I am not proportional! I need help!

[Sharona1973]

Okay, maybe it isn't so drastic, but I've been pulling my hair out over what type of bike to get.

I'm a newbie trying to get into triathlons and have been looking at getting a road bike to replace my $50 Wal-Mart mtn bike.

One of the LBS here is great and a wonderful owner and very helpful. He is a Jamis dealer and has recommended the Ventura Sport since it is the lowest price ($650) out of all the bikes that he has.

Trouble is this: I am 5'3" tall and my inseam is 26 1/4 to 27 inches depending on how you stretch it..and this is with tennis shoes on. Wouldn't this make my standover height more around 25-26 inches? According to a website I was looking at, a woman of my height typically has an inseam of 29 inches. So I guess I have short legs (knew that already!) and a longer torso?

The 48cm size Ventura Sport has a standover height of 27.87 inches. Wouldn't I be literally straddling the frame? That is the smallest size frame they have.

I was also looking at bikesdirect.com and they have Windsor Willow bikes in "women's sizes" and they have a 44cm frame, but the standover height there is 28 inches...doesn't seem to make sense to me. Maybe it's a typo because the 48cm frame they have states that the standover height is 27 inches.

Anyway, I'm all confused as I thought that a woman's design bike would work better for me, but I was reading on the Terry site (bikes made for women?) that if you have a disproportional inseam to your height, you may not fit a woman's bike very well?

Anyone help? Thanks.

[Triskeliongirl]

First a question for you. How are you measuring your inseam? This is not a pants inseam, this is a measuremnt taken either by a skilled tech in a bike shop, or you can do it on your own by pressing a book into your crotch, with bike shorts on and barefoot, marking the spot on the wall (you want to get the floor to pubic bone distance) and measuring. Let us know this number and we'll answer more specifically. If you really have short legs and a long torso, then a guys bike will fit you better, but then finding a guys bike with enough standover height may be hard, but maybe a compact geometry frame will work for you as it has more standover clearance.

[Sharona1973]

Hi! Thank you for your reponse.

I measured my inseam as you described at home yesterday and I did get measured at the LBS last week, but not in my bike shorts. They did say that my inseam was about 27 inches. I can go back and make sure....with my bike shorts.

I have read that if I am not proportional according to height and inseam that a woman's bike would not be the best fit for me. My problem now is finding a men's bike that will fit my standover height.

[Grog]

Most women's bikes are made for shorter torso/longer legs combinations...

Why not try a tall children's bike? I have seen teenagers on bikes that were definitely not adults' bikes but still a good size.

[Nokomis]

I'd strongly reccomend that you find a bike shop that will do a bike fit - take all your measurements and find the right fit for You. Then, you can apply these measurements to this & any future bike you purchase. A good shop will also give you credit for the cost (shouldn't exceed $100) toward the purchase of your bike.

DH has purchased 3 bikes using a best guess / stand over, the most recent 2 bikes (his & mine) were too small for us. Now that we've been fit, I wouldn't buy a bike w/out my numbers.

[Triskeliongirl]

I agree with the suggestions to get a more comprehensive fit. While it is true that for your inseam and height, you probably have a longer torso than *many* women, if your arms, like your legs are also short you may still prefer a wsd model. A frame with compact geometry may also provide you a bit more standover clearance. Good luck, and report back to us what happens!

[MelC]

You can see on a related thread called "Bike Sizing" that my friend is having similar issues because she needs a long reach bike (54cm) but doesn't have enough inseam to get on the darn thing. Women's geometry is the exact wrong thing for you because typically this is designed for long legs and short reach. Compact geometry seems to be the best thing we have found so far since they fudge the effective top tube length by having a sloped frame (don't ask me how this works - geometry was a long time ago) that results in a smaller bike with a longer effective reach. The Giant bikes - OCR1, OCR2 and OCR3 are all compact geometry. There are some others as well I believe but since we are looking for a used bike we have been focussing on what comes up.

Good luck.

Mel

[Triskeliongirl]

I still think she needs to be fully measured. As I say before, her inseam relative to height only tells us she is long torsoed, but without knowing her arm length, we still don't know for sure if she she really needs a long top tube. Compact geometry will help her to get a bike with more standover clearance given that her legs are short.

[Sharona1973]

Thank you again to everyone for the great informative replies. This may not be what most of you will do, but I have decided to get an entry level road bike. I talked to the owner of the LBS and he is aware of my issues with the standover height. My situation is this: there are only 2 bike shops in town. The one that actually does fitting is one that does pressure sells and not the best shop to buy a bike from. The other bike shop is owned by a couple who love cycling and they have been in business for over 18 years and I've been in to talk to them for several days now and they have never pressured me into buying their bikes.

The owner, Scott, doesn't think that the standover height is going to be that much of an issue. He is more concerned about the fit of the bike and has told me that if I get a bike that I like, he will fit the bike to me. I test rode a 51cm bike frame Jamis Ventura Sport and it was definitely not fitted properly to me because of the long top tube.

My current dilemma is also based on the fact that I am just now getting into cycling and triathlons and I just don't have the money to spend on an expensive road bike.

Actually all of these numbers are making my head hurt and perhaps someday I'll be crunching them when I am a superb rider. For now, I'm going to get a bike that I can afford and take it to Scott and he can make sure it's a proper fit.

I will let you know how it goes!

[Nokomis]

I'm not sure where you are at - but I did see some physical therapy places that do bike fit in the Portland area... might be another option?

I hope you find something that works well!