No bikes for short girls

Hey everyone :)

I'm brand new to the forums, but so excited to find them. I started riding about a month or so ago. I tried really hard to be a runner and failed. A good friend of mine told me to try cycling instead and BAM! Instant Love :)

Over the past month, I've gone from 5 miles to 20 miles (Go Me!). I also was able to upgrade my old crappy Walmart bike to a GT ZuM.

My concern is, I eventually want to go to an actual road bike, but apparently road bikes aren't meant for super short girls :( I am 5'0 short. I've looked at Fuji, but they're all too tall. The GT ZuM fits nicely, but even the reach to the handlebars is just a hair too long... any suggestions?

I'm doing my very first bike tour in September. It will be a 50 mile ride, but I'm hoping to buy an actual road bike before then possibly... it doesn't need to be super fancy, just something that fits my shortness :) Thankkssss

I'm just short of 4'11" and riding a hybrid too. In my case I am riding an extra small Cannondale Quick with 26 inch tires. It is smaller than your GT ZuM, especially the reach, which is also a problem for me. Eventually I'll probably get a road bike. The 44cm Jamis Xenith Endura seems to fit as does the 44cm Specialized Ruby. Both are kind of pricey. If they don't work there always is the Terry line of bicycles. Trek makes one very small road bike at 43 cm in it's Lexa line, the SLX. It is about $1400. It has smaller, 650 wheels.

I would hunt up 42-44cm bikes to try.

What I have found difficult is finding a dealer with small bikes to try. Some want you to pay without trying to special order. Big cities seem to have more available.

I know Trek and Felt both make bikes for shorter folks because I have seen them in my LBS. There is a young boy who goes on our group rides and he's got a small Trek road bike and he looks to be about your height. You can go directly to the manufacturer web site and see what sizes they offer and then take it to your LBS and have them order a bike for you if you find something you like :) They may even be able to offer suggestions based on a bike fit as to what size bike you should be looking for.

Try REI. They have a brand called Novara that comes in a small frame.

Try the surly pacer, it comes in 44 cms.

There's lots of short women on here, riding bikes - so you definitely can find bikes to ride. Terry definitely makes small women's bikes. Look at bikes with 650c wheels.

I'm 5'1 and have 2 road bikes, but given that I have a longer torso with short legs, I probably ride bigger bikes than most people my height.

there are a lot of threads on here discussing bikes for ladies under 5 feet. do a little hunting. There is a bike you can fit!

You might find some good suggestions in this thread:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=42002

There are some older threads on this topic, but I can't seem to find them. I'll try to dig them up later.

I'm 5'1" and rode a Fuji Finest 2.0 44 cm, now I have a Specialized Ruby 44 cm. Do you have a short or long torso in proportion to your legs?

Have you tried any of the 44 cm frames?

As a couple of people have mentioned there are other small bikes out there, even some designed for kids that might work. There was a recent article in Bicycling magazine about 4 bikes that are designed with small frames for kids, and at least one of them has pretty decent components on it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Cataboo

Try the surly pacer, it comes in 44 cms.

---

The pacer is a bit stretched out for me. However, the Surly Long Haul Trucker at 42cm fit me really well and might fit the OP if that is the kind of bike she might like.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by goldfinch

The pacer is a bit stretched out for me. However, the Surly Long Haul Trucker at 42cm fit me really well and might fit the OP if that is the kind of bike she might like.

---

The pacer? in the 42 cms, the top tube is 491 mms with an effective top tube of 506 mm. The LHT is 492 mms with an effective top tube of 505 mm in the 42 cm size. I was running a 130 mm stem on the 42 cm pacer trying to make it long enough to be rideable for me. The reach shouldn't be different on the LHT vs. the pacer, unless the stem/handlebars are different. Okay, it is 1 mm different on effective top tube.

Are you sure you rode the 42 cm pacer & not the 46?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Cataboo

The pacer? in the 42 cms, the top tube is 491 mms with an effective top tube of 506 mm. The LHT is 492 mms with an effective top tube of 505 mm in the 42 cm size. I was running a 130 mm stem on the 42 cm pacer trying to make it long enough to be rideable for me. The reach shouldn't be different on the LHT vs. the pacer, unless the stem/handlebars are different. Okay, it is 1 mm different on effective top tube.

Are you sure you rode the 42 cm pacer & not the 46?

---

Odd. The shop said it was the smallest frame on both but maybe the stem/bars were set up differently. I actually had rejected the Pacer because it did not fit right. Now I have to add it back to the list. Thanks. (sorry for the diversion Jordan).

Maybe it was a difference between the 26" wheels or the 700c ones

But going by the geometry charts, it shouldn't feel like a longer frame.
http://surlybikes.com/frames/pacer_frame/

Another bike that I used to have that was impossibly small for me - a trek 1600 with 650 wheels, I think it was a 43 cm. I don't know if this model is discontinued, but you might be able to find a used 2006/2007

+1 for the Felt my friend is about 5'1 and rides a Felt ZW6 and it fits her really well - can't remember the frame size tho.

Plus, the Specialized 44cm frame is really tiny! May be worth a look?

LOVE you all!! thanks for the fab advice! i got my Zum at Performance bike where a friend of mine sized me. I know I can't fit most of the Fuji line... I'm short all over... arms, torso, and legs :P

I live in Delaware, land of no hills and hardly any bike shops... so I'll probably have to head into Philly. Thanks again for all the suggestions!