How tall are you? (Women only, please)

[ChickieBabe]

5'8" and I ride a 56cm trek 1000 men's, my first road bike. When I bought it, the shop guys looked at me and how I looked as I rode around, and they switched out the stem for me. But that's all it needed, and it's been a good bike. Now that I have a few more miles under my belt and a better understanding of what I want, I think I'll have a better idea of what my next bike will be like. But my trek's been good for an introduction and a couple thousand miles or so.

At my LBS they never really pushed the WSD on me, I think because of my height. Maybe the fact that I have broad shoulders and ape arms also helps with me fitting to the men's well.

My roommate, who is actually taller than me (5'9") rides a WSD (I don’t know the size or brand, sorry!), and when I’m on it I feel like I'm on a hybrid or something of the sort. But it works for her, especially since she just started riding this year. By starting to ride, I mean she really has barely been on a bike since she was 10 or so, so I don't fault her for wanting to start out with something more upright than mine.

[twin]

5'8.5" 56cm LHT and Specilized Roubaix Elite and it turns out I like it carbon and steel.

[mimitabby]

statiticians please note that 5-8 and 5-9 are lumped together, making an artificial peak in our bell curve.
other than that, it is smoothing out nicely.


and to the gal who has no standover; if you're careful and it works for you, no it's not bad!

[chicago]

5'4" and ride a small frame Giant.

I have shorter legs and long torso... would not even consider a WSD model. As it is, I have my seat further back than what most peeps have... because my torso is looooooooong

[ikkin]

5'3'', 47cm Cannondale r1000, small santa cruz juliana.

[piaadoll]

i'm 5 foot nothing and i ride a 43 cm Trek 1600 WSD with 650c wheels. I love it. (my shoe size is 5)

now i'm shopping for a full suspension mountain bike, and i really wish i can fit the xs juliana but my legs are too short. i hardly have any clearance. if my legs were just a tad bit longer, i wouldn't have to look at bikes that are over 2 grand. so i'm a bit bummed about looking at titus and yetis. i mean, i LOVE those bikes, but they are way over my price range, although i know they will fit. i should measure my inseam.....

[carback]

4' 11".

I ride several bikes all of which fit like a glove. But it was an arduous process, especially for a f/s mountain bike:

47 cm Trek 2300 with 650 wheels. fits like a glove.
13.5" Gary Fisher Cake 3 GS
13.5" Gary Fish Hoo Koo e Koo GS

[emily_in_nc]

i'm 5 foot nothing and i ride a 43 cm Trek 1600 WSD with 650c wheels. I love it. (my shoe size is 5)

now i'm shopping for a full suspension mountain bike, and i really wish i can fit the xs juliana but my legs are too short. i hardly have any clearance. if my legs were just a tad bit longer, i wouldn't have to look at bikes that are over 2 grand. so i'm a bit bummed about looking at titus and yetis. i mean, i LOVE those bikes, but they are way over my price range, although i know they will fit. i should measure my inseam.....

Hi piaadoll -- I found a used XS Titus Racer X on Ebay for well under $2K. You'd probably need an XXS (I'm 5'1-1/2" with about a 28.5" inseam i.e., longish legs for my height). Of course, by the time I changed out a bunch of tired parts, I'd put around $2K in the bike, but it was worth it! Good luck finding your dream MTB.

Sorry for the thread hijack!

Emily

[Deborajen]

I'm 5'6" and have a 31" inseam. I have a Specialized Sequoia 54.5 cm frame (men's medium) and it fits perfectly.

Deb

[MALcontent]

I'm 5'5" and have owned both WSD and not. My last MTB was a WSD Gary Fisher Sugar 3+. It fit great. I just bought a Santa Cruz Blur XC, not WSD and it too fits great. My road bike is a 50 cm Cannondale. Oh, and then there's my Schwinn Coed. Can you guess whether that's WSD?

[Miranda]

5'5" and I ride a Giant OCR1 WSD size small. I have a long torso, and short legs. I've never been quite comfortable. Starting to think after reading this thread that maybe I should search out a smaller sized man's bike next go around.

[Skierchickie]

I voted 5'-7" - last year when I was at the doctor, I was 5'-6.75" (whoo-hoo! I grew 1/4" when I was 41!). Short legs, long torso.

I ride a 50cm men's Trek 5200. Very long seatpost & long stem. But just-right standover height. Not sure what this means, although I suspect it doesn't fit quite right. Any WSD bikes I've tested felt quite cramped, but maybe they were too small. My newest bike is a 520 touring bike (also men's/unisex), 21" (seems big compared to what I'm used to, but comfy). Don't remember my MTB size, but it is a men's.

I really need to find someplace to get a fitting on the 5200 - probably will have to drive 4 hours to do that. Then, once they tell me I can't POSSIBLY ride that bike, I can go shopping! Actually the only problem I seem to have is saddle discomfort (mainly on the drops or aero bars), which I'm hoping a fitting/adjustment will fix.

Jan

[2Gowans]

5'0", 27" inseam. Last time I had a new bike, the frame was 18.5" and had to be specially ordered.

[CarbonCandy]

(^ 5'0 on an 18.5" doesn't sound right to me... :/ )

5'8" riding a 56cm mens 5000. Switched out the stem for a 90 vs 100 and i freakin love it! :]

[2Gowans]

18.5" of upright downtube (as frame sizes were measured in the 80s) looks nothing like 18.5" of compact frame. Maybe I should explain that at the time the trend was to have as little stem coming out of the frame as possible because it was believed that it made the bike stronger.

It was a lightweight tourer, and it was the smallest size easily available for a real adult bike suitable for commuting (not a shopper) at the time. Could get off and on safely as the top tube sloped v steeply and finished lower than a mixte frame. Until it got stolen <sigh>