Hybrid type bike for tall woman

[lozfuller]

Hi, I've just joined the forum and I'm hoping for some steer in the right direction

My wife is 6 feet tall, with an inseam of 35 inches. Given her height I think it will be more difficult to get a woman's bike, but am wondering whether I can just get a man's bike and therefore have more choice of makes/models? Is the only difference between the two the low crossbar on women's bikes?

If a man's bike will do the job, what make/model would people recommend for a hybrid-type bike (with front suspension) for around £500, perhaps a bit more if need be? It will be used mainly on tarmac and rough tracks, hence my plan to go for front suspension. When using my mountain bike, she has suffered with a sore neck/shoulders after only a few miles, I think because the seat is as high as the handlebars. Therefore, I think a bike that allows the handlebars to be quite a few inches higher that the seat (when adjusted for her height) is a requirement.

Also, if anyone is from the Stoke-on-Trent area, a recommendation on a local bike shop would also be useful.

Any advice greatly received.

 

[wafflycat]

I'm 5'6"/5'7" and I've never had the *need* to buy a 'women specific' bike for fit. I'd suggest going to lots of bike shops and trying bikes as the key is to have a bike that fits and is comfortable, and as for make/colour, well, that's all very subjective. For £500 there's a lot of choice - so get shopping!

 

[lozfuller]

Does anyone else have any comments or advice on my earlier post?

My local bike shop, Longstaffs (in Chesterton, Newcastle, Staffordshire) sells Ridgeback and Dawes bikes - are these decent makes or can you buy better quality for the same sort of price as these bikes?

Thanks

 

[stevie_b]

I'm no expert, but I think women's cycles only differ in the top tube positioning to help with skirts etc. A bike with a more horizontal top tube should be stronger and possibly more rigid. I see lots of women cycling in London on bikes that don't have the sloping top tube (and these look like the cyclists who know what they're doing). I don't want to call them "men's bikes", because I don't believe they are.

 

[ASC1951]

Most women cyclists use standard "men's" frames because you can get all the adjustment you need by the right choice of stem length/angle and saddle position. 'Women-specific' bikes are a bit of a marketing ploy (unless you are talking about step-through frames, which very few serious cyclists would look at).

Again, most cyclists, men and women, find that the best compromise between comfort and efficiency is with the saddle never lower than the handlebars. That does depend on the type of riding, but IME having the bars a long way above the saddle is the wrong solution for your wife's discomfort on your MTB.

As to front suspension, I wouldn't bother unless you are going properly off-road. It adds weight, drains effort and soaks up a big chunk of the budget which would be more effectively spent on good wheels and drive train. For roads and rough tracks decent forks and fattish tyres are a better bet.

All this is secondary to what your wife is happy with, of course. If she doesn't like it, she won't ride it.

[I don't know Ridgeback, but Dawes make a big range to cover most price points and are generally well made and good value.]

 

[jay clock]

but I think women's cycles only differ in the top tube positioning to help with skirts etc

not at all the case, in fact very often the men's and women's versions have the same type of crossbar. The theory is that women have proportionately longer legs, so the bike is shorter in "reach" so they are not slumped forward too much.

In answer to your question, I agree with Waffly cat that women over about 5'6" have less of an issue, and I would say for very tall women, men's bikes are fine, if not ideal. SHe may need to replace the stem for an inch or so less.

Finally, think seriously about the front suspension. It soaks up energy when on the road, and I have a non suspension hybrid which is fine. If the bike is a good fit, the vibration issue may be much less noticeable.

 

[jay clock]

Although I would generally avoid Halfords like the plague, I have a Carerra Subway which is superb - now a few years old but an excellent bike that does everything from "mild mountain bike to tourer to road bike".

 

[MacB]

the only other aspect of difference I'm aware of is around geometry, and I don't know if this applies to all ladies/mens bikes. The generally held belief is that ladies are proportioned differently to men, upper to lower body length. Ladies have longer legs and a shorter torso apparently, I'm no expert. If this is thie case then you could argue that a bike of correct size, heightwise, for your wife may have too long a reach to the bars. In reality this can be dealt with via seatpost setback and stem length and angle. So I wouldn't even look at a ladies specific bike in this instance, now bike choice:-

There's a good arguement for a bike for each purpose, ie on and off road. However if it's genuinely only roughish tracks then an all rounder would fit the bill.

Suspension - at the high end(read very expensive) it's there to enable serious rough riding. At the low end it is heavy, poor quality and makes riding harder rather than easier. A properly fit bike will remove the problems that you think suspension will solve.

Type of bike - choice is massive but I'd subdivide by:-
full on road - this is racing not comfort and has drop bars and agressive geometry and position
road fitness - a bit more relaxed than the full and can have flat bars but predominantly drops
road tour trek - generally drop bars, more relaxed geometry, desgined for touring and longer rides
cross bike - like a tourer but originally designed for off road, road style, racing. Modern variations seem to vary so much that it's hard to pin down. Will normally have drop bars
Hybrid fast - closest to a road fitness with flat bars, thinner tyres, built for speed on roads and can only handle lightest of off road.
Hybrid/Town - often described as commuting bikes, designed to do everything on road and light off. Often come with hub gears for low maintenance.
Shoppers - traditional sit up and beg bikes, can generally cope with light off road but not thought a good choice for anything other than short rides.

Though work arounds exist for almost everything I'd personally start by selecting the sort of handlebars your wife wants. If she plans on riding a lot, or longer distances, then multiple hand positions are important. This would mean flat bars with bar ends, touring/butterfly bars or drop bars. Next to decide is what she wants to put on the bike, ie mudguards, rack etc. Once these two are decided then you can look at options that meet these needs. I'd guess she'd be looking in the range from fast hybrid to town bike.

All of the big makes do bikes in these ranges, I'd strongly advise buying from your LBS(local bike shop) so that you have local support. Getting the bike set up correctly is key for comfort. First bit is saddle position in relation to the pedals, so height and vertical distance(setback) from the bottom bracket/centre of cranks. This should, within a small range, be pretty much a constant for her cycling life. Once this is done you can then experiment with reach, height of bars and angle of bars. Remember that lowering the bars increases reach and vice versa. The LBS will help with all of this and should be prepared to use a variety of stems to reach the perfect position. Can be worth getting an adjustable stem for this purpose and then swapping for a fixed stem once settled. Even when everything is spot on this doesn't guarantee no pain. We do bring seldom used muscles in to play and these will strengthen. Also, as you get tired you tend to slouch thus creating a poor posture and potential aches. Carbon forks will reduce road buzz as will wider tyres.

If your LBS are good then be led by them but insist on trying out various bikes. Apologies for length of post but this is only a fraction of what I've gleaned since starting out in Dec08. I really had no idea there was so much to bikes and so many different answers to the same questions Try some bikes, narrow it down a bit and then post back specifics and folks here could advise a bit more.

 

[lozfuller]

Thanks everyone - that's really useful and just the sort of info I needed - off to the LBS Saturday!

 

[Ktp8]

Hi - I know this is a very old thread, but I was browsing for buying advice and came across this conversation! I too am almost 6 ft tall with 35" inseam. I have the same problems with comfort that you mentioned your wife was experiencing. I was just wondering was she able to find something suitable for in the end that was comfortable?
I find that I have a lot of wrist pain with my current (pretty old) mountain bike, and also feel that with the saddle so high I am forced to lean too far forward . Also , did she go for front suspension or not? I had been looking for this as a 'must have' , but having read some of the replies here, now I'm not too sure! I'd appreciate any advice . Thanks!