Conference noted::bicycle

    The ATB is not your only choice. Most shops carry what is called
    a 'City Bike', which is pretty much a medium priced 10speed with
    upright bars and a sprung saddle. The tires are medium width, and
    have enough tread to tolerate glass and potholes. These are available
    with mixte frames if stepover height is a problem.
    
    If you aren't going to ride off-road, the ATBs knobby tires will
    be less stable on pavement. A good ATB is going to run some $$,
    too.
    
    Also, I'll give you the 10sp pitch; try a good one, that fits you,
    before you reject it. A lot of discomfort on 10sp's is due to poor
    fit; women especially suffer from too long a stem/top-tube combination.
    If you try it and still don't like it, by all means get a bike you'll
    be comfortable on.
    
    Paul Randazzo at Category 1 in Tyngsboro, Ma has a range of bikes
    you may be interested in; Diamondback ATBs, Nishiki Citibike, and
    various levels of touring and high-performance 10sp's. Paul's bias
    is toward high-perf, but if you explain your needs, he'll go along
    and show you what's available. He's also one of the best in the
    area at fitting people to bikes.

    Thanks for the tip on City Bikes.  I had never heard of them and
    after looking around, this looks like just the thing.  But next
    question, what is a good fit?  I still have yet to be in a bike
    shop where they are willing to admit that there is anything more
    to fit than whether or not I can straddle the frame and after reading
    topic 40, I don't feel very good about this.  Is there a question
    or two I can ask about fit so that I don't get sold a bill of goods?
    
    Thanks again,
    
    Susan

    I guess 'being comfortable' on the bike is the bottom line, but
    there are a few specific things you can look at.
    
    The pedal assembly is the non-adjustable part of the bike, so all
    adjustments have to be relative to it. A good approximation of saddle
    height can be made by sitting on the saddle with your heel on the
    pedal. Adjust the saddle height until your knee has just a slight
    bend in it. Note that this is much higher than you may have become
    used to on your old 3sp. Now rotate the pedal assembly so that the
    crank arms are horozontal. Adjust the saddle fore/aft until the
    front of your knee is directly above the center of the pedal. If
    the bike has upright handlebars, you can probably tolerate the saddle
    being somewhat farther back if you run out of adjustment. So much
    for the easy stuff.
    
    I guess I should have started with frame size. A good approximation
    is your inseam length - 9 inches. Note that this will give you a
    smaller frame than many shops (especially dept. stores) will suggest.
    Women especially should avoid being pushed into a larger frame.
    
    When you sit on the saddle, with the balls of your feet over the
    center of the pedals, you should be able to swing your arms forward
    (elbows somewhat bent) as you lean forward, and have your hands
    hit the bars at the grip area. You should then be able to sit fairly
    comfortably with your hands on the bars. The only ways to adjust
    this reach are changing to a longer or shorter stem, or selecting
    a frame with a different top tube length. The width of the bars
    should be equal to or a little wider than the width of your shoulders.
    
    Any production frame is made to serve a wide variety of body
    proportions. Most frames are sized to fit men, expecting somewhat
    short legs and a somewhat long upper body. Women frequently have
    a tough time fitting such bikes, since they tend toward longer legs
    and shorter upper bodies. Small frames also tend to have top tubes
    that are even longer, to provide pedal/front wheel clearance. Some
    of the Japanese bikes are real bad in this respect, since they also
    try for a long wheelbase to promote stability and a soft ride.
    
    Dropped bars on a long stem set low will put more weight on your arms and
    hands; upright bars on a short stem set high will put more weight
    on the saddle. Racers like to put more weight on the front wheel,
    casual riders like to sit more upright, with more weight on the
    saddle. Thus racers use hard, narrow saddles, while upright riders
    tend to favor wide soft saddles.
    
    I'm sorry you've had such bad luck at the shops you've been to.
    Fit is certainly more than straddling the top tube.
    
    One of the reasons I suggest Category 1 is that Paul is very much
    involved with the local racers, and is very aware of the problems
    of fitting. He charges a reasonable fee to measure you in detail
    using the NECA FitKit (tm), which is a pretty good system for fitting.
    Of course, unless you want a custom frame, some compromises will
    have to be made. Drop by sometime, he's open until 8pm thurs and
    fri, and is open till 5 on Saturday. He's only 10-15 minutes from
    Nashua, too.
    
    Best of luck
    
    	- Bill
     
    
     

I want to thank all of you who responded to my note both here and via
mail.  I really do appreciate the help you offered and feel better
about the decisions I made for it.  Which is to say, I finally did buy
a bike.

It is a Panasonic Villager DX 10 speed which I believe falls into the
general class of commuter/recreational bike with upright handle bars,
thumb shifters, and medium fat tires (1.75).

I think it is reasonable well made, with alloy wheels and Shimano
components, and I feel fairly certain that it is appropriate for the
amount/type of riding I intend to do.  I bought it at Goodale's and
they treated very well.

Thanks again,

Susan