Child's bike for a small woman?

[smaryka]

New to this forum but a bit late to this thread (I've been perusing all the stuff about cyclocross frames as I'd like to find a better one for next season -- at 5'2" with short legs, not an easy task!)

Ms Pepperpot, I have an Islabike Luath 700, small size, and I love it. I bought it second-hand from a fellow cycling club member whose son had outgrown it. I use it for cyclocross and while it fits perfectly (though I put on a longer stem), the cable routing isn't ideal and it's quite heavy so I'm looking for something better. It was a great starter bike for my first cross season though. I would probably go with the larger size if I were using it primarily on the road instead of off-road.

Things I like about it:
-- short cranks
-- no toe overlap
-- very low standover, like 71cm (great for my 74cm inseam)
-- narrow bars
-- well-built
-- frame geometry feels great
-- regular 700c wheels

Things I will upgrade if I keep it for racing:
-- shifters and cassette (mine is an 8-speed with Sora shifters, I hate the thumb button -- I want 10-speed anyway)
-- better derailleurs

But for your purposes, it's probably fine! And the price is right. I've seen more than a few Islabikes ridden by women so you won't be alone in buying one.

I'm looking at a Surly Cross Check 42cm as a frame upgrade that I will build up myself with various bits and pieces from the Islabike and elsewhere. Standover for me is quite important as coming off the saddle to a grinding halt in a race must not result in physical damage

[colorisnt]

I am shorter than you - 5' tall - but I am mostly leg. I have a Trek 1.2 that I bought today in the smallest size available - a 47 cm. The bike I had before was a 43 cm, but not Womens Specific and built very, very differently. You would be surprised what you can find in different brands. In some I was measured for, a 47 cm would have been far too big and in others it fit great. I would suggest getting fit and seeing what they have. I, too, share your woes. I went all over looking for this size and finally found one, so I bought it!

[runningcyclist]

Hi all.

Smaryka, have you posted in LFGSS recently? Maybe you've got a twin

I'm 4'11 and am currently on the hunt for the 'perfect' OTP road bike. I was convinced a smaller frame would be the way to go, but have currently ridden a Trek 1.2 47cm which was uncomfortable in comparison with a Cannondale 48/50. It appears I'm more leg than arms.

I'm convinced that finding a bike with 650c wheels would be the answer to my prayers but am willing to prove myself wrong. I'll be trying out both bikes on the road this weekend and I have particular segment that will test the carbon forks and have found a shop called Tokyobike that has bikes with 650c wheels so I'm off to visit tomorrow lunchtime (extended) to see what they have but they don't appear to do road bikes, but that's ok.

I knew it was difficult to find bikes for shrimps, just hadn't realised how difficult

[smaryka]

Hi all.

Smaryka, have you posted in LFGSS recently? Maybe you've got a twin

I'm 4'11 and am currently on the hunt for the 'perfect' OTP road bike. I was convinced a smaller frame would be the way to go, but have currently ridden a Trek 1.2 47cm which was uncomfortable in comparison with a Cannondale 48/50. It appears I'm more leg than arms.

I knew it was difficult to find bikes for shrimps, just hadn't realised how difficult

Runningcyclist, what bike did you end up getting?

I discovered my perfect 650c bike when I took my old Cervelo P2SL TT frame (not available in Europe I don't think) and built it up as a road bike. Now it's my #1 racing bike, fast and furious with the added aero bonus. It's like climbing aboard a penny-farthing when I jump back on the "big" 700c Soloist again.

[smaryka]

Really not sure what this means, but glad you like your bike

And I thought pennies were small!

Ha ha, a penny-farthing is one of these:


Never actually ridden one but I imagine it feels gigantic underneath you, and hard to get the wheels going initially.

My 650c wheels are so quick to accelerate that when I jump back on my 700c bike it just takes a bit of getting used to again, I don't seem to have that quickness in turning the wheels round, especially going up steep hills. Would never go back to racing my 700c bike in crits again!

[Eden]

My 650c wheels are so quick to accelerate that when I jump back on my 700c bike it just takes a bit of getting used to again, I don't seem to have that quickness in turning the wheels round, especially going up steep hills. Would never go back to racing my 700c bike in crits again!

This is more likely because the bike fits you than the size of its wheels.... I'm short too, but I've an odd body shape and my small 700c bike fits better. For me that one feels like it accelerates, climbs faster etc. (of course the way my 650 bike is built up these days its no wonder, its a bit of a pig compared to my race bike right now at 22.5 lbs)

[smaryka]

This is more likely because the bike fits you than the size of its wheels.... I'm short too, but I've an odd body shape and my small 700c bike fits better. For me that one feels like it accelerates, climbs faster etc. (of course the way my 650 bike is built up these days its no wonder, its a bit of a pig compared to my race bike right now at 22.5 lbs)

It's a bit of both I think -- the 650c wheels are lighter, so that's an advantage, and the smaller diameter means less energy to get them going or to speed them up (see this page for the explanation). But then you lose out with the higher rolling resistance on the small wheels, so it takes more effort to keep them going and you lose more energy on bumps and rough road.

It's interesting because both my frames are the same size (48cm) by the same manufacturer (Cervelo). I wrote a blog post about this a while back comparing the two here. Biggest differences are that the 650c bike has a lower front end (smaller diameter wheel and its short headtube as a TT bike), and the seattube angle is steeper. No toe overlap as I have on the 700c bike. Both bikes descend and corner really well, but the lower front end on the 650c bike makes it a bit more aggressive for racing.

I think Cervelo's done a great job making a 700c bike in small sizes though, given the inherent geometry problems with that. After all there is a market for those wheels on a small frame, so it's nice that a manufacturer has thought through the problems and tried to find the best solution rather than compromise on handling. They also make a 650c carbon model (the RS), though the headtube on that is quite long so more a comfort than a racing bike.

[alimey]

Having just done a (UK) market search to recommend a bike to a small woman (4'11"), I found that one or two of the Treks come in a 43cm w/ 650c wheels. The effective top tube is about 48.5cm - so lovely & short. It's not intuitive or very clear which bikes come in this small size - but if you go onto the Trek site & go through all the road bikes, you will see most come with 47cm as the smallest - but a couple come smaller.

We frequently have small women customers (as a 5'1" myself I know the frustrations) & there aren't a lot of off the peg 650c bikes available in the UK - sometimes you can find a 43cm Cannondale on ebay - but I dont' think they make one new anymore.

[alimey]

Having just done a (UK) market search to recommend a bike to a small woman (4'11"), I found that one or two of the Treks come in a 43cm w/ 650c wheels. The effective top tube is about 48.5cm - so lovely & short. It's not intuitive or very clear which bikes come in this small size - but if you go onto the Trek site & go through all the road bikes, you will see most come with 47cm as the smallest - but a couple come smaller.

We frequently have small women customers (as a 5'1" myself I know the frustrations) & there aren't a lot of off the peg 650c bikes available in the UK - sometimes you can find a 43cm Cannondale on ebay - but I dont' think they make one new anymore.