…another Craigslist find for $60, a 90’s model Georgena Terry Symmetry teal road bike. I bought this for my wife from a very sweet women who clearly had a hard time parting with this bicycle as it had been the bike that reinvigorated her interest in cycling and she wanted to be sure that the bike was going to a good home. She had bought it second hand from a bike shop in North Carolina, but based on the sticker on the frame, it was originally sold new at a bike shop in Delaware.

For those not familiar with Terry bicycles, the company was founded by Georgena Terry in 1985. Georgena was a female cyclist who recognized that there was a need for a bicycle designed specifically for women. Whereas road bikes of the day were designed with a man’s torso in mind, the Terry bicycle’s geometry was designed to suit the smaller female rider with a shorter top tube length that took into account more the petite female body proportions. Terry bikes are still being produced in Vermont on very limited semi-custom made production runs. Smaller framed models like this one sport a 24″ front wheel and 26″ rear wheel. This keeps the bicycle crank from nicking the tires when turning. This particular bike’s stock down-tube shifters have been upgraded with STi brifters for its 21 speed transmission. The bike is a 19.5″ tange 1 chromoly double butted seamless steel tubed frame with Shimano Deore LX components and Shimano SLX caliper brakes. This particular model replaced the Despatch model in 1989 and retailed for around $900 when new (with inflation this would be the equivalent of $1700 in 2014). Great bike, the wife rode it for the first time today to dinner and loves it. I’m now a little jealous of her ride.