Road bikes for short people

[luisadigi]

Hi. I'm short. 145cm (4'8). I am looking for a road bike which is going to fit me properly. My bike shop has ordered in a Trek 1.2 WSD 43cm with 650 wheels. I'm going to try it out this weekend. I was just wondering if there are any other women out there who's short and what they ride or anyone with advice and what I should look out for when trying out the bike. Cheers

 

[LotteBum]

Hi. I'm short. 145cm (4'8). I am looking for a road bike which is going to fit me properly. My bike shop has ordered in a Trek 1.2 WSD 43cm with 650 wheels. I'm going to try it out this weekend. I was just wondering if there are any other women out there who's short and what they ride or anyone with advice and what I should look out for when trying out the bike. Cheers

What your main problem is likely to be is top tube length. Personally, I've done a lot of research on this subject as - although I'm nowhere near as short as you - I have a very short torso. I found that the shortest womens frames were the Treks, of which I now have a 1500 WSD which I love to bits.

Good luck with it and let us know how you go.

Lotte

 

[yherba]

I am 5' 1" and have the 43 cm, trek pilot 1.2 with 650's and its a perfect fit. I tried other bikes and brands and decided on the trek. I know some people debate over 650 vs 700 but for me the 650's give me a better center of gravity.

 

[Eden]

5' nothing - 44cm race bike with 700c wheels, 47cm rain bike with 650c wheels

At 4'8" even the Trek 43cm may be a bit big on you depending on your proportions. If you are short torso then you might have to go to a 24" wheel bike (I have a Conquest 24 cyclocross bike). Felt, Fuji, Trek and even Pinarello all make a kids model that may be a better fit than a bigger bike. Fuji also does a scaled down 650 wheel model for kids, but I don't know if it is any smaller than the smallest women's sizes.

 

[alfeng]

Check the TERRY web site to see if they have a walk-in dealer near you ...

 

[angmom]

I'm 5'2" and ride a WSD Pilot. It fits me very well and love to ride it. I have heard very good comments about Terry Bicycles also.

 

[longfemur]

I'm not a woman, and while I'm short, I'm not as short as you are... but my daughter is. It's the wheels that are the limitation for the short rider, because with 700c wheels, no matter what length they make the seat tube, in reality, all you're getting is a 51 cm bike (49 cm centre-to-centre) with a short seat tube. It can't be any smaller than this, because the head tube can't get any shorter, and neither can the horizontal length of the bike. You can never make that fit properly if you intend to ride it as a road bike. The smaller wheels help solve that. Now, 650 wheels are smaller, and so they allow the bike to be made smaller. But that being said, 4'8" is pretty short, maybe even for 650 wheels if you don't intend to ride with the handlebars higher than the seat. You might be better off with a road bike intended for a child, if you can find one.

 

[olive]

I beat you! 4 foot 10
I usually ride with smaller weels and I think Felt makes some good petite road bike!
I have one

 

[longfemur]

Keep in mind that "short" is a fairly broad range of heights. What is fine for someone 5'1" may not be for someone who is 4'8". That's a 5 inch difference! At 4'8", even 650 size wheels will be large if the rider expects to ride the bike in a road riding position. If it was me, I would definitely at least try out a 24 inch wheel road bike.

 

[ZenSojourner]

What your main problem is likely to be is top tube length. Personally, I've done a lot of research on this subject as - although I'm nowhere near as short as you - I have a very short torso. I found that the shortest womens frames were the Treks, of which I now have a 1500 WSD which I love to bits.

Good luck with it and let us know how you go.

Lotte

The shortest top tube lengths in an off-the rack bicycle are Terry's. I used to own a Trek 420 which had the shortest top tube manufactured by Trek, and it was still an inch too long for me. I've only discovered what it's like to ride a bike that fits since I bought my first Terry 3 years ago.

Terry Bicycles Main Site

Used Terry's

Unfortunately prices have gone up significantly recently. My Madeleine was $1200 when I bought it new 3 years ago; the least expensive Terry is now around $2500. However used Terry's are still very affordable - I bought my Despatch a few months ago (with upgraded shifting built into the brake levers instead of downtube shifters) for $250.

Hope that helps.

Sojourner

 

[Cheryl_L]

I am about 4'11" and seem to have short legs to boot. After riding a hybrid that was clearly too big for me and trying some bikes of other short women in my bike club, I nearly gave up cycling thinking that I'd never find a road bike that was right for my size. I tried a kid's road bike with 650 wheels and that got me thinking to search for other bikes with 650 wheels. I just bought a Giant (that's an oxymoron if I ever heard one) XXS frame with 650 wheels. Apparently the XXS corresponds to about a 41cm frame. So far I'm liking it a lot. What a difference from my hybrid. So you definitely should check out Giant. I also tried the Felt bikes, but the Giant frame is still a little smaller.

 

[longfemur]

If 650 feels better, you might like 26 inch wheels more. They are a bit shorter. 650 is not that much shorter than 700c once you put the wider tires on the rim.

 

[niftyshifty]

The shortest top tube lengths in an off-the rack bicycle are Terry's. I used to own a Trek 420 which had the shortest top tube manufactured by Trek, and it was still an inch too long for me. I've only discovered what it's like to ride a bike that fits since I bought my first Terry 3 years ago.

Terry Bicycles Main Site

Used Terry's

Unfortunately prices have gone up significantly recently. My Madeleine was $1200 when I bought it new 3 years ago; the least expensive Terry is now around $2500. However used Terry's are still very affordable - I bought my Despatch a few months ago (with upgraded shifting built into the brake levers instead of downtube shifters) for $250.

Hope that helps.

Sojourner

Checked out the Terry bikes.....really, really wish women had a wider range than that.
Sorry, but I would never ride a hideous bike called the "fast woman". Much less would I pay a few grand for it. Especially one made of steel. Surely there are better bikes for us shorties.

 

[hallotv]

Hi everybody,
this is an old thread but still interesting. I know those problems and offer a custom solution. I build "great bikes for small people". My smallest customer is 125 cm high, average is around 150 to 170 cm. Whatever size is needed or desired, I build it. Hightech steel only, as a frame, frameset or complete bike with short cranks (down to 100 mm if needed) an other stuff. Website is www.thomas-veidt.de. An english version with updated pics is coming, too much work up to now.

Spring is coming! (Here in Germany)

Thomas

 

[SmallPackage]

Thomas, I just went to your website and it's still not offering English. Can you build me a bike? I am @ 4' 10" or so (58 inches or 147cm). My son is currently in Germany and I will be visiting in spring. What city do you work out of? Thanks! :smile:

 

[SmallPackage]

I am new to this forum. I bumbled upon it while doing research for petite women's bicycles. Many years ago, in high school and college, I road a 10-speed bicycle many miles to and from school. The bike was a St Etienne and was the best the store could do for me in the late 1960s. Since then, a niche has opened for women's bikes (yay!). I priced the Terry bikes in the 1980s, but with 4 kids I couldn't afford one. I just priced them again, and I just can't put out that much cash for a bike that I want to ride for pleasure and exercise (too bad I missed buying one before the prices went up!). I am turning 60 on February 4th. I have looked at all of the bikes suggested in this thread and am wondering if there is anything else that I can look at? Thanks to all for taking the time to give advise to the lady who originally asked for help. :embarrassed:

 

[alfeng]

How tall are you? Do you remember the size of your St. Etienne?

• Do you still have it?!?

Did it have Drop handlebars? Did it seem comfortable? Do you want your 'new' bike to have Drop handlebars? What kind of riding do you anticipate? Are you or is anyone in your household semi-handy? What is your estimated budget? BTW. Hope you have a Happy 60th Birthday!

 

[SmallPackage]

alfeng, this is my 3rd attempt at answering your post to me. The browser on my iPad keeps getting booted closed, so I'm switching over to my new laptop with Windows 8.

I loved my St Etienne bicycle. It was beautiful and well designed aerodynamically. Lovely shade of blue-green. I don't remember what happened to it after all these years. It could be something horrible, so I would rather not think about it. The things that occur when you are poor are not cool at all. It wasn't the best size for me. Even back then when I was just a shade under 5 feet, I had to hop up onto the seat and off. I couldn't reach the ground. My St Etienne was flown from Los Angeles to Southern Florida, back to Los Angeles, then driven to Orlando, then to Upstate New York where I have been for decades now. After repairing and refurbishing the bike back in 1974, someone broke into our shed where it was stored and stripped it. We couldn't afford to fix it again. It was like watching one of my children get badly injured. It really hurt me. After that I didn't have a bike for a long time. Then I went to a bike shop one day looking for a Terry bike and was talked into buying a crappy used bike by the shop owner. The stupid thing fell apart on my first time out, about a mile from home. The St Etienne had drop handlebars which were great for me at 16 through 21 or so. But I would rather have my handlebars up now (regular handlebars?). Riding here in the country for me is interesting. Our dirt road is very steep and goes 150-200 feet from the end of our driveway down to the state road. The state road is busy with cars, trucks and buses going 55-70 mph. Then a mile to a quiet county road. I can either stay on the county road or turn onto another steep dirt road up into the hills. It's lovely up in the hills and you can go on forever. Coming back home I will have to push my bike up the hill to my driveway, unless there's a bike made that I could ride up (if I could ever be strong enough!). I have had fibromyalgia for most of my life and it will take a long time to get strong again. My budget will be no more than $1,500 at the most (thanks to my mother who just passed and left a bit for my twin and me). My husband used to be handy around the house and he helped me with bike repairs too. But he doesn't have that kind of time anymore since his hours were increased at his job. It will be nice when he can retire, but that won't be for another 4 years or more.

Thank you for the birthday sentiment! I'm approaching a new era of my life. After all the things I have been through, I find it amazing that I have made it this far. So I might as well make an attempt at being as healthy as I possibly can. Thank you for all your help!

 

[alfeng]

Your maximum projected budget means that your options are almost endless ...

If I were on a moderately tight budget, then I would look at the base model of the JAMIS CODA [I like the idea of being able to choose any tire size and/or to have the option of installing fenders ... most "Road" bikes can only accommodate a 700x28 tire ... many Road forks can only accommodate a 700x25 tire] & upgrade components on as needed for practical or cosmetic (!?!) reasons ...

I just looked, and Jamis has a "femme" line which includes two Coda models

http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/femme.html

http://www.myjamis.com/SSP%20Applications/JamisBikes/MyJamis/consumer/bike.html?year=2014&model=Coda%20Sport%20Femme&cat_grp=fem_6

http://www.myjamis.com/SSP%20Applications/JamisBikes/MyJamis/consumer/bike.html?year=2014&model=Coda%20Comp%20Femme&cat_grp=fem_6

• I think it may be worth the premium for the "comp" model ($730 MSRP) over the "sport" model ($540 MSRP), BTW.

I am sure that Trek/(et al) probably has comparable bikes.

BTW. A 700x32 tire will have approximately the same circumference as the 27" tires which your St. Etienne had ....

Although 700c wheels are generally more efficient (less rotations per mile), if you aren't keen on that wheel size and would prefer a smaller wheel (e.g., 26"), then you may want to consider a vintage Hardtail MTB {<$200 ... probably, <$100 if you look around} which has a RIGID fork which can be easily rigged with "Road Slicks" & updated with components on an as needed basis OR to cobble up a new Hardtail from scratch ...

• This is an NYCBike frame (~$100) with 26" wheels (54cm top tube) being set up for Road riding (rear calipers + cables not installed) ...

​

​

​

I do not know the range of available frame sizes, off hand.

As with the above NYCBike frame, the CODA/-type bikes can be changed to a Drop Bar bike for $200+ (Campagnolo shifters + cables/housing + either cantilever brake calipers or mini-V-Brake calipers + Drop Handlebars & handlebar tape) + a modest amount of DIY time.

 

[hallotv]

Hi, you are rigth, sorry for making promises and not keeping them :-(. Too much work with framebuilding, consulting and Ironman training .
The good news is that I can offer alumuminium frames too, if desired or for weight reasons.

I live and work in Hettenhain now, located 50 kms west of Frankfurt/Main.

What kind of frame or bike do you want? Comuting, road, mtb...? What kind of bike do you ride now?
Any preferences, do`s or don`ts?
Any troubles/problems that occur at the moment?

What is your home country?

Regards from Australia,

Thomas