what bike for my short wife?

[blokedownpub]

Hi,

My wife is going to join me on a sponsored cycle ride this year from
paris to the south of england and i want to get her the right bike.
We're looking for a second hand bike so haven't been to a bike shop.
Feel a bit guilty wasting an experts time when not intending to buy.

The problem we have is that My wife is just short of 5 feet tall. I
measured her inside leg and it's about 60cm. (appologies for mixing
imperial and metric).

So basically I'm looking for advice on the size of bike to get and the
best type. Last year i did the ride on a mountain bike with road tyres
but want to get her something as light as possible to make it as easy
as possible.

All help greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
G.

 

[Rob Morley]

In article <[email protected]>,
blokedownpub
[email protected] says...
> Hi,
>
> My wife is going to join me on a sponsored cycle ride this year from
> paris to the south of england and i want to get her the right bike.
> We're looking for a second hand bike so haven't been to a bike shop.
> Feel a bit guilty wasting an experts time when not intending to buy.
>
> The problem we have is that My wife is just short of 5 feet tall. I
> measured her inside leg and it's about 60cm. (appologies for mixing
> imperial and metric).
>
> So basically I'm looking for advice on the size of bike to get and the
> best type. Last year i did the ride on a mountain bike with road tyres
> but want to get her something as light as possible to make it as easy
> as possible.
>
>
Probably best to go for something with 24" wheels, as women tend to have
proportionately longer legs and shorter reach for their height and it's
a problem getting a short enough reach on a small frame with 26"/700C
wheels. She's also going to want short cranks, which are more commonly
fitted with 24" wheels. I wouldn't worry too much about weight - get
the fit and comfort right, get some free-rolling tyres (they don't have
to be particularly narrow) and get plenty of training.
Alternatively, get a tandem.

 

[David Martin]

On Feb 2, 10:17 pm, Rob Morley <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> blokedownpub
> [email protected] says...
>
> > Hi,
>
> > My wife is going to join me on a sponsored cycle ride this year from
> > paris to the south of england and i want to get her the right bike.
> > We're looking for a second hand bike so haven't been to a bike shop.
> > Feel a bit guilty wasting an experts time when not intending to buy.
>
> > The problem we have is that My wife is just short of 5 feet tall. I
> > measured her inside leg and it's about 60cm. (appologies for mixing
> > imperial and metric).
>
> > So basically I'm looking for advice on the size of bike to get and the
> > best type. Last year i did the ride on a mountain bike with road tyres
> > but want to get her something as light as possible to make it as easy
> > as possible.
>
> Probably best to go for something with 24" wheels, as women tend to have
> proportionately longer legs and shorter reach for their height and it's
> a problem getting a short enough reach on a small frame with 26"/700C
> wheels. She's also going to want short cranks, which are more commonly
> fitted with 24" wheels. I wouldn't worry too much about weight - get
> the fit and comfort right, get some free-rolling tyres (they don't have
> to be particularly narrow) and get plenty of training.
> Alternatively, get a tandem.

60cm inside leg is very short for that height.

Have a look at the Islabikes Beinn 24. Also the Giant MTX 250 which
is what my son has.

It can also be worth looking at a WSD Giant in XS size. My 10 yo
daughter has just got a Boulder and it is really quite compact but
with full size (26")wheels..

...d

 

[Nigel Cliffe]

blokedownpub wrote:
> Hi,
>
> My wife is going to join me on a sponsored cycle ride this year from
> paris to the south of england and i want to get her the right bike.
> We're looking for a second hand bike so haven't been to a bike shop.
> Feel a bit guilty wasting an experts time when not intending to buy.
>
> The problem we have is that My wife is just short of 5 feet tall. I
> measured her inside leg and it's about 60cm. (appologies for mixing
> imperial and metric).
>
> So basically I'm looking for advice on the size of bike to get and the
> best type. Last year i did the ride on a mountain bike with road tyres
> but want to get her something as light as possible to make it as easy
> as possible.

S/hand, but you'll have to search hard for one. Orbit Mercury.

My other half has one, similar stature to your wife.
The bike has 26in MTB wheels, a very short frame, short cranks (choice of
150 or 160 when we got ours), choice of flat bars or drops, shorter reach
brake levers, etc.. AFAIK, they are no longer offered by Orbit.
When new, they were a little over 500 quid, a bit expensive for the parts on
them, but when nobody else offered the combination and the small frame, it
was much cheaper than a custom built machine.


The Isla's suggested by others might be a possibility.

Another might be one of the better (and thus more expensive) folding
machines; they tend to be a bit shorter front-to-back than a typical
upright, and thus might fit better. However, you'll still have to change
the cranks to shorter ones.

The money-no-object route is custom made; I've seen some exquisite machines
by Roberts for example. But your budget would need to be well over £1000.


If you go down the route of "roading" a MTB, watch the overall length and
thus stretch to the handlebars, and you'll have to change the cranks to
shorter ones (probably the most expensive parts change you will make).




- Nigel




--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

 

[Rob Morley]

In article <[email protected]>,
David Martin
[email protected] says...
> > In article <[email protected]>,
> > blokedownpub
> > [email protected] says...
> >
> > > The problem we have is that My wife is just short of 5 feet tall. I
> > > measured her inside leg and it's about 60cm. (appologies for mixing
> > > imperial and metric).
> >
>
> 60cm inside leg is very short for that height.
>
I'm betting he measured her trousers, not her real leg length.

 

[Clive George]

"blokedownpub" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
> My wife is going to join me on a sponsored cycle ride this year from
> paris to the south of england and i want to get her the right bike.
> We're looking for a second hand bike so haven't been to a bike shop.
> Feel a bit guilty wasting an experts time when not intending to buy.
>
> The problem we have is that My wife is just short of 5 feet tall. I
> measured her inside leg and it's about 60cm. (appologies for mixing
> imperial and metric).
>
> So basically I'm looking for advice on the size of bike to get and the
> best type. Last year i did the ride on a mountain bike with road tyres
> but want to get her something as light as possible to make it as easy
> as possible.

My short wife is a little taller than you, at just over 5 feet tall.

Her favourite bike is her Claude Butler Dalesman/Black Diamond (SJSC special
version I think) touring bike - 19" frame, 700c wheels, 170mm cranks, ie all
perfectly normal gear. She gets 160mm cranks on the tandems, but that's also
to cope with our preferred cadences.
(her other bike is a brompton, and her opinions on the greatness of it while
riding differ somewhat from the majority view here )

cheers,
clive

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>,
blokedownpub ('[email protected]') wrote:

> My wife is going to join me on a sponsored cycle ride this year from
> paris to the south of england and i want to get her the right bike.
> We're looking for a second hand bike so haven't been to a bike shop.
> Feel a bit guilty wasting an experts time when not intending to buy.
>
> The problem we have is that My wife is just short of 5 feet tall. I
> measured her inside leg and it's about 60cm. (appologies for mixing
> imperial and metric).

At that height a specifically designed-for-women frame really matters.
Women have different proportions - shorter torso, longer legs - than a man
of the same height. Taller women can often be comfortable on a man's bike,
but shorter women will feel uncomfortably stretched.

All the good makes do 'womens' specific geometry' frames. This is NOT the
same as a 'Lady's bike' with no top tube - most so-called 'lady's bikes'
from cheap manufacturers have exactly the same geometry as the same makers
standard model, and are not suitable for women.

> So basically I'm looking for advice on the size of bike to get and the
> best type. Last year i did the ride on a mountain bike with road tyres
> but want to get her something as light as possible to make it as easy
> as possible.

Tell us what your budget is. The more you spend, the lighter it can be.
What's called a 'flat bar racer', in a women's specific frame, may well be
best. I'd actually recommend a proper racer with drop bars, but people who
aren't regular cyclists often find them intimidating.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

'there are no solutions, only precipitates'

 

[Steph Peters]

"blokedownpub" <[email protected]> of http://groups.google.com wrote:
>The problem we have is that My wife is just short of 5 feet tall. I
>measured her inside leg and it's about 60cm. (appologies for mixing
>imperial and metric).

I'm a smidge over 5 feet tall, with a 24 inch inside leg - I have a long
body and short legs type build. That comes out as a similar to your wife's
60cm.
>
>So basically I'm looking for advice on the size of bike to get and the
>best type.
Take her with you to try a lot of bikes. Don't try and judge anything on
its reported size, because manufacturers sizes vary.

The greatest difficult for someone with extremely short legs is standover
height above the crossbar. You may well end up looking at hybrid or
mountain bikes because they tend more towards a slightly dropped top tube.
The only way I was able to get a road bike with 700C wheels where I could
straddle the cross bar was to have one custom made.

If you are near Manchester email me and we can fix up for her to have a go
on my bikes, to see which she prefers.
--
Steph Peters
Chorlton Wanderers Cycling Group
Monthly slow and easy rides from South Manchester
http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/cycling/chwan.htm

 

[Peter Clinch]

Steph Peters wrote:

> The greatest difficult for someone with extremely short legs is standover
> height above the crossbar. You may well end up looking at hybrid or
> mountain bikes because they tend more towards a slightly dropped top tube.
> The only way I was able to get a road bike with 700C wheels where I could
> straddle the cross bar was to have one custom made.

Perhaps an argument in there for avoiding 700c wheels! A combination of
big wheels and a diamond frame just isn't that great if you're wee,
perhaps smaller wheels and an open frame (as on many "one size fits
many" folders) might work better?

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

[Steph Peters]

Peter Clinch <[email protected]> of University of Dundee wrote:

>Steph Peters wrote:
>
>> The greatest difficult for someone with extremely short legs is standover
>> height above the crossbar. You may well end up looking at hybrid or
>> mountain bikes because they tend more towards a slightly dropped top tube.
>> The only way I was able to get a road bike with 700C wheels where I could
>> straddle the cross bar was to have one custom made.
>
>Perhaps an argument in there for avoiding 700c wheels! A combination of
>big wheels and a diamond frame just isn't that great if you're wee,
>perhaps smaller wheels and an open frame (as on many "one size fits
>many" folders) might work better?

Yeah, but I wanted 700C so that everything is standard and I can get bits
anywhere. A previous bike had 650C wheels and was still too big. And it
was a good excuse to get the custom job, which is so wonderfully comfy with
just the right reach, short cranks, narrow handlebars and so on.

The OP probably should take a look at folders, but that is going to hit his
budget as second-hand good folders hold their value well.
--
Steph Peters
Chorlton Wanderers Cycling Group
Monthly slow and easy rides from South Manchester
http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/cycling/chwan.htm