Short Lady Requires Advice re First Road Bike: update

[I like Skol]

Just double checked a few figures. My youngest lad is 4'10" - 4'11" at age 10 and his Triban is the 45cm.

HERE he is on the day he got it two yrs ago aged just 8!

It still fits him brilliantly.

 

[davidphilips]

I love my 650c-wheel road bike, but there's one thing to bear in mind. Passing cyclists will not be able to help you out with a spare inner tube if you've forgotten yours.

you are right very few with 650 wheels but a 700 tube can go in as a very temporary fix (folded over a bit) i done this for a cyclist with a flat a few months ago, give and fitted one of my spares, never seen them again so can only assume they made it home ok.

 

[davidphilips]

Assume, or hope?

lol hope is perhaps a better word tbh i can not understand why any one would go out on a long cycle without a spare tube and the means to fit.

 

[Reynard]

Thanks for the further head ups, folks :-) It's very much appreciated.

I'm very much of the try-before-you-buy mentality - learnt the hard way with fencing kit. Besides, what I end up getting will be far better than what I currently have anyway. But coming from a MTB that was ridden on the road, I've actually never experienced a puncture... :-p Makes sense to keep a spare tube handy whatever the wheel size.

 

[Drago]

+1 form the Pendleton Initial. Never tried one personally because I'm hooj, but I bought one for my good lady who's a bit short of leg and she loves it. Good stiff frame, budget but well chosen transmission, a proper bike simply made tiny. Reserve online for a further 10% off.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

As noone seems to have mentioned them yet: https://www.islabikes.co.uk/products/bikes

It would be second hand within your budget, but eminently doable. IIRC this went for high 200s a day or two ago: http://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=108107

Wonder if this is still available: http://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=106912

 

[velovoice]

I was going to suggest Islabikes... meanwhile, both @User13710 and @wanda2010 have come up trumps with Trek models running 650B wheels and that's the way I'd go if I were you -- used/secondhand if need be, as I have no idea what the 2016 line up is.

(I can't speak to being 4'11" but have had just enough fit issues being a towering 5'3" to have some idea how limited the mainstream market options can be!)

 

[velovoice]

Also.... while I love the mixte suggestion someone made up thread, there are not many modern road bike mixte frames. You'd be looking at used/secondhand which is fine because all the really lovely, classy, elegant, smooth-riding lightweight steel mixtes were made before ~1982. Totally intoxicating if your tastes run that way but a real heartbreaker for short ladies as the proportions are quite long in reach. @User13710 and myself both know this from bitter experience. I've been lucky enough to get one just about 'comfortable enough' for rides up to 30-40 miles long, but I can't see a lady with typical proportions shorter than myself having any joy. I'd love to be proved wrong, but...

 

[velovoice]

Personally I wouldnt want to be messing about getting tyres or wheels for a 650 wheel bike. Your choice is much more limited.

5 years ago, I'd be agreeing with you. But 650b has become stratospherically popular in the USA so more tyre manufacturers are offering this size. More every day. Which reminds me, I need to do a blog post summarising availability in the UK but try running a google search. You may be surprised.

ETA: I'm sure @User13710 and @wanda2010 would be happy to say where they get theirs. Ladies faced with unusual size/fit issue take the time to search out what they need. This is true whether shopping for jeans or bike tyres.

 

[velovoice]

Yeah you can get them but theres no where near as much choice. I have done a google search.

Well, no, of course a short woman is never going to be given as much choice -- for any product where size is relevant -- as the average height man. That's rather the point of this thread, isn't it?

 

[velovoice]

Sorry @User46386 , I don't at all mean to come over all snarky. But I've been in the OP's shoes and wasted years (not to mention £thousands) on bikes that just weren't right for a woman my height. Her challenge is even greater. We have two very knowledgeable women on this forum whose experiences will be very valuable to the OP but I believe they are both sleeping after completing last night's FNRttC. Almost certainly on 650b wheels. There have been great suggestions of bicycles on the market that may have frames of the right size but almost certainly are built with 700c wheels with all the attendant problems that come with them, toe overlap being the most obvious but in many ways not the most serious. I am looking forward to the contributions @User13710 and @wanda2010 make to this thread in due course.

 

[theclaud]

We have two very knowledgeable women on this forum whose experiences will be very valuable to the OP but I believe they are both sleeping after completing last night's FNRttC.

Lightweights.

 

[T4tomo]

I've seen the Wiggins Rouen in the flesh, and it's a cracking looking bike and not a bad spec at all for £350, but the Triban 3 with its carbon fork beat it hands down for value at its sale price of £150. It really is a no brainer as it will resale second hand at close to £200 in a year or twos time.

 

[Reynard]

Yes... Buying jeans... One of life's most frustrating occupations when you're my height... But regular length Gap crop kicks are just the ticket. ;-)

I've been thinking about second hand for a while, but out here in the boonies, you don't tend to see too many SH bikes up for grabs. When you do, they're always for someone a foot taller, and anything my size is pink, sparkly and princess-y... It was spotting the Wiggins Rouen in a window display that got me thinking about the junior bikes in the first place.

My nearest Halfords is in March - a 45 minute drive away. Am heading off to March on Monday anyway, so will probably drop in and have a gander at the suggested options. At £150, the Triban looks good, plus would leave me some budget to get nicer accessories, but my nearest Decathlon is in Harlow :-(

Only thing is a question about carbon forks. CFRP has low elasticity and dissipates energy by breaking, whereas metal has more give. Some of the roads out here here aren't the best (made from concrete slabs with gaps between the slabs), so wondering about longevity...

 

[Elybazza61]

Not a bad selection of tyres at Wiggle;

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/road-race-tyres/650c-571-wheel-size/

And tubes;

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/inner-tubes/275-650b-wheel-size/