Quote Originally Posted by GLC1968 View Post
I've been shopping around a little myself. I'm 5'4" (with short legs) and I want a bike for commuting, country road rides, potential light touring, and eventually maybe a cross race or two (maybe).

I need a bike that is all steel, fairly light (relatively speaking), fits larger tires and that accepts fenders and a rack. Oh, and it has to come in SMALL sizes.

So far, I've found 2. The Surly Cross Check and the Soma Double Cross. I believe that both will fit me if I stick to the smallest frame size. They both have slightly longer top tubes than my road bike, but I think I can make it work. Soma also has a road bike that might suit my purposes (except for the cross racing, I think) called the Smoothie ES. It won't take super wide tires, but I believe it'll fit up to a 32mm which would work for me.

All three of the bikes I've mentioned come in a suprisingly wide range of sizes, so I'm sure they'd have something that would work for you. I like that they are all reasonably priced, too.
I'm looking for pretty much the same bike for pretty much the same usage. I'm 5.4 and I usually ride a 49cm seat tube frame (ideally with a 51cm top tube). I really want something that doesn't have a really long top tube (that's why I was initially not interested in the cross check), everything I've found that is in my size has a 52 or longer top tube. But I'm interested to see if anyone my size has experience with the fit of any of these frames or can recommend another. Maybe I just have to use a short stem?
Thanks!