New Bike for Tall Plus-Size Woman?

[Juliegoddess]

I know I'm beginning yet ANOTHER "help me find a bike" thread, but I've been searching for posts most like my situation, and haven'y quite found it yet!

I really want a road bike. I just feel like I need one, for spring riding next year, and to further my cycling into something more serious, with more distance. My budget for spending is REALLY low, I know this...i know I'll end up with an entry-level bike and I don't mind. I can spend about $600.

That said, I am 5'9" tall, with a 32" inseam, 229 lbs, and I'm short waisted with short arms. I know I need a WSD, for sure, just because of my short-waisted-ness (ha...is that a word??!!) The trouble I'm seeing is that a lot of women's bikes seems to be made for SHORT women?

I'd just like an idea of where to begin my search. Are there other ladies out there like me, bigger, but tall...with big boobs, a short waist and short arms? A men's bike has too long of a reach for me. But a men's bike fits my legs.

Any thoughts? Thanks Everyone!

[Pax]

I own this road bike and LOVE it. Like you I'm bigger (5'10" and 225, with a 32" inseam), and found the bike to be a great fit.

I can't ride mine anymore (health issues) so I'm going to sell it, you could look for used bikes in your area and get more bang for the buck that way.

[Thorn]

Taller than you, but also short arms and back. While my go-fast bike is custom (save them pennies), I also ride a Surly Pacer for winter riding and rainy summer days. I spent a little under $1K for the bike.

My Pacer is a teeny-tiny frame (52cm) with a huge seatpost and a stem extender (raises the bars up, not pushes them out--I need the short top tube). The bike handles fine although it looks rather peculiar. In fact the Surly handles for me better than my first road bike.

I used to ride a 60cm frame and was terribly uncomfortable (can you say back pain?). A wise, older mechanic told me that I was a classic case of why fitting by leg length is stupid. You can always raise the seat and handlebars, but you can't do anything if the bike is just too long.

So, my suggestion is find a shop that will do a fitting focusing on reach, not height. It may mean a silly stem extender (oh, the Fred-jeers I get for it), but if the bike is comfortable, you'll ride it more. Also, if you start looking at frames by length, not height, and accept long seat posts and stem extenders, you will open up the possibilities of more lower-end bikes.

Just my 2cents....others may disagree, but it worked for m.

[lo123]

I'm 5'6", but with a 31" inseam and teeny torso... Try for WSD if you can swing it... In my testing, Trek had the shortest top tubes and most comfortable fit for me.

I ride a 54 WSD Trek Madone 5.2. It comes in up to a 58cm in WSD.

There's a fit calculator on Competitive cyclist. It was a very good tool for me to help identify what geometries might work best for me. You can compare geometries on most brands' websites.

oh yeah, one thing that can work.. smaller frame to get the top tube length right, with higher seatpost... In hindsight, I wish I had gotten a 51 in my cyclocross bike. It took a TON of adjustments to get the 54 reasonably comfortable.

[Juliegoddess]

Thanks ladies! Well, it does appear that my thinking wasn't "stinking"! I kinda figured that the most important thing would be to make sure that top tube isn't too long. Because, like you said, you can't adjust that...but you can adjust the height plenty. And with that in mind, I for SURE need a WSD bike. Short waistedness just doesn't work on a men's bike, no matter what I do.

I'm going to check out that calculator! Thank you SO much!

[out_spokin']

Another tall woman (5'10" and 33" inseam for clothing, let alone my real inseam) with almost no torso (ha!). I also ride a custom steel road bike for going fast, so +1 on the saving your pennies...depending on your actual measurements and the geometry of different models you might be able to fit on a 56cm roadie, which is the largest frame for most WSD. Be careful about the handlebar height though -- getting your seatpost high enough is cake, but I highly recommend against having too much drop from your seat height to your handlebars. Racers can get away with it, but for newer/older/less limber/just all around cyclists it can be very uncomfortable and lead to riding less.

Don't forget Terry Bicycles - most of their road models over the year have had a 23" (58.4cm) option with shorter top tubes. Their new stuff is way out of your price range, but with patience used ones can be found. I found a new old stock frame/fork last year that I've almost built up with parts from a well-priced craigslist find.

This thread just rocked my world though -- didn't know that some of the Treks come in a 58!! Geometry probably still won't work for me, but I am SURE going to find one to test ride!

[Juliegoddess]

Another tall woman (5'10" and 33" inseam for clothing, let alone my real inseam) with almost no torso (ha!). I also ride a custom steel road bike for going fast, so +1 on the saving your pennies...depending on your actual measurements and the geometry of different models you might be able to fit on a 56cm roadie, which is the largest frame for most WSD. Be careful about the handlebar height though -- getting your seatpost high enough is cake, but I highly recommend against having too much drop from your seat height to your handlebars. Racers can get away with it, but for newer/older/less limber/just all around cyclists it can be very uncomfortable and lead to riding less.

Don't forget Terry Bicycles - most of their road models over the year have had a 23" (58.4cm) option with shorter top tubes. Their new stuff is way out of your price range, but with patience used ones can be found. I found a new old stock frame/fork last year that I've almost built up with parts from a well-priced craigslist find.

This thread just rocked my world though -- didn't know that some of the Treks come in a 58!! Geometry probably still won't work for me, but I am SURE going to find one to test ride!

Hey Out-Spokin' (LOVE that name!! ha ha!)

Thanks for the tips! Yes, I am deathly afraid of leaning down too far on the bike. Not only is it going to be a huge change for me from the MTB, but I also have a herniated disk in my back that I have to watch out for. So, any undue stress back there is not good for me.

And Ohhh, yes I LOVE Terry Bikes! I really really wish they had an entry-level road bike. I know I'd feel like a freakin' princess on one...!

May I ask, do you know what your top tube measurement is? I know mine might be different, but it would give me a point of reference...

[DarcyInOregon]

Thanks for the tips! Yes, I am deathly afraid of leaning down too far on the bike. Not only is it going to be a huge change for me from the MTB, but I also have a herniated disk in my back that I have to watch out for. So, any undue stress back there is not good for me.

Just want to say, I have two herniated disks in my lower back, and I ride a Trek Pilot 5.2 WSD. I am 5'8". Riding the Pilot, plus gym workouts to strengthen the core and back muscles, finally got rid of the constant sciatica pain caused by the herniated disks, and I haven't been troubled by the sciatica for quite a few years. Just saying, don't fear a road bike because of herniated disks.

Maybe move up to a road bike when you have saved up more money, and look at the Trek entry level road bikes.

[lo123]

This thread just rocked my world though -- didn't know that some of the Treks come in a 58!! Geometry probably still won't work for me, but I am SURE going to find one to test ride!

Quick look on trekbikes.com shows the following models come in 58cm:
6.9 WSD (~8609 MSRP) - droool...
6.5 WSD (~6599 MSRP)
5.2 WSD (~3800 MSRP)
2.1 WSD (~1369 MSRP)
Pilot 2.1 WSD (~1369 MSRP)
Pilot 2.0 WSD (~1149 MSRP)

I don't get why they didn't offer the 4.5 or 1.2 in 58cm though.

[Juliegoddess]

Just want to say, I have two herniated disks in my lower back, and I ride a Trek Pilot 5.2 WSD. I am 5'8". Riding the Pilot, plus gym workouts to strengthen the core and back muscles, finally got rid of the constant sciatica pain caused by the herniated disks, and I haven't been troubled by the sciatica for quite a few years. Just saying, don't fear a road bike because of herniated disks.

Maybe move up to a road bike when you have saved up more money, and look at the Trek entry level road bikes.

Thanks, Darcy! That's good to know! Yes, even just losing these 20 pounds has helped the back immensely. I believe that the bike would do much LESS damage (if any) than all that weight I was carrying! And I still have 40 more pounds to go...

[out_spokin']

Hey Juliegoddess -- sorry I lost track of this thread momentarily! I ride a 59cm (center to center) seat tube with a 54cm top tube. Crazy in a world where most men's bikes have "square" geometry! But that's actually roughly the same as what the Terry Symmetry is. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/terry/geometry.html

I know this is still out of your budget, but I searched for the Symmetry just to see what's out there, and was amazed to find that Sierra Trading Post has a closeout on 23" inchers for $765 + shipping. Pretty great for a Tiagra-level bike with an excellent steel frame.

HOWEVER, I just found a interesting deal you might look into on the Terry trading boards (which is how I found mine). http://www.terrybicycles.com/trade/browse/sell. Check out the post for a Trilogy - she's 5'10", so it could be the 23" or maybe the 21.5" frame size. It's their entry level road bike from the early 90s it seems, so maybe 8 speed components? If it fit, could be a very good match, since it's listed for $300 - even with shipping you could fit a good tune up and even few parts swaps/upgrades and stay in your budget.

Before you do much else, though, one thing I recommend is checking out your fit -- you're stating your inseam as 32", but is that your actual inseam or your pants inseam? A fit at a good shop is best, but use that fit calculator that lo123 mentions -- it's very good.

And lo123 - thanks for the rundown on models! I looked at that top end model and wow....but after seeing not all the models had 58s got sidetracked. Awesome to have in my pocket if I go test riding some nice spring day.

[Trek420]

If you would consider a cross bike, KnottedYet is almost your height and rides this:

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/cross_check_complete

I think she likes it a lot. It's a little higher than your budget but you might be able to find one used, last years model, local bike swap etc.

My niece, UK Elephant and her mom (therefore my sister), Duck on Wheels are your height. UK rides a Specialized cross bikes.

In this thread she picks a bike:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=5009

Ducks ride is a Trek flat bar road bike of some sort. Uhm, I know that it's red. Both of them are very happy with their rides I think.

Here's Duck getting her bike fitted:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=30113

Now get out there and test ride lots of bikes for us because the tall TE gals want to read the ride reports.

[Juliegoddess]

Thanks SO much everyone! I can't wait to spend the winter digging and checking out bikes. I'm also going to hit all the LBS's in the Detroit area. Al Petri is renowned in this area, so I'm hoping they will be able to tell me if a bike is a good fit. When I sit on a bike, I really can't tell if it "fits" me or not. And for saddles, I would have NO idea until I rode on it a while.

So...it's gonna be a fun winter, trying out lots of bikes! I'll let you all know what I find!