I'm 4'10" with relatively short fingers as well. For the last year, I've been riding a Trek Navigator 200 WSD, which is a comfort style bike. Unfortunately, I find it way too slow (I average about 10 mph at a comfortable level, 15 mph if I work hard). It makes my daily commute (7 miles each way mostly through ugly suburbia) somewhat frustrating. The upright position is also uncomfortable for my arms, since the position is pronounced much more than it usually would be (the handle bars have very limited adjustability while my seat is quite low to reach the pedals).
I'm looking to upgrade to a road bike or a flat-bar road bike. While I'd like the higher speed of the traditional road bike, it's possible I won't be able to reach the brake levers easily enough for the bike not to be a death trap. On the old 10-speeds, I could barely brush the bottom brake lever with the tip of my middle finger, and thus had to keep my hands on the top straight part of the bar much of the time. I'll be stopping at the local bike store one of these days to at least see if I can grip the brake levers on the newer WSD bikes. They've moved them closer on the WSD bikes nowadays as compared to the old 10-speeds, but that may still not be enough for me.
If anyone has a list of road bikes (flat-bar and regular) that are particularly suited for much shorter than normal females, It would help a lot. In particular, bikes that have closer than average brake levers, and come in smaller frame sizes. (I almost forgot to mention that riding the old Women's 10-speed involved hack-sawing part of the stem off so I could reach the pedals ;-| ). ANother factor to consider is the adjustability of the handlebar height. Oftentimes, the lowest allowed handlebar height is higher than it should be compared to the lowest allowed seat height (where I usually have to put the seat).
I'm looking to spend less than $700 (a bit more than the price for Trek's lowest end WSD road bike) if possible. The cheaper the better as long as it's a decent bike that can go a decent speed. (The only reason I don't ride an ancient 10 speed out of the classifieds is that I can't physically ride it; oh-if anyone knows if it would be both possible and feasible to have some kind of retro-fitting work done to an older bike's brake levers to solve that problem, that information would be useful too depending on the price range of potential new bikes I could fit). I'm not looking to be able to race or anything; I just want to be able to go ~ at road bike speeds.
Thanks for your help.
I'm looking to upgrade to a road bike or a flat-bar road bike. While I'd like the higher speed of the traditional road bike, it's possible I won't be able to reach the brake levers easily enough for the bike not to be a death trap. On the old 10-speeds, I could barely brush the bottom brake lever with the tip of my middle finger, and thus had to keep my hands on the top straight part of the bar much of the time. I'll be stopping at the local bike store one of these days to at least see if I can grip the brake levers on the newer WSD bikes. They've moved them closer on the WSD bikes nowadays as compared to the old 10-speeds, but that may still not be enough for me.
If anyone has a list of road bikes (flat-bar and regular) that are particularly suited for much shorter than normal females, It would help a lot. In particular, bikes that have closer than average brake levers, and come in smaller frame sizes. (I almost forgot to mention that riding the old Women's 10-speed involved hack-sawing part of the stem off so I could reach the pedals ;-| ). ANother factor to consider is the adjustability of the handlebar height. Oftentimes, the lowest allowed handlebar height is higher than it should be compared to the lowest allowed seat height (where I usually have to put the seat).
I'm looking to spend less than $700 (a bit more than the price for Trek's lowest end WSD road bike) if possible. The cheaper the better as long as it's a decent bike that can go a decent speed. (The only reason I don't ride an ancient 10 speed out of the classifieds is that I can't physically ride it; oh-if anyone knows if it would be both possible and feasible to have some kind of retro-fitting work done to an older bike's brake levers to solve that problem, that information would be useful too depending on the price range of potential new bikes I could fit). I'm not looking to be able to race or anything; I just want to be able to go ~ at road bike speeds.
Thanks for your help.