First Bike, Short Girl

[SillyMia]

I got it!!! I am now a proud owner of a Trek 1.2 WSD (43cm) with 650 wheels. I've been sick but I HAD to take it for a short ride when I picked it up. The difference between a mountain bike and a road bike is AMAZING.

I averaged about 19.5 mph and went only 6 miles because I was really sick.

I didn't realize that you couldn't put both feet into the straps at the same time until I was ready to set off. I was concerned with the scraping when I didn't get my foot in on time, but I got used to it a few stops later.

I also purchased a Trek tire change kit which is strapped on to my bike with a spare 650 tube.

It is very light and a tiny bike, but the fit is great (I think, better than my mtn bike, for sure!). It makes such a huge difference to have a tiny bike (b/c I'm very short).

My hands (between my thumb and index finger) were feeling some pressure in the standard position, but my LBS told me to learn how to gear change and control the bike before I move to a more comfortable position for me.

Thanks for all your help!!!!!

[mimitabby]

SillyMia
we'd love to see a picture of you on your new bike! congrats! I'm glad it worked and I hope you feel better soon.

[emily_in_nc]

Wow, you are fast, girl! Congratulations on your bike! I'm your height too, with about the same inseam (maybe .5" longer), and I have a 46 cm Aegis Swift with 650 wheels. I'm not riding it right now (long story) in favor of my 20" Bike Friday (even smaller wheels!) and mountain bike, but I never felt slower on 650c wheels at all, and they look much better proportioned with the small frame sizes. I really needed a 44 cm myself as the standover is just barely enough on my Aegis, but I got the frame on ebay for a song, so I compromised since the top tube length was fine; it's just a tallish bike. I never averaged as fast as you did (on your FIRST ride and when sick - wow!), but I was normally in the 16-18 mph range on my Swift and rode with most of the faster women in our club on the B-pace rides (just not the VERY fastest who rode with the fastest men on the A-pace rides), so I never felt at a disadvantage with the 650c wheels at all. And since I'm light, I only got about 2 flats in a couple of years of riding, so the tube issue just wasn't that big a deal. Just make sure to always carry one -- or two -- on every single ride since you may be the only one with 650c's on a group ride.

Enjoy your new bike -- and wheels!

Emily

[JennyPi]

First post! Yipee! I have decided to stop lurking now that I have found the perfect (ladies) forum where I feel comfortable enough to converse with you all.

I am also vertically challenged. At 4'11.5'' I'm finding it increasingly challenging to find a bicycle that is in my price range ($500-600) and fits. My inseam is 27''. In order to have 2 inches of stand over clearance I'm going to have to find the smallest bike out there. I test rode the Trek 1.2, 43cm 650c and even that was a bit too big for me Wish me luck! And ... any suggestions???

Thanks,

Jenny

[sbctwin]

I am 4'10". When I went out to find my road bike, I knew I would have problems finding one that actually fit. I ended up with an XS Bella Lightspeed with 650c wheels. I had very few choices to test ride. That was before I found this forum. Oh well, I am happy with my choice. I am not sure my inseam, but it is less than 25", more like 23". I had to go out of my 'price range' to find a bike that I would be happy with and that would fit me. I consider Bella to be with me till my riding days are over. I am closing in on 55. Good luck in your search...

[tulip]

Now that you have the bike and tire change kit (congrats!), it's a good idea to practice changing a tire a few times. That way, when you get a flat out on a ride, you'll know what to do.

[alimey]

Another vertically challenged rider here (just over 5'). Have really struggled to get a road bike with a short enough top tube. I obviously needed 650 wheels - but even many of the bikes w/ 650 wheels were too long. I had a very short Cannondale (now for sale) in polished aluminium in about a 44cm which fitted me very well - but I hankered after titanium . . .

I am now the proud owner of a Serotta Fierte TI 46p (second hand ebay purchase) - which also has a very short top tube (I think about 48.5cm). Both bikes fit me really well - can't agree more with the person who said fit is everything. I also got FSA wing pro bars in compact which have a very shallow reach & drop. Then I double shimmed my ultegra sti levers to bring the levers really close to my hands. My the hoops we short girls have to jump through . . .

Smaller wheels are great - more aerodynamic, lighter, stronger . . . that's why triathletes & time triallists used them for a while (not sure why they went off them - might have been a lack of tyre choice?)

[JennyPi]

Thank you all for your input. I'm dashing to work now but I wanted to assure you all that I have read your replies. I'll keep you all posted on my journey to find the perfect bike, or maybe the not-so-perfect bike that I will be willing to work with

[KSH]

I have 650's on my tri bike and it doesn't seem to affect my speed at all.

I will say that tires and tubes are hard to come by. If you do end up with 650 wheels, if you don't have a local shop with that in stock, or if you want more options, you will probably have to order your tires and tubes off the internet.

Good luck on the new roadie!

[mimitabby]

here's a good link for you:


http://www.myra-simon.com/bike/petitest.html

[GeoCam]

Jenny,

I have looked around at small bikes a LOT because I am just barely 5' tall, and I recently bought a new bike for my 4'8" daughter. I have one suggestion for you. We found that my daughter (who is shorter than you, but very leggy and has a similar inseam) could ride a Giant FCR Women's in size XXXSmall. The FCR is a flat bar road bike as that is what she wanted, but they also make the OCR in women's sizes that has drop bars. For 2008, they no longer have the XXXS size (has 650's). I'm not sure if they made that size in 2007. I started calling around and a couple of Giant dealers still had or could get 2006 bikes in 3XS for around $500. Actually, I really scored as I found her one on eBay that was a 2006 FCR 2 ($700 MSRP and a step up from the entry level FCR 3). The bike was like new with less than 10 miles on it, and I got it for less than $300, plus shipping. It is very pretty, light and fast! Compared to her cheap mountain bike, she is in heaven.

One more thing - if you look up the bike's geometry in the archives at Giant's website, don't be put off by the standover measurement. They measure standover 12" in front of the seat tube, not in the center of the sloping top tube. On such a small bike, 12" is about 2/3 of the way up the sloped top tube. Thus, it says something like 27" standover for my daughter's bike and that is quite misleading. She can straddle the top bar with a bit of clearance with no problem.

First post! Yipee! I have decided to stop lurking now that I have found the perfect (ladies) forum where I feel comfortable enough to converse with you all.

I am also vertically challenged. At 4'11.5'' I'm finding it increasingly challenging to find a bicycle that is in my price range ($500-600) and fits. My inseam is 27''. In order to have 2 inches of stand over clearance I'm going to have to find the smallest bike out there. I test rode the Trek 1.2, 43cm 650c and even that was a bit too big for me Wish me luck! And ... any suggestions???

Thanks,

Jenny