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road frame for 5'0" wife...
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I'm looking for a road frame in the 44cm range for her, besides the sketchy chinese on ebay or going custom, does anyone know of manufacturers that make XXS or 44 frames?

Thanks
Ben

ishi no ue ni san nen | Perseverance will win in the end. | Blog | @nebmot | Strava | Instagram |
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Re: road frame for 5'0" wife... [nebmot] [ In reply to ]
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Cannondale makes several in their women's specific lines.
My Cannondale Optimo (no longer available) is a 44 and I'm 5'. Great bike.
You might do a search on this forum; it's been covered quite a bit.




"A merry heart doeth good like medicine." (Proverbs 17:22)
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Re: road frame for 5'0" wife... [nebmot] [ In reply to ]
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I just looked on the Trek website and get the impression their smallest frame is 47 cm. The 44 will definately want 650c wheels. What about Terry bicycles? It's a women specific company.

http://www.terrybicycles.com/cycling_savvy
Last edited by: cerveloguy: Oct 6, 09 19:59
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Re: road frame for 5'0" wife... [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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Specialized goes down to a 44 in the Dolce line. I have an Ultegra SL group with a compact crank for her. So its just a matter of finding the frame. I'm thinking that 650's are probably right for her.

Thanks for the terry suggestion.

ishi no ue ni san nen | Perseverance will win in the end. | Blog | @nebmot | Strava | Instagram |
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Re: road frame for 5'0" wife... [nebmot] [ In reply to ]
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Small Bikes, I'm 5' with long legs, short torso and very short reach. I'm always in the market for a new bike :) People always say "OH WSD is garbage bla bla bla" well, when you're 5' it's your only option.


Road

I have a Cannondale Optimo in a 44cm. It's on 650 wheels 49 top tube. Alum with Ultegra, I love this bike! They no longer make this bike or any 650c bikes. They do have 47cm frames with 50 top tubes. I'm trying to find a Six to test ride. I kinda really want one.

Specialized makes the Ruby (comprable to the roubiax) and now the new race worthy Amira (WSD Tarmac) They are on 700c wheels and fit well. I've ridden a ruby and a dolce. Want an Amira!!

Trek used to make small bikes in 650 but they too are now on 700c. The top of the line WSD bike has ultegra and isn't that great. F YOU TREK. I want to drop stupid cash on a bike. So it won't be going to you.

Felt makes WSD bikes in a "petite" size on 650c wheels.

Orbea also makes a 46cm frame on 650c.


oh, someone told me yesterday Scott has frames in a 47 with a 50 tt on 700c wheels.

I am buying a new road bike early 2010 and hope to test ride the Scott CR1 WSD, Cannondale Six Feminine, and the Specialized Amira. All three of these bikes come in NOT PINK!




I no longer do tris but race bikes (crits and track) so I want 700c wheels for a lot of reasons. Im looking at getting either an Amira or Six. I'd love the top of the line Felt or Orbea but don't want to be on 650c anymore. It sux not being able to use/borrow wheels from friends and no one wants to be in your draft!!! Well, more like you don't provide any. If you're not racing or doing hard group rides it's probably no big deal.


As for TT bikes, I have a QRoo Dulce and love it. Know lots of small women on Planet X xxs. I got the QRoo on sale or I probably would have gotten the Planet X

Now let's talk track bikes!!!

Fuji, Felt and Planet X all make a small bike. I have a Tk2 and love it. It's crazy stiff and twitchy. After a week of only riding my track bike I got on my Cannondale and thought there was something wrong with it :-P I'd like a Planet X but it was out of my price range (at the time)
Last edited by: vmandel: Oct 7, 09 8:31
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Re: road frame for 5'0" wife... [nebmot] [ In reply to ]
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one of the women in my bike club had a custom frame made by Serotta - she is the same size and loves her bike. Hope this helps.

Graham Wilson
USAT Level III Elite Coach
http://www.thewilsongroup.biz
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Re: road frame for 5'0" wife... [feman] [ In reply to ]
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Jump her on a 44 specialized ruby, I have fit many her size in this frame. Specialized is pushing out their 2009s to their dealers at great prices if there are any left.
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Re: road frame for 5'0" wife... [steveandbarb1] [ In reply to ]
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I'm 5' on a Le Mond Buenos Aires 45cm. I got my bike in 08 I think, the last year Trek was making the Le Mond. Love the bike.
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Re: road frame for 5'0" wife... [nebmot] [ In reply to ]
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I just fit a 5' 1" tall friend on a Fugi Sihloette (44cm/ XS) and it was perfect. Full ultegra build, carbon frame. Out the door for $1450.00


Dave Stark
dreamcatcher@astound.net
USAC & USAT level 2 certified coach
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Re: road frame for 5'0" wife... [karma] [ In reply to ]
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My wife is very happy with her Specialized Dolce. I tried to get her on a 650 bike, but she wouldn't do it. In the end, a good decision on her part. If she ever takes the plunge and gets a tri bike, I will lobby hard for a custom (Serotta, Guru, Elite, etc.)
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Re: road frame for 5'0" wife... [Large] [ In reply to ]
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I am 5'0" and rode a trek for awhile. Kind of cheap and heavy. Then, I got a custom serotta and love it.
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Re: road frame for 5'0" wife... [nebmot] [ In reply to ]
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My wife is just a hair over 5ft tall and we (mostly me :-) spent months trying to find her the right road bike.

I was convinced that a frame that small, should likely have 650 wheels so that limited the choices somewhat. Being a Cervelo fan, I wanted to like the xs Cervelo RS because I thought the taller headtube would suit her well, but the stand-over height was too high for her to even straddle the bike so it was eliminated pretty quickly.

Terry Bicycles was high on the consideration list. If you can do without Carbon or titanium, they have options that are defiately small enough. The Fast Woman looks like a nice well conceived steel frame.

We ended up getting her the mid level Obea Onix Dama which has a nice Ultegra level component mix. It fits her pretty well and she enjoys riding it. She's not experienced enough to give a detailed analysis of the ride compared to other bikes, but she thinks its fabulous compared to the old Trek WSD tank that she had.

I think we made a good choice with the Orbea but it still takes a pretty short stem to make it work well. I just don't think there are many good road bike options for someone 5' or less. If I was going to start over from scratch, I think we'd just get her a custom bike and save all the hassle. If she ever gets really serious about cycling and decides she wants to upgrade, we'll probably go straight to a custom builder.

For what it's worth, we also looked at tri bikes and the QR Chiqilo is the smallest production bike I could find and the one we would have gotten had we gone that route.
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Re: road frame for 5'0" wife... [nebmot] [ In reply to ]
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My wife is 5'2" and she was fit on a felt WSD. The smallest size was too small, so she has the next up with 700c wheels. The smallest came with 650c. This was for the 40 model. I am sure the smallest with the 650c wheels would fit.
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Re: road frame for 5'0" wife... [kesslergk] [ In reply to ]
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Go 650s The geometry set up for the 650 wheels is more steady then with 700s. Things are more proportional with the small wheels. My mother is 5'1" and she has the cervelo RS-1 with the 650s and she loves it. She had the Specialized ruby 44 and it was to twitching for her.

Best option if she is riding a lot is to have professional 3d fit done and then get the bike that fits her, regardless of the wheel size.

Good luck


Vale!
Tracy T
http://www.thelencoaching.com
Some light reading::: http://www.tracythelen.blogspot.com
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Re: road frame for 5'0" wife... [RNR girl] [ In reply to ]
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Sorry, I gotta 100% diagree with this above.

I had a chance to not just test ride but RENT a Specialized Amira for the day. did about 50 miles and 4000 feet of climbing. Took it down a long and windy decent. GLendora Moutain Road for those of you who know it. I am 4'11" and the bike was fucking fantastic and it fit great. I found it to be more stable and less twitchy then my current bike (Cannondale Optimo)

It also was way stiffer in the BB. When I sprint uphill on the Cannondale I can feel it flex, not so on the Specialized. In fact I didn't even realize how noodley it was until I rode the Cannondale the day ofter renting the Amira.

I already have an S Works on Order :D
Last edited by: vmandel: Nov 3, 09 10:45
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Re: road frame for 5'0" wife... [vmandel] [ In reply to ]
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The amira is brand new for 2010 - the Ruby that my mother had was the first year for that bike in carbon. I will freely admit that her bike handling skills are not the best - pretty bad at times, and that was part of the issue that she was having with the Ruby. Because of her handling skills, the smaller wheels and proportional geometry worked better for her. Specialized makes bikes for sprinters - look at who they sponsor - and having bad handling on a responsive bike is asking for trouble. The bike itself was not the issue - I rode it and it was really nice (but too small). I have the TriCoss as my road bike and also really like it - I also have the Era for my MTB. You cannot go wrong with anything Specialized makes (I am not associated with them in any way - also have four other bike brands in the house - Giant, Gary Fisher, Tomac and Cervelo)

The greater issue I think is fit. It doesn't matter what size wheels you ride if the bike fits. That's why I recommend the 3d fits - had one done, eliminated some issues with my hips. Get the fit, then find the bike that works, not pick a bike and try to make it fit. Wheel size is only one part of the picture. If I wasn't racing Xterra mostly, I would have looked into the 650s.

Good luck with your new bike - sounds like you're in love with it.


Vale!
Tracy T
http://www.thelencoaching.com
Some light reading::: http://www.tracythelen.blogspot.com
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Re: road frame for 5'0" wife... [nebmot] [ In reply to ]
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This KHS 650 is not a sketchy bike - very nice for the $$. He's my LBS and has one set aside in his basement for my daughter's BD next summer.

The wheels alone are worth what he is asking for the bike - there were actually some comments about them in a recent thread about aero aluminum wheels, and the 650s are great on a bike this size (my wife rides a 48cm Cannondale with 700s). It has entry level components, but everything on it is pretty solid.

http://cgi.ebay.com/...?hash=item335700251b

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Eat right. Get lots of sleep. Drink plenty of fluids. Go like Hell.
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