Help, what to do with my bike?!

[Teeny]

Hi there,
Am new to this forum which had me amazed by the sheer number of biker girls out there, fab! Am a bit of a roadie but may be coaxed into trying out some proper MTBing come fall...

Now I need some help...
Found a fantastic deal on a Giant TCR composite in frame size S (46.5cm according to the Giant size chart). It has great specs and having tried it, it seemed a little bit on the large side but not disastrously so. Am 5'2 with a 29" inseam and reasonably long arms for my height. Can stand over it in socks with maybe half- to an inch of clearance, comfortably so with shoes. Then went to a well known local shop who measured me up and said that with my inseam, a 46.5cm frame would be just right, at least in terms of standover. The problem with this bike is that it's been ridden by a small bloke, so nothing is set for girls. The handlebars are massive and it feels I have to stretch quite a long way. The stem is 10cm at present.

My question is:
Should I go with the bike and try to fiddle with the smaller things like stem and handlebars, or should I simply get a new frame and keep the rest of the stuff (it's got full ultegra, ksyrium es wheels and a v nice finishing kit which is worth more than I paid for the entire bike)? Is there even a possibility that I'd be able to make it fit? I'm not made of money however and it'd feel a bit sad trading the nice full carbon monocoque frame for something simpler... Please help!

[Cataboo]

Change the bike to fit you - even if you'd bought a new bike, you'd be fiddling with the handlebars and stem.

If you're feeling stretched out - you can put a 60-90 mm stem on it to shorten that.

There are shallow drop handlebars you can get as well (search around on here, you'll find something)

If after doing all that you still don't think it fits you, then consider changing your frame.

[Teeny]

Thanks for your advice. I'll go and have a look for compact handlebars and a shorter stem and hope I'll get away with that.

On a more general note, is it only possible to get a small enough frame that allows getting into a proper aero tuck using 650cc wheels? I've seen some of the previous posts aroud here that suggest so, but is that really the only option?

[HillSlugger]

Thanks for your advice. I'll go and have a look for compact handlebars and a shorter stem and hope I'll get away with that.

On a more general note, is it only possible to get a small enough frame that allows getting into a proper aero tuck using 650cc wheels? I've seen some of the previous posts around here that suggest so, but is that really the only option?

For someone your size, you'd probably need 650 wheels.

One handlebar that's well liked is the Salsa Poco. It has a shorter reach and a shorter drop. There are others.

[Tokie]

Hi Teeny - I am 5 1.5 with really short legs (28 or less) and short arms too. I ride a size 47 Trek Madone (women's specific). I did have to put on a shorter stem, but it has nice standover clearance for me and a nice stiff frame and racy feeling responsive geometry that makes it handle very nicely. And 700 wheels. Descending is fun! Because I have size 7 feet, I don't have toe overlap either! The bike guy wouldn't show me a Giant, he said they were all too big for me. My other bike is a 49 Ruby (specialized) the geometry on that is very stable, it is a much more "resiliant" feeling bike, and not very racy handling. Since I am racing now, I love my Trek. Ironically, I have just had an aero bar set up put on the Ruby for TTing, and this summer, I will put her comfy carbon bars back on for part 3 of my tour across the northern US. Have fun! Tokie

[Teeny]

Luckly. like you Tokie, I also have small feet so my toes aren't anywhere near the spokes. The trek madone WSD seems nice but I'm not a huge fan of some of the standard kit it comes with (no reason other than preference). How small is the 47? Are you able to get into a really tight aero position on it?

With regards to 650 wheels, I could see why perhaps that would be a better option geometrically, but it's a bit of a hassle finding them and getting spare bits etc. Also, wouldn't want to change my nice Ksyriums (ES) as they're so nice!