Looking for a new bike for my wife and like the look of the 2009 Kona Calderas that are being sold off cheap at Paul’s Cycles. They’ve only got 18″, which is in theory the same size as her old Hahana, but looking at the dimensions for the current Caldera the top tube is an inch longer. Is it going to feel too big, or is the current trend for short stems meaning top tubes are longer? She’s got an 85mm stem (centre to centre) on her existing bike, saddle in the middle of its rails.

She’s 5’6″ with a 32″ inside leg (to the floor, no shoes). Anybody similar size riding a recent 18″ Kona?

I know we can fiddle with saddle position and stem length/height, but don’t want it to be massive. Kona’s sizing chart suggests 17″ for her height, but that’s only 1/2″ shorter in the top tube than an 18″.

im about 57 and 31 inside leg i ride a 2009 kona cindercone & 2011 kona tanuki both 18`frames and i have both the seat posts up a fair way.

Thanks. It’s more the length I was concerned about rather than the height. Women tend to prefer a shorter reach than blokes, so I was trying to avoid the new bike being too much longer than the old one with supposedly the “same size” frame. Obviously we could lose an inch between stem and saddle position without too much trouble.

What size stem did the 2009 bike come with? Presumably a Cindercone and Caldera will be similar geometry, both being from the xc/trail range.

im fairly sure its got 85mm stem but im not 100%