Sub-5'0" riders?

[East Hill]

Just for my .02 worth--I have a 44 cm Specialized Dolce Elite which I love for fitting me properly. However, I understand that your friend may consider this a bit expensive. I tried the Trek WSD in the smaller size and did not care for the feel.

I have two other bicycles which are Terry-like in that they both have the 24" front wheel, and 700c rear wheel. One of these was a thrift shop find (for $20!) and the other from the Seattle Craigslist, $120. I personally think that your friend may really want to check out the current Terry bikes. I like the two Terry-style bikes I have quite a lot. There are two drawbacks with the Terry bikes--one, they aren't found everywhere the way Trek or Specialized are, and two, it is necessary to have two tyre sizes on hand in case of problems.

I think your friend will just have to check them out for herself. I am surprised actually that you managed to find a shop with a 43cm Trek for her to test ride!

It's still tough for those of us who are, er, short. Nothing more annoying then listening to men whine about how those bikes are 'tiny' when they're talking about a 49 or 50 cm frame--it's still too large for me, bud!

East Hill

[Kimmyt]

Good news, it looks like she spoke to the guy who had initially wanted to put her in the Junior and he will try to build her up something in around a 43 cm frame, so hopefully he will be a good bike fitter for her. We will see what happens. I am hesitant to get too involved, as this is her decision. It is made somewhat more difficult b/c English is not her first language and sometimes people who don't know her well have difficulty understanding her so I worry that she won't get things explained correctly or that she will be taken advantage of. For now I will trust the bike shop guy she knows (friend of a friend I guess) and we will see what he sets her up with. I will relay your suggestions for a Terry, but at 1500 for the lowest end model they have I fear she may not be up for it....

Triskeliongirl, please explain something to me (me and Physics never really got along well in college....) if the same rider were to ride two bikes, one with 650c wheels and one with 700c wheels, at the same energy output level, would the rider travel the same distance? Thanks!

K.

[Triskeliongirl]

Triskeliongirl, please explain something to me (me and Physics never really got along well in college....) if the same rider were to ride two bikes, one with 650c wheels and one with 700c wheels, at the same energy output level, would the rider travel the same distance? Thanks!

K.

YES! It is true that with smaller wheels you need to be sure that you have the appropriate choice of gears, since most of the stuff out there was made with 700c wheels in mind, but that is the point of gears. You may need to select a different gear to compensate for the change in tire diameter, but assuming you select the same gear ratio and input the same effort you will move forward the same distance. To see for yourself, read about gearing and play with the calculator at sheldon brown's website. While its expensive to buy a terry new, they are often available on ebay for much less, in part due to a bias that many women have that they want a bike with the same size wheels, or 700c wheels. But it is hard to buy used the first time when you don't know what you are doing.

[Eden]

Triskeliongirl, please explain something to me (me and Physics never really got along well in college....) if the same rider were to ride two bikes, one with 650c wheels and one with 700c wheels, at the same energy output level, would the rider travel the same distance? Thanks!

K.

I'm not Trisk, but I can give it a go - the more important thing to worry about rather than wheel size is gear inches (don't get me wrong -wheel size does play a part in this *but* its not the most important part). If you have the proper gearing on a 650 bike you will still go the same distance with the same number of pedal strokes - your wheel will just turn more times. When you see someone with 650 wheels (or smaller) spinning like mad in their top gear to keep up then they don't have gearing that is big enough to compensate for the smaller wheels. To get nice representation of what gear inches mean and what affect they have you an try this calculator - the second calculation will give you cadence+ mph for each gear combination (though it can be a bit confusing to set up). Try it for 700's and then 650's and compare.
http://www.panix.com/~jbarrm/cycal/cycal.30f.html

btw - since its my winter bike and I'm supposed to go easier (I figured I'd want the small gears for spinning up hills and I wouldn't need the big ones since I'm not having to do any sprinting) I didn't bother to change any of the gearing on my 650 bike and I can't really say I notice any appreciable difference. I'm not feeling like I'm spinning to fast or that I can't keep up.

[kaian]

I am 5'0" and I ride a 47cm Trek 1500 WSD. The 43cm bike was too small for me, but I have long limbs for my size (oddly enough), and needed to be upright and stretched out. Anyway, a 43cm Trek 1500 might be great for your friend. I paid $1000 for my 1500 and she may be able to find an older model somewhere or find a sale. The 1500 has 105 parts with an Ultegra rear der. It's a nice bike. I had a 1000 for a while and it wasn't a bad bike at all. There's not a lot of difference between the feel of Tiagra and Sora in my opinion. I certainly noticed a difference moving up to 105 though. I have no problem with the 650c wheels. I can zip up hills like there's no tomorrow. Personally, when I ride bikes with 700c wheels, even if the frame is small, I feel like I'm driving a bus. hahaha. The 650c makes me feel like I have more control. Just my 2 cents.