Road bike shopping for short person

[goldfinch]

The bike I bought was a used bike and they didn't have anything smaller. I tried it, just enough clearance for standover height and with some minor adjustments (had to buy a conversion thing for the handlebars and a new saddle) got it to fit great. I have short legs with a longer torso and arms. The reason for the men's version are two fold, one I much prefer the colors of the men's bikes and pretty much hate the colors of most of the WSD bikes. The other thing is the top tube on the men's bikes are just enough longer that it feels better. I have not tried the smaller bikes and have no interest in trying them either. The 47cm bikes come with 700cm wheels the 43s are 650s. My current bike is 650 wheels. My next one is going to have 700 wheels. Also my wanting the men's version is why I will not be buying the bike locally and will most likely be driving either 2 hrs or 5 hrs to get my new bike. (I know the LBS back in Charlotte will work with me, the one in Raleigh we think will, but haven't really dealt with them. Oh that's the one downtown, the other one I have no interest in ever going to again.)
My current bike with some minor adjustments made there felt great as soon as I tried it. Then we did the other adjustments later to get it even better. It has men's handlebars which are just fine with me. When I tried the Lexa, I felt a bit scrunched up on the bike, not stretched out enough as far as top tube length goes and the handlebars were too narrow and small.

We must be built quite differently even though you are only a little taller than I am. I need the shorter reach. But I know my arms are very short. Even on petite clothes I end up shortening my sleeves. I also have very narrow shoulders and am uncomfortable on wide handlebars.

Given individual differences it is amazing anyone gets comfortable on a bike. No wonder we end up with fitters to tweak everything.

[Koronin]

You're right, it does sounds we're built very differently. I definitely have wider shoulders as I have issues finding women's clothing that fits properly. I do have a favorite brand (Columbia) which the large and X large shirts fit well, but now I live where I can't find that brand of clothing so I just shop in the men's dept. Actually all my coats and jackets are men's because it's impossible to find a women's coat that fits right. If I find one with the right length for the arms the shoulders are way too tight, find one that fits the shoulders and the arms are way too long. And actually the same goes for the cycling jerseys, I found one women's jersey that fit, but my other ones are all men's. Heck most of the women's xlarge jerseys are too small in the shoulders, so I end up looking at the men's and usually end up with men's medium jerseys. Of course that is one reason I do not like our LBS they seem to think that if you're female you have to have women's accessories, clothing, bikes ect.

Come to think of it, it sounds like you're built more like my one sister is, very petite. She'd need a WSD bike (very narrow shoulders, short arms, torso, and legs). My other sister is a bit taller than I am (5'4"), has longer legs, long arms, longer torso. She and I also both have wider shoulders.

[CyborgQueen]

woe is me...we're in the same shoes. :-) From what it seems like, you're much better off looking at custom bikes.

Don't be afraid of the compact. You can get 11-28t on your cassette, with 50/34 chain rings (front), and you'll do fine. Unless if you're on steep hills all the time like I am, these should work for you. IF you feel like you want more easier gearing AND a small bike, I would take a look at Specialized Dolce Comp Triple. I saw it in the shop the last couple days, and the Top tube is really low...feels like I have about 4 to 5 inch clearance compared to 1/2 inch clearance on my current bike (I'm 4' 11 and 3/4. The 3/4 counts!!!). It's not full carbon though.



As for the roughness on the road...while you're bike shopping, I would recommend that you find better tires (if you don't want to spend money on tires that's fine), but I would highly recommend that you lower your PSI. It won't feel so rough.

When I pump up my tires, I used to go 135-140 psi (max is 145 on my tires), and it was always ROUGH. Then I got new tires, (125 max), and I would pump up my tires to 120-125..still very rough. I thought it was just me being sensitive to vibrations (I'm deaf, so anything that's tactile is 3x or more sensitive than a hearing person).

However, after talking to a cyclist friend, she told me to lower the PSI...I lowered it to 100 to the front, and 110 in the back....no more road roughness/bumpiness/vibration. It felt smooth. So try that! :-)

[Crankin]

Kathi, it is not called a Size Cycle. I am not sure what the actual name of the machine is, but it's definitely a Guru invention. It might be the same type of thing as the Serotta system, but it has not been around very long. You have to have a specific relationship with Guru to have one and of course, have their training. The woman who did my fit is an aerospace engineer (!) who is working part time at the LBS. Of course, the LBS owner was there, too and did part of it. Here is a link: http://www.gurubikes.com/enCA/dfu/

My younger son had a Serotta when he was racing. It's not custom, but it's very pretty. It hung in the shed for a few years and we cleaned it up and gave it to our other son, who thankfully, is strong enough to ride a bike with racer's gearing. It's a classic bike now, and he always gets comments on it.

[Crankin]

You know, I don't think we have any old pictures, but maybe I can ask the DS who has it now to snap one.

[eofelis]

I'm 5'2" and I have a Gunnar Sport custom and a 44cm 2007 Specialized Ruby.

The Gunnar was not a custom for me so I can't comment on their custom process. I got it on ebay and it fits me pretty well. It's got about a 51cm eTT length. It has 700c wheels. Stock Gunnar Sport frames in that size range have 650c wheels. It's quite a nice riding bike.

The Ruby is a bit shorter, 49.something eTT.

I have a 42cm LHT also. I used to ride a 42cm Pacer. Even though they have different wheel sizes they are both about the same eTT and standover. So if one fits you the other will too. The Pacer is not a light fast road bike but it's comfortable and bombproof.

A friend of mine is shorter than I am and she rides a tiny Lemond Big Sky road bike. It's an aluminum frame with carbon fork, 700c wheels. I'm not sure of the measurements of this bike but it seems to fit her pretty well. She had a Retul fit done last year and her fit checked out ok. She could probably benefit from a custom frame but she keeps riding the Lemond. She has done Ride The Rockies several times with it.

[Miranda]

EDIT ADD: OK, I went back and found your SO height and compared it to the geo, it might be just a hair too big, drats. However, remember our "cycling inseam" is different than our pants inseam. A good fitter should get it right. Oh well, maybe some other comments of help to consider below...

I don't know if this would fit, but Orbea makes a 47cm carbon roadie with geo close to what you need for TT, forgetting the SO mentioned earlier, atm.

http://www.orbea.com/us-us/bicis/mod...macion_tecnica

I'm 5"4 1/2 5" ish depending how tall I stretch up my neck, I'm shrinking I told the gyn doc last time I got on the measuring scale thingy.

My torso is very long, and I have short legs. I love my Orbea!

I have degenerative disk disease and arthritis in my neck-spine etc. & other stuff blab blab blab... will stop the medical woes list there. One reason I bought the bike from my aluminum frame bike was to help soak up the road, vs my body doing so. Oh, love the carbon for that.

With the skinny road tires you will feel the road more compared to your hybrid. Like on your test ride you mentioned early on. However, there are many tweeks to help with that. I.e. having slightly wider road tires, tire pressure, carbon bars... and even stiffness of the carbon frame.

My Orbea Onix Dama is considered to be more of a "plush" carbon, vs a race carbon. It's heavy-ish for a carbon. On the shop scales it was 18#s+ with Ultergra and the Reynolds stock wheels. It's still very responsive, but probably not as snappy as the stiffer pound lighter framed bike. But that extra plush or give helps soak up the road for our bodies.

Just something else to throw out there. Cervelo made a 48cm with 650s but don't know if that would be too big or not. Good Luck!