Small Rider, Small Hands

[melissam]

Hi bluebug,

I don't see why the shims wouldn't work with the 9-speed set. I have the R600 levers on both my Trek and Merlin -- they're the 9-speed version of the R700 short reach (Ultegra-level) shifters, and they're shimmed.

- Melissa

[tzvia]

Being 5' 1.5", with small hands and short arms, always meant compromises in bike setup in the past. These days, with WSD bikes and components things are getting easier. The short drop/reach bars, Specialized shims (yep I use them) and good quality bikes in sizes like 44cm make things so much easier. There are even performance saddles for people like me with wide sit-bones.

But don't forget, the little things count a lot- if I use thick gloves, it is harder to reach the levers when in the drops, so no heavy gel lumpy gloves for me. I tried padding the bars with those under-the-tape gel inserts, but they made the bars thicker and my fingers got further away from the brakes again. So I just tried the new Lizard Skins bar tape. The tape itself is kinda like gel, but isn't thick, so I can use it with thin gloves and still get great padding without adding thickness. I discovered it a few weeks ago when a local shop put some on a young girl's first 'road bike' for the same reason. Awesome. For the first time, I can sit in the drops and reach the brakes without having to rotate my hands around.