29er or not?

[Aggie_Ama]

I don't have a problem riding and racing a 15.5" 29er, my inseam is about 28.5". I don't think unless you just often ride a course with a lot of hairpin turns you will have an issue with toe overlap. My 29er seems to corner better than my 5" travel 26er did, that bike always felt twitchy. I honestly have never heard anyone say anything about toe overlap in mountain biking, I don't know I guess it is an issue.

I know several women the similar build as me that went 29er and won't go back. But some people never want to give up their 26er.

[zoom-zoom]

I don't have a problem riding and racing a 15.5" 29er, my inseam is about 28.5". I don't think unless you just often ride a course with a lot of hairpin turns you will have an issue with toe overlap. My 29er seems to corner better than my 5" travel 26er did, that bike always felt twitchy. I honestly have never heard anyone say anything about toe overlap in mountain biking, I don't know I guess it is an issue.

I know several women the similar build as me that went 29er and won't go back. But some people never want to give up their 26er.

Good to hear. I know my options will be somewhat limited, since it looks like some mfgs. don't even make 29ers small enough for me to stand-over.

[Catrin]

Good to hear. I know my options will be somewhat limited, since it looks like some mfgs. don't even make 29ers small enough for me to stand-over.

I hear it is a problem making small 29ers....but I do wonder if the real problem is the manufacturers thinking they wouldn't sell enough of them to make the worth producing. From what my LBS explained to me there is a problem getting the geometry right below a certain size, but I don't know much about that.

[zoom-zoom]

I hear it is a problem making small 29ers....but I do wonder if the real problem is the manufacturers thinking they wouldn't sell enough of them to make the worth producing. From what my LBS explained to me there is a problem getting the geometry right below a certain size, but I don't know much about that.

I'm sure it's a bit of both, really. Finding cx bikes in my size is trickier. A lot of companies will only do entry-level bikes in smaller sizes.

[Owlie]

I'm sure it's a bit of both, really. Finding cx bikes in my size is trickier. A lot of companies will only do entry-level bikes in smaller sizes.

That sucks. While I have some options on the size (31" inseam) front, reach is always an issue for me. I need WSD in pretty much anything, though I may have a bit more wiggle room with mountain bikes. I've been looking for a CX bike, and apparently there's no market for a WSD cross bike.
I'm here because I'm entertaining the idea of a mountain bike. Maybe.

[pinsonp2]

Giant makes a womwn's cross bike that I find interesting, but I am not ready to buy another bike. Here's the link and they do make a XS and S frames in it:
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/...oad/?level=all

P2

[zoom-zoom]

Giant makes a womwn's cross bike that I find interesting, but I am not ready to buy another bike. Here's the link and they do make a XS and S frames in it:
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/...oad/?level=all

P2

That looks really nice...but even their S would be too big for me in terms of both stand-over and TT. I don't really consider myself an XS woman at just under 5'4". A truly short woman has almost no options, aside from something like a Redline Conquest 24, which is marketed to kids 9-13 (our DS--almost 11--is getting one for Christmas).

I wonder if more women would do CX if the CX bike selection weren't so limited to women of shorter stature. There's always the option to use a mtn. bike, but that extra weight would stink for barriers and really slow a person down.

[Owlie]

Giant makes a womwn's cross bike that I find interesting, but I am not ready to buy another bike. Here's the link and they do make a XS and S frames in it:
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/...oad/?level=all

P2

What concerns me is that the geometry is very similar to my road bike, and I know that doesn't work well for me. (Maybe in a size smaller?)

Still, Giant must run pretty large, then, because there's no way anyone would call me "small".

[zoom-zoom]

That sucks. While I have some options on the size (31" inseam) front, reach is always an issue for me. I need WSD in pretty much anything, though I may have a bit more wiggle room with mountain bikes. I've been looking for a CX bike, and apparently there's no market for a WSD cross bike.
I'm here because I'm entertaining the idea of a mountain bike. Maybe.

I got lucky. I fit perfectly on my 44 Redline Conquest. Redline is pretty good about making CX bikes in a 44 across their range. But if I needed a smaller size I'd be SOL. Ridley makes a smaller model of their very bottom and *I think* very top CX bike, but all the nice models in the middle start at 47.