ask what other people do when they buy a bike, so here is what I do when I buy a new bike for myself. First, I look at the bikes's geometry and dimensions. I know from years of fitting and owning many, many tri bikes what works best for me, so I have the luxury of going into the deal armed with some good knowledge. So, I look at the geometry charts. If I find a bike that looks promising I will try to measure one in person. This is where we run into problems many times. The geometry charts are often works of fiction. If, in fact, the bike does match the geometry charts and still check out I build it up. I am an anal weirdo when it comes to buildng a bike, any bike. The cable housing ends are ground and polished, the threads are chased clean, everything is surgical. I love doing that. Most of the time I build bikes after hours so there are no phone calls or distractions. Once the thing is built I put it on the trainer and translate my body positional dimensions to it. Then I'm done. Once I have it built I will break it in for a while before racing. In general I have no problems with a new bike, but I do carry a wrench with me on the first few rides just to do some tweaking. That's it. It all starts with the measurements and geometry. I have a new Guru Trilite coming soon, and that was the procedure I went through with that. I'm looking forward to getting it. Good luck with your project!

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

'I want someone with good knowledge and a good choice of bikes to pick a bike that is right for my dimensions. Is that so wrong? Let me know what you do to buy a bike.'

Go to a good shop. I don't know where you are in the Midwest, but I like Mission Bay. Got my P3 there, couldn't be happier. Two shops in the Chicago area. The carry all the bikes you mentioned and they did Dan's FIST thing. Check out they're profile on this site and their website.

Check out the P3 thread that was going on if you haven't already.

If you are considering BicycleSports in St. Paul you should check out Gear West in Long Lake (specifically ask for Kevin O'Conner). They are a dedicated tri-shop and have plenty of different bikes to check out.

I second the motion for Gear West and Kevin O'Conner. He is extremely knowledgeable and will get you fit properly on a bike.

I'm actually getting my second bike (I finally caved and jumped on the Cervelo P3 bandwagon) tomorrow from him!

EDIT: And they do carry the full line of Felt and Cervelo bikes.

Find the closest shop with a good selection and make the drive. I can't possibly imagine making as personal and nuanced of an investment as a tri bike without riding a bunch of bikes and having it set up properly. If you have to drive 24 hours -- make the trip. It'll be worth it.

SM

Not sure what you're looking to spend but I highly recommend the Felt bikes (especially the 2003 models), if they fit. A ton of bang for your buck and they are true, dedicated tri bikes. I know a lot of people on this site have a boner for Cervelo but at the price point I was looking at there was no comparison between a Felt s22 and the Cervelo Dual. If I wanted to ride 700c, I'd buy a road bike.

Thanks , everyone, for the advice. I think I'll end up going to Gear West and am excited. That is one of the options I had bouncing around in the back of my head. Hopefully some of those sale prices are still in effect. But just to answer some of you...I appreciate the offer for you to look at my dimensions that I would post, but not only am I too lazy and unenthused about learning the bike fitting in order to measure myself, but I think I am better off going to a pro and test riding a few on my own. I'm sure Gerard would be great but I'd like to keep my options open. We'll see. Also, I bought my first bike at Mission Bay and would like to try someone else out.

But a Bike Sports MI in around the Quad Cities area would solve everything! How about it?