So any ladies out their who are 5’4", what size road bike and type of bike are you riding, or for simplicity, what is the effective top tube length on your bike?
I’ll be watching this thread as well… I’m in the market for a bike for my 5’4" wife. In the past she’s fit well on a 48 CM WSD frame. Right now I’m also curious if a WSD bike is necessary for a comfortable fit for her too.
I’m a 5’5" female and I ride a 48 for my road and TT bikes. I have to go to a 48 because I have a short torso/long legs so the reach is too long on a 50 or larger. But it really depends on the geometry and what your wife needs. She really needs to be fit properly first to be sure on the correct size.
I’m almost 5’4 with a 30.5 inseam and I ride a 48cm road bike.
I wouldn’t buy anything bigger, especially for a ‘cruise to the market’ bike where she probably doesn’t want to be any more stretched out than she has to be.
I would go with the smaller size. I am 5’5" and ride a 48 to 50cm for most frame sets. In my experience, it is much easier to make a slightly smaller frame fit than a bigger frame.
When on a bigger frame, the handling can get really squirelly if you have to go with a really short stem. If your wife is just getting into cycling, I would not recommend trying to fit her on the larger frame based on the handling issues alone.
It really depends on not just height but also stand over and reach. I ride a 51 cm Trek Madone for road bike and a 51 cm P3 for tri bike at 5’4. However, my commuter/cross bike is a 48 cm Specialized Crux. My sister is just a little shorter but with much shorter legs and she rides 48 cm across the board.
As you said - big jump from 48 to 52. The sizing range is not well thought out - the 52 fits basically the same as a Cervelo R or S size 54 - a medium sized race frame. At 6’4" I could ride the 54 Smoothie with a 130 stem and not too many spacers - Soma would do well to revise this geometry.
So any ladies out their who are 5’4", what size road bike and type of bike are you riding, or for simplicity, what is the effective top tube length on your bike?
thanks,
jack
Well, I’m 5’6" with long legs, and have both a 51 cm Trek and 51 cm Cannondale, both women’s specific frames. My legs fits fine on a 54 cm bike, but the top tube is always just a little too long for me.
She is currently on a Kuota road bike with a 50.5cm top tube. It always seemed a tad short when I look at her on it, but I think the 52cm Smoothie with the 53cm top tube will just be too long. I’m going to go with the 48cm.
I’m 5 ft 5 and have had 51-52cm sized tri bikes in the past. I just sold my Specialized transition (Small, with listed approx. top tube of 51cm ish) to a woman 5 ft 4 inch and she was able to have it fit for her. depends how forward your wife wants to ride too.
I’m 5’4", with short (27") inseam and longer torso. My road bike is the 49 Specialized Roubaix, with a 60mm stem and offset seat post. My tri bike (before I sold it) was a 51 cm 2006 P3C with a 50mm stem. All the rest of my bikes are MTB - all smalls.
I’m not sure if any one has said this before, but look at the geometry of her current bike, as well as the saddle to bb offset and saddle to stem reach. Then go back too the charts for the bikes your looking at and compare. What will you have to do with both bikes to get the fit correct? That would be the best place to start - assuming shes comfortable on her current bike.
How does that make any sense? I could see that maybe the smallest three sizes have the same seat tube angle and then it changes for the other sizes, but it then goes even crazier. I think it is obvious nobody ever looked at the stack and reach of the bikes they are building.
I think it is obvious nobody ever looked at the stack and reach of the bikes they are building.
Someone did:
While I do not know if a linear line with even spacing like Cervelo is best, although it feels like the best approach. All of those look completely sensible compared to smoothie.
So any ladies out their who are 5’4", what size road bike and type of bike are you riding, or for simplicity, what is the effective top tube length on your bike?
I’m a guy quite a bit larger with a Soma Smoothie. They have tall head tubes - is she’s using a racing position and the top tube length is not a problem, go small on this bike.
While I do not know if a linear line with even spacing like Cervelo is best, although it feels like the best approach. All of those look completely sensible compared to smoothie.
Im a 5’4 f and the top tube measurement is usually a bit more important for me then the stand over height or frame size. I like to keep it right around 51 cm or 510 mm. My road bike is an xs giant wsd 43cm with a 51 cm top tube and my cross bike is a mens felt 47cm that also has a 51 cm top tube. Get her sized.
stack and reach!
I want the world to know!
no top tube lengths, reach! reach!
BB–>head tube
stack!
BB → head tube
standover, never a thing!
please continue
Im a 5’4 f and the top tube measurement is usually a bit more important for me then the stand over height or frame size. I like to keep it right around 51 cm or 510 mm. My road bike is an xs giant wsd 43cm with a 51 cm top tube and my cross bike is a mens felt 47cm that also has a 51 cm top tube. Get her sized.
