"Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote in message
m...
My wife is 5'-11" and has a 34" inseam, and was told that she needs a
60cm
bike. The WSF models are all too small for her, and thus she's confined
to
the men's models. I guess my question is a difficult one to answer,
since
both bikes are targeted to the same market.

Regards,
Lester

Lester: The Klein & TREK product ride very differently; subtle changes in
geometry product not-so-subtle changes in ride. With a Klein she'd go for
a
58cm (the 61cm would have too-long a top tube), while TREK it very well
might be a 60cm. Keep in mind that a 60cm TREK has a slightly-shorter top
tube than a 58cm Klein (comparing a 60cm 2300 to a 58cm Klein Aura in this
case)... yet the Klein has a slightly-longer wheelbase. There are a
number
of little things that add up to a significantly different ride. One isn't
really better than the other, with the exception of fit considerations,
and
Kleins tend to be, ahem, female hostile for many. That's unfortunate,
since
there's something about the visual presentation of the Klein that draws
women to them.

You are correct that there are no WSD (Women Specific Design) bikes in a
large enough size for her; they generally fit up to about 5'7" or so.

Your best bet is to have her ride each bike, making sure they're set up
similarly. It wouldn't be a fair comparison to test-ride a Klein with a
super-short stem and a TREK with a super-long one, and vice versa.
Cockpit
dimensions (distance from seat to bars, drop in height from seat to bars,
distance from pedals to seat and setback of seat from bottom bracket)
should
all be set the same on each bike. That way she'll be evaluating the bike,
not some random aspect of fit. And it will also show if one bike simply
can't quite be made to fit right.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com




I agree with Mike and would add that the Klein will be more stable. This
also sometimes fills the needs of women that want rock solid linear
stability at all speeds.

The Trek is also good in these aspects of handling and someone that wants
stable but quicker response to input may prefer the Trek.

This is really a tough choice. For all of the differences, these two bikes
IMO are after almost the same market and I think they (Trek) expect the
material preference and brand issues to be the biggest differentiators (is
that a word or did I make that up?). In spite of originating from very
different approaches, these two bike over time have been honed to evolve in
to almost the same niche.

It really may come down to ride preference, appearance, or concerns over
durability. I think they both have lifetime frame warranties (take note
Justin), is that correct Mike?