BIKES THAT FIT WOMEN under 5'4"

[mimitabby]

Today I went to Bicycles West and tried out a Specialized Dolce. 48 cm. YOu can get these for less than 1000 dollars.
The hoods were exactly where I wanted them. It had 700 wheels, but NO TOE OVERLAP at all. I'm not sure how they did it, but that bike handled pretty well!





Then, for a a whole lot more money, there's the Rivendell Bleriot 49cm with a 50 cm top tube. The one I looked at today had 650 wheels. I didn't test drive it,
now I wish I had.
This bike is guaranteed to take fenders. I think this is Lisa's bike.

[mimitabby]

I wouldn't rule out framesets. As someone mentioned, you can always move the parts from your veloce assuming they are in good shape. Now that someone is helping you define the geometry you need, maybe you could get a good deal like I did on ebay on a frame, and then just move over the parts. We've discussed fit for women endlessly, and you know where I stand on this so I won't repeat myself, but lets address the fender issue. Basically the bikes you are looking at are pure racing bikes, they won't take fenders and won't take even slightly wide tires. If you want a bike that is both light and takes fenders and wider tires (say 28-32 c) why not look at a light steel (i.e. reynolds 853 steel frame) with canti brakes. Veronica's legolos is an idea, as is what I did to my terry isis, but these were both custom designed. Smaller framebuilders tend to do this more than the big chains. Rodriguez does this, Waterford does this, Bilenky has a nice bike called the tourlite that does this (and you could get s/s couplers for travel). Yes, custom is expensive, but if you get the bike you want it will be the last bike you buy. Consider it a health expense. Given that Rodriguez is local for you I would look at them very seriously, but maybe someone locally (craigs list, etc) would have a used rodriguez they are trying to unload. I was very pleased with the custom work bilenky did for me. I think what you are looking for is what is called a sport bike or a light sport/tourer. A real touring bike will be too heavy, but a racing bike will not take real fenders. The new terry madeleine will do what you want, but it is aluminum which while light may not be as harsh or last as long as steel.

I agree I agree. The trouble with framesets is you can't test ride them. You are also right, I want to get THE bike so I don't have to keep messing around. I might have to go custom. But going custom does not necessarily mean I will then have a perfect bike. Custom bikes can be flawed too. and they cost a lot more. My DH is about to get HIS custom bike, so until we get out of the hole for paying for tht, I will not be doing much more than research. Besides, part of me wants to "look and see" what will his bike be like? will it really really fit? will he love it? his reactions to the new bike will certainly color mine.
Thanks for telling me about the Bilenky, They seem to have very long top tubes, so they do not qualify. You are right about Rodriguez and Davidson being local makers, and if i actually do go custom, it may well be with one of them. The chances of finding a bike in my size that they made on sale is kind of slim, but i will start looking.
As to me getting a touring bike, for some reason they have longer top tubes than "race" bikes. so that's why the Marinoni touring bike I was in love with is not going to work for me.
I'm still looking.
Thanks to all of you wise women who are adding to the knowledge base here!

[Bluetree]

Today I went to Bicycles West and tried out a Specialized Dolce. 48 cm. YOu can get these for less than 1000 dollars.
The hoods were exactly where I wanted them. It had 700 wheels, but NO TOE OVERLAP at all.

Mimi
I have the Dolce, too and I was surprised at how well it fit, without the toe overlap. Thing is, if you plan on going for this bike, try getting the 2006 version, NOT the 2007 version. Specialized downgraded the Shimano components this year. The 2006 Elite has all 105 components, the 2007 version has mixed 105/Tiagra. I've seen new 2006 Dolces for as low as $800 on eBay so it's a better deal.
Good luck!

[mimitabby]

Mimi
I have the Dolce, too and I was surprised at how well it fit, without the toe overlap. Thing is, if you plan on going for this bike, try getting the 2006 version, NOT the 2007 version. Specialized downgraded the Shimano components this year. The 2006 Elite has all 105 components, the 2007 version has mixed 105/Tiagra. I've seen new 2006 Dolces for as low as $800 on eBay so it's a better deal.
Good luck!

Blue,
the Dolce is a sweet bike, but it doesn't take fenders. I can't ride with my bike club without fenders. I am just happy to know there IS a bike that fits period in that price range. I can consider going custom, but what about most women who can't? the dolce is a sweet alternative

[mimitabby]

background: I wrote to Rivendell. I wanted to understand the discrepancy between the 50 cm that the salesperson at the LBS measured on the Bleriot and the 52 cm in the specs on their website. I also told him what I thought my standover height was:


I don’t know the fellow and have no reason have an opinion about him or his opinion, but beyond people and titles and nervousness...going back to basic grey rocks and cold air and solids, liquids, and gases, just wiping out everything except simple, understandable, irrefutable fundamental things we can call Facts, please consider this: (by that I mean nothing more than “see if it makes sense to you.”)

€ if you grabbed the bike at the end of the top tube, then the location of the end of the top tube would matter.
€ if you don’t do that, it doesn’t. But where you DO grab matters. And it isn’t the end of the top tube.
€ the goal, the ultimate goal, is a riding position that is comfortable. If you aren’t that, you can’t achieve any of your other goals, whatever they may be (efficiency? Speed? Bike control?). If you are comfortable, good things will follow.
€ your riding position is determined ONLY by the spatial relationship of the cranks, saddle, and handlebar.
€ your PBH determines your crank height above the pedal. For you, that’s 64cm. I’m guessing that I would measure your PBH at 74.5 or even 75, because the way I make people do it is the (for lack of a brief term) “lift hard until it hurts and let’s not mess around” way. (note from mimi, this is how they find the pubic bone)
€ How far behind the pedals your saddle is...is largely a matter of preference, but in general, just shove the saddle most or all the way back on the seat post, and use a seat post with some offset. Don’t go by the “knee over pedal center” thing that 99 percent of bike-people go by. No time to shoot holes in it now, but trust me (or not)--that approach is quite holey.
€ Use a stem that allows you to get the handlebar at least 2cm higher than the saddle. The only stems I know that’ll do this are the Nitto Technomic Deluxe and the Nitto Technomic. Anybody who sells Bleriots can get them for you.
€ you’re a woman who’s 63.5 inches tall…get a 7cm or 8cm stem. There are all kinds of body proportions in women, not all are long-legged and short-torsoed...but all the women I’ve seen except super lanky ones taller than 5-9, have short arms.
€ Women always get bad bar-width advice. The bar is a lever that helps you control the bike. Your arms are weaker than your legs, so you need a longer lever to aid you in controlling your bike. Ride 44s. The “bars as wide as your shoulders” rule is like the earth is flat... The best drop bar you can get, the most comfortable, is a Nitto Noodle. Any Bleriot dealer can get it. They’ll suggest a 41...or maybe a Terry 36. Get 44s if you want more leverage against the bike.

Other models in your size, yes, but we sell most of these direct, not through dealers. Your dealer got his Bleriot from QBP, not from us. BUT....for an all-around versatile road bike, you can’t beat it. You aren’t missing out, not knowing about our other bikes. The Bleriot is a fantastic bike---you can do anything on it, almost, and it’s so comfortable, and it handles great. If you put the right parts on it, you’ll be in heaven, Mimi. It’s just such a nice bike.

Here’s our website stuff on the Bleriot. Maybe you’ve seen it:

http://www.rivbike.com/bikes/bleriot

The main site (rivbike.com) has other stuff on it, things that might be worth looking at for a minute or two.

http://www.rivbike.com/how_to_pick_y...iding_position

And

http://www.rivbike.com/how_to_pick_y...iding_position

Good luck with your bike. Any other questions, just ask. Please excuse any hint of brusqueness in this reply. I’m trying to do it quickly because I’ve got family to go to, and sometimes the efficient way of writing comes off harshly. I sure don’t mean it that way! I am happy to answer any question, and I don’t MEAN to interfere with your local advisors. I just love bikes, and I l like people, and I like my job, and I do this a lot, and…out of that comes some strong opinions, maybe.
Best to you,

Grant

[caligurl]

Mimi
I have the Dolce, too and I was surprised at how well it fit, without the toe overlap. Thing is, if you plan on going for this bike, try getting the 2006 version, NOT the 2007 version. Specialized downgraded the Shimano components this year. The 2006 Elite has all 105 components, the 2007 version has mixed 105/Tiagra. I've seen new 2006 Dolces for as low as $800 on eBay so it's a better deal.
Good luck!

that seems to be their MO! my 2004 (original bike) dolce elite had much better components than the 2005.... (my 2004 had a mixture with plenty of ultegra thrown in!)

they've done the same thing with the ruby's! my 2006 ruby was COMPLETE dura-ace... now for 2007 they've done a bit of hodgepoding.... throwing in a bunch of ultegra, leaving a bit of DA and downgrading the wheels from DA to roval.... (but then... the've dropped the price this year, too!)

[caligurl]

Blue,
the Dolce is a sweet bike, but it doesn't take fenders. I can't ride with my bike club without fenders. I am just happy to know there IS a bike that fits period in that price range. I can consider going custom, but what about most women who can't? the dolce is a sweet alternative

ok.... i'm confused... you CAN'T ride with this club without fenders? why not??????? MOST road bikes do NOT have fenders! is it not a road club?

[mimitabby]

ok.... i'm confused... you CAN'T ride with this club without fenders? why not??????? MOST road bikes do NOT have fenders! is it not a road club?

It IS a road bike club and they DO require fenders. Welcome to Seattle, my dear Cali girl. You can't do a pace line (which I don't do anyway) in the rain
without mudflaps. It can get REALLY ugly.

[caligurl]

ahhhhhhhhhhh ok.... that explains it! (i'm not a paceline/drafter person either! 99.9% of my rides are done on my own steam! i've attempted to do the drafting thing with hubby... but i'm rarely close enough to get the benefit of the draft!) i did a ride not too long ago in palm springs where several of us rode in a "line" for a bit... but NOONE was close enough to call it a paceline or drafting! lol!)

[mimitabby]

Cali, it's a club rule. So if I ride this weekend, People will make comments about my lack of mudflaps. (I have one of those stick on fenders in the back) And hopefully we wont' get a lot of rain because it's messy.

[caligurl]

right.... i got it! i wasn't commenting on the club rules once you explained! i was making the paceline/drafting comments secondary to your explaination cuz of what you said: "You can't do a pace line (which I don't do anyway)"

i completely understand about clubs and the comments people can make! (i think that's part of the reason i'm glad there are no clubs in my area! lol! no "club politics!)

[mimitabby]

Oh Cali, i hate politics, and if my DH hadn't gotten so involved in this club....
well. You know how it is.

[caligurl]

lol! well.... look at it THIS way! you're probably getting a new bike out of it! THAT's a GOOD thing!

[Triskeliongirl]

Mimi, if Bilenky's stoke frames have too long a top tube, their custom frames can be whatever you want. I was where you were a few years back. I didn't go custom not just cuz of the money (cuz often its not more money, just more time) but it was also cuz I didn't have anyone I trusted that would build me a bike that fit, so I did the 'safe' thing and stuck with terrys which have a geometry I know works for me. But folks that go custom *with the right builder* say its the best, and given that rodriguez is in your neighborhood and seems to understand womens fit issues, it may be best for you. This is especially true for those of us who want bikes that are both Light and take fenders/touring tires. This combination is really hard to find in a stock bike. I would guess the rivendell you are looking at is heavy. Maybe you should visit with Rodriguez, and see what it would really cost to get the bike you want (make sure they undertand both the light part and fenders part since these 2 features often don't go together) IF he could transfer all the parts from the veloce. It may not cost as much as you think since the components are a huge part of the price, and then you would get your money back out of the veloce (and you could even sell the stripped frame). ANother thing to be careful of, I know you don't want to be technical, but you need to pay attention not only to top tube length but to seat tube angle. Remember for every degree increase in STA you need to add a cm to the top tube to get the same reach. For example, a bike with a 73 degree seat tube angle and 52 cm top tube, has the same reach as a bike with a 76 degree seat tube angle and a 49 cm top tube because on the second bike you will need to move your saddle 3 cm further back to get your knee in the same position relative to the pedal axis. This point is really imporant and I am not sure you fully get it. Another factoid is that as top tube lengths get shorter than 52-53 cm it gets harder to get a 700c wheel in front and avoid toe clip overlap without making compromises to the frame geometry that effect handling (i.e. you either slacken the head tube angle or increase the fork rake, in an attempt to push the front wheel further forward, but then the bike becomes so stable it is hard to turn). What I did was to test ride different bikes that used different solutions to this problem, and after my test rides could tell how a bike was going to feel purely by looking at its specs.

[KnottedYet]

I think Lisa S.H. said her Riv weighed the same as my Waterford: 21 1/2 pounds.

My lugged steel Waterford weighs less than my aluminum Kona hybrid commutermobile, but I weigh more than both of them put together!

(my *bikes* don't need to lose weight... hee hee! )