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What bike would you buy......
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I am dreaming of upgrading to a triathlon bike. There are so many options out there it's hard to know where to start.

If you were a 5'3" woman, with limited budget, what bike would you get (easily available in Europe)?

(I'd like disc brakes if poss and to keep the price as reasonable as poss - not easy).
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Post deleted by Anna s [ In reply to ]
Re: What bike would you buy...... [Anna s] [ In reply to ]
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Anna s wrote:
Hey Island,

Have a look at Canyon in the outlet section, they've got a Speedmax CF 7.0 in XS. Not too sure what your budget is, it's reduced by 400€ to 2599€

Good find. Thanks! Do Canyon have dealers? Not sure about sizing and buying online.

Uggh why are nice bikes so expensive!!!
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Re: What bike would you buy...... [Island] [ In reply to ]
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I'm a 5'3" woman with a 51cm Felt IA - although all my height is in my torso, so you could be a 48cm depending on how you're built! If you don't consider disc brakes a showstopper, I'd be looking at the used market for a deal. I don't know what the marketplace looks like in Europe, unfortunately.

I believe Canyon is only direct-to-consumer, but from what I have seen in the main forum their customer service is typically pretty great.
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Re: What bike would you buy...... [UK2ME] [ In reply to ]
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UK2ME wrote:
I'm a 5'3" woman with a 51cm Felt IA - although all my height is in my torso, so you could be a 48cm depending on how you're built! If you don't consider disc brakes a showstopper, I'd be looking at the used market for a deal. I don't know what the marketplace looks like in Europe, unfortunately.

I believe Canyon is only direct-to-consumer, but from what I have seen in the main forum their customer service is typically pretty great.

Thanks. I'm the opposite, long legs short torso.
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Re: What bike would you buy...... [Island] [ In reply to ]
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Island wrote:
UK2ME wrote:
I'm a 5'3" woman with a 51cm Felt IA - although all my height is in my torso, so you could be a 48cm depending on how you're built! If you don't consider disc brakes a showstopper, I'd be looking at the used market for a deal. I don't know what the marketplace looks like in Europe, unfortunately.

I believe Canyon is only direct-to-consumer, but from what I have seen in the main forum their customer service is typically pretty great.


Thanks. I'm the opposite, long legs short torso.

If you can find one, a Specialized Shiv might work well for you; they're "short and high" in terms of their fit. I really wanted a Cervelo P3, but was right in between sizes. It really is hard to get right without physically trying. Good luck finding your new bae!
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Re: What bike would you buy...... [Island] [ In reply to ]
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Long winded reply - but the short and sweet is to buy a bike that FITS! Brand does not matter.


Honestly I'd spend the cash and get a proper professional bike fit FIRST. See what your measurements are and then see what bikes are out there that could fit you. Then - find a bike within your budget meeting that criteria. I'm 160cm tall but I have shorter legs (my inseam is 75cm). I am usually constrained by the standover height of bikes because its uncomfortable and generally a pain in the ass (pun intended) to smash your junk against the top tube of bikes repeatedly. ;)

I know my ideal stack and reach measurements as well as other things like how far I like my saddle above the handlebars (how aggressive your position is), how high I want the aerobar pads, etc.

The REALLY important thing to know is that some bikes have very limited adjustability in the front end of the bike (the stem,etc) and you really don't want to go into a bike with a completely integrated stem that can't be adjusted higher / lower unless you know that the bike will be a perfect fit for you. There are things you can do to raise/lower the aerobar bads, but you have to be content where the base bar is (height wise). To give you a real world example of what I'm talking about - look up the Quintana Roo PR6 stem and see what it looks like versus the one on the PR4 or PR55. The PR 4 or PR5 have more of a standard looking stem that you could swap out if needed for one that is at a steeper/flatter angle (in order to raise the base handlebars up or lower them down), and you can put spacers below as well. The PR6 has an integrated stem with limited flexibility in that height adjustment. Bikes like Canyon Speedmax fall into this same category of limited adjustability (many others as well).

I say all of the above because I didn't listen to my gut when I got excited about getting a new triathlon bike a few years ago. The bike fell into the "non adjustable" front end variety and it turns out in hindsight, it "fit" but only at the extreme aggressive end of my fit range. (I had been professionally fit and still made this mistake!) What that meant is that I felt like I was going to fall over the handlebars when I was riding it and holding onto the bullhorns. I was super comfortable in the aerobar pads, but if I wanted to sit up and have a break, the only option to do so was to sit up and hold onto the aerobar pads. I live in the Northeast US, and my races often are hilly. I dont want to feel like I'm falling over the handlebars on a steep descent. So - I bought the bike on advice that I would "get used to the aggressive position" - continued to feel like I might crash any moment - and then sold it at a giant loss a few months after.
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Re: What bike would you buy...... [mtrichick] [ In reply to ]
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mtrichick wrote:
Long winded reply - but the short and sweet is to buy a bike that FITS! Brand does not matter.


Honestly I'd spend the cash and get a proper professional bike fit FIRST. See what your measurements are and then see what bikes are out there that could fit you. Then - find a bike within your budget meeting that criteria. I'm 160cm tall but I have shorter legs (my inseam is 75cm). I am usually constrained by the standover height of bikes because its uncomfortable and generally a pain in the ass (pun intended) to smash your junk against the top tube of bikes repeatedly. ;)

I know my ideal stack and reach measurements as well as other things like how far I like my saddle above the handlebars (how aggressive your position is), how high I want the aerobar pads, etc.

The REALLY important thing to know is that some bikes have very limited adjustability in the front end of the bike (the stem,etc) and you really don't want to go into a bike with a completely integrated stem that can't be adjusted higher / lower unless you know that the bike will be a perfect fit for you. There are things you can do to raise/lower the aerobar bads, but you have to be content where the base bar is (height wise). To give you a real world example of what I'm talking about - look up the Quintana Roo PR6 stem and see what it looks like versus the one on the PR4 or PR55. The PR 4 or PR5 have more of a standard looking stem that you could swap out if needed for one that is at a steeper/flatter angle (in order to raise the base handlebars up or lower them down), and you can put spacers below as well. The PR6 has an integrated stem with limited flexibility in that height adjustment. Bikes like Canyon Speedmax fall into this same category of limited adjustability (many others as well).

I say all of the above because I didn't listen to my gut when I got excited about getting a new triathlon bike a few years ago. The bike fell into the "non adjustable" front end variety and it turns out in hindsight, it "fit" but only at the extreme aggressive end of my fit range. (I had been professionally fit and still made this mistake!) What that meant is that I felt like I was going to fall over the handlebars when I was riding it and holding onto the bullhorns. I was super comfortable in the aerobar pads, but if I wanted to sit up and have a break, the only option to do so was to sit up and hold onto the aerobar pads. I live in the Northeast US, and my races often are hilly. I dont want to feel like I'm falling over the handlebars on a steep descent. So - I bought the bike on advice that I would "get used to the aggressive position" - continued to feel like I might crash any moment - and then sold it at a giant loss a few months after.

Interesting that you consider yourself to have short legs. I'm 163cm with inseam of 77 and always considered my legs long in comparison to my torso. When I contacting canyon about sizing, the rep queried my inseam as she said it seemed very long for my height. That said, I have to be careful with top tubes too, and generally am always looking at an XS frame for this.

I'm a little confused about bike fits without a bike. They are not at all cheap, if going without a bike, do you end up paying for 2 fits, one before for advice and one once you have the bike to adjust it?
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Re: What bike would you buy...... [Island] [ In reply to ]
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Bike fits should be done on a fit bike, one that adjusts every way possible (including crank length). No constraints of bike brand or limitations. Yes they are expensive but worth every last penny. Most fitters will have you pay for it, and then give a free post purchase fit to set you up on the new bike.

I always recommend people go get a fit somewhere that has no affiliation with a certain brand of bike so there is no pressure to make whatever brand the store sells work for you.

Also - your inseam is a full 2 cm longer than mine at the same height. I can tell you that I struggle with standover on the smallest bike for MOST bike brands with my 75cm inseam. Preferably a bike for me would have a standover less than 72cm (75cm is truly all the way up in my crotch). This is especially true if looking for a gravel bike. In some brands I could barely fit on a XXS. The minimum standover on most was 75-76cm.
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