Quote Originally Posted by mariacycle View Post
Sorry to resurrect this topic again, but I feel like many of the pro-WSD women have small frames (under, say, 5'3") and have difficulty finding a men's bike that fits their needs. I am just shy of 5'6" and am currently riding a 17" Fuji Absolute. I want to buy a decent road bike (maybe in the ballpark of $1k-$2k) and I'm trying to decide whether or not a WSD is worth it for me. I don't know whether or not the WSD make a big difference for a woman that is 5'6"+

Thoughts? Thanks everyone for your patience on the WSD debate
It is not your height that matters, it is your build type.

I'm 4'11", I've purchased 3 bikes in the last 1.5 years, none of them are WSD (though one is custom). Two are off the shelf "unisex" bikes (a road and mountain). I have one WSD frame left in my stable and it's the worst fitting bike I own (and probably soon to be for sale).

This is all despite me being one of the "shorties" that should have a horrible time finding unisex frames to fit (I won't say it's easy) and "should" fit better on WSD.

Why? I have a long torso and short legs (like a typical guy's build, rather than a typical women's build with a shorter torso). In fact my torso is so long I wear a men's medium in backpacking packs (but I'm only 4'11"!!!!!).

Typical WSD shortens the top tube (reach) relative to seat-tube (standover/leg length), NOT what I need at all. They also provide women's bars, grips, saddles, etc. Which is great, but I just swapped out all my contact points (I have my preferred ones and would have done that regardless).

So my point is, at 5'6" a WSD bike may very well help you, or it may be totally wrong, or you may be close enough that it just won't matter (WSD or unisex could fit well). Ride some bikes, or have a fit done, or both and see what works.