I’m (suddenly) shopping for a new bike. I was riding an Orbea Onix with Profile aerobars and was very happy with it. But that bike is lost as of today (long story) and I’ll need something new.
I ride generally 50-100 miles per week spring through fall, mostly in groups. I race maybe 6-7 times a year. Since my riding was not focusing on racing, I just this year gave in and put the aerobars on. I love them, wished I’d had them sooner, but of course they’re not suitable for group riding and even general riding in many non-race situations.
This may be a loaded question for this forum but: given my riding pattern, is it worth it for me to make my next primary bike a tri bike vs a road bike? How difficult is it to adjust to the riding position & bar-end shifters? And to ride out of the aero position when in a group?
Either road or tri, any bike suggestions for a 5’2” female rider looking to spend $2k-$3k? (yes, I know – buy whatever fits – but given the possibly more than one brand has something that fits, what might I want to target?) I’m tempted to just replace right away with another Onix but it seems boring to do that without at least surveying the field.
Get an Elite-- I am 5’3 and ride a T-class with roady drop bars, ride that as a road bike until the last couple of weeks before a race, when I put on some clip-ons. It’s a little more $$ than 3k, but worth it, IMO. If your situation changes, you can always put on some tri bars with bar-end shifters and make it a full-on tri bike.
Before deciding on a bike, i would suggest getting a professional fitting that uses the body scan. It determines the relative lengths of the inseam and the torso. Most women have relatively short torsos, and require a shorter top tube. If that is the case for you, I would suggest a WSD (women’s specific design) bike such as the Orbea Dama. These bikes have a shorter top tube than the standard bikes.
You can use a tri-bike in some group rides. some roadies may not like it. You’ll clearly have an advantage when at the front, but you’ll probably find that you are less maneuverable when positioning yourself within the pack, especially if the course involves a lot of tight turns.
I would suggest having two bike. One with traditional road geometry for large group rides and another with tri geometry for either solo or small group rides.
Take a close look at the Orbea Dama Race. My wife is 5’2" and a real power house of a cyclist (as in strong, not big). We looked at a lot of bikes last year and finally decided on the Dama Race. She’s absolutely loving it! Comfortable, but not soft, stable, but not boring… You get the picture…
She’s riding a size 49cm. For $3k, you can get a really nice Dama Race… Or the other option would be to go down on the equipment level a step (Ultegra instead of Dura Ace) and get the Diva. That’s basically the women’s version of my bikek, the Orca. I couldn’t be happier with it!!!
I’m 5’1’’ and I ride a Calfee. I spent too many years on bikes that were just too long in the top tube, especially if I wanted a good aero position. Calfree makes a Luna which is not too expensive. As Tom Demerly pointed out-go to a bike shop and have them measure you and make suggestions THEN they are responsible for the fit-makes good sense to me.
Thanks- I’ll look at all of those. I bought the Orbea at the Bike Shop in Glen Ellyn, IL and got very good fit service, both when I bought and when I added aerobars (plug for the shop).
Before deciding on a bike, i would suggest getting a professional fitting that uses the body scan. It determines the relative lengths of the inseam and the torso. Most women have relatively short torsos, and require a shorter top tube. If that is the case for you, I would suggest a WSD (women’s specific design) bike such as the Orbea Dama. These bikes have a shorter top tube than the standard bikes.
You can use a tri-bike in some group rides. some roadies may not like it. You’ll clearly have an advantage when at the front, but you’ll probably find that you are less maneuverable when positioning yourself within the pack, especially if the course involves a lot of tight turns.
I would suggest having two bike. One with traditional road geometry for large group rides and another with tri geometry for either solo or small group rides.
Actually, this is a myth that statistically doesn’t hold up. If you look at the anthropometric data, women and men are identical, on average, when comparing leg and torso lengths (and, yes, this also includes femur lengths). The reach difference comes from arm and hand length, which a tri-optimized bike basically zeros out. Of course, no one is average, and the statistics differ somewhat from continent to continent (that’s a very general statement, but I don’t want to type forever). Reach is very much a consideration when fitting anyone - women do need a shorter reach on road bikes (on average), but the top tube length alone can’t typically make up for the difference; it must be a combination of TT & components.
This is a great way to tell if a manufacturer is actually paying attention when designing wsd bikes. If they mention the whole longer leg/shorter torso thing, they haven’t done their homework.
I am 5’ 3" and have been riding on a great bike, but I have to face the fact it is too big for me, esp. important to me in the aero position. I wanted to stay with a carbon fiber frame and the only “stock” CF frame I’ve found that fits me (this is not to imply that it fits you or anybody else), is the Felt B2 (or DA, but that gets a bit too $$$). Its a bit more than $3K, but not much. You might want to look at this bike.
I think I disagree somewhat with JM3. I am 5’3" with a long torso (16.5" back waist length) and short legs (27.5" inseam) and arms, and I spent a good two years finding a (road) bike to fit me. The reason I say “somewhat” disagreeing is that my short arms + long torso may cancel each other out in terms of reach. In any case, the WSD I tried (Trek, Specialized, Bianchi) all had bad top tube/frame size ratios for my body proportions. I have never been as uncomfortable on a bike I purchased as I became over time on my Trek WSD. Ugh.
What finally worked for me was Felt with their women’s-specific headset. I bought a 2005 F70, 650 wheels, 47 cm frame. Even that is less than you are willing to spend, and I checked their site and the best road bike of theirs with that configuration is the F85, which is even lower down the line. In the rest of the road bike line the smallest configuration is 50 cm frame and 700c wheels, which may be small enough for you. I like the fit of the bike as a compromise for road riding and tri because I sit far forward and have a nice flat back and 90-degree arm when I am in my clip-on aero bars. The women’s headset gives a nice handle angle, good reach, and comfortable position in the drops as well.
If I were to go out and spend $2-3K on a tri bike tomorrow, the first ones I’d consider are the Felt S22 or B2 and the Cannondale Ironman Slice Aero 3. I’ve tried both out on trainers at the LBS and they feel comfortable for my geometry. I have been impressed with how Cannondale has innovated their product line to appeal to smaller riders, WSD or not, but I don’t have any direct experience with any of their road bikes since they have done so. I have not tried any of the more tri-specific brands like Cervelo or Orbea, probably indicating my roadie pedigree ;-).
You don’t disagree with me at all. I speak of averages, but no one is average. Most women need a shorter reach bike, but I’ll tell you, most men are reaching too far as well, at least recreational-level riders. Still others need just the opposite - it just equates to what we already know, fit is individual. Athletic ability and flexibility come into play as well.
Aero bars negate short arm reach because they take arm reach, for the most part anyway, out of the equation. Top tube length becomes more a measure of torso length, not reach, and statistics tell us that men and women are realtively equal in that respect. That’s why wsd tri bikes aren’t necessary, but a manufacturer who wrongly believes the long leg/short torso myth might try to convince you otherwise. Again, I speak only of the average difference between men and women when it comes to reach.
“Felt women’s-specific headset?” Is that the “Fit Woman” handlebars? If so, they’re popular with women because they’re short-reach. The 47cm Felt, which I love as a great bike for women, is very small, more like a 44cm Cannondale Feminine (I think their geometries are identical, but I’m too lazy to look it up :-)). Great bikes from Felt - great company.
girl on our team shorter than you had a cannondale 650 she loved and recently got a custom Guru tri bike and kicked a lot of people’s asses this year.
For 2-3k, I second the many custom shouts here. I had a big too big for me when I first started (ironically a Guru, which I was fitted for at the factory) and two years later I met Paul Levine and got a beautiful custom Serotta. I’m not saying its all or nothing as I’m able to ride a cheap nashbar frame with minor adjustments (ie. quill stem and headtube extensions to raise the handlebars) but I wouldn’t trade my bike for anything. Elite, Yaqui (Ves Mandaric), Calfee etc. all have many supporters on this forum and a call to a fitter (instead of a bunch of strangers on the internet) will bring you much more satisfying and accountable opinions.