so, my girlfriend is 5ft exactly and would probably be classed by most of us as on the short side.
she doesnt cycle a lot.i do and am trying to encourage her to as well.
this is just around town,going to the pub etc not offroad or anything.
she insists that to feel confident on a bike she needs to put both of her feet down, completely flat on the road when she stops or there will be a terrible accident.this in turn means her knees are nearly hitting her chest and(to my eyes)is highly inefficent
i on the other hand have cycled for years and this is making me incredibly frustrated at the hugely inefficient and no doubt uncomfortable way she seems to(just about) ride along. she has rejected the 700 wheel ladies bike i got her in favour of her sons 24″ wheeled bike and she would be very happy if i built her a commuter bike around a kids 24″ wheel and frame set up, but this just seems ridiculous to me.
can anyone some up why a 5 ft bird can and should ride a regular size bike and where this is all going wrong (cos im struggling too!)

if she’s happy on a small bike and only heads to the pub or the shops why make a big deal out of it?

Just build her a bike she likes and will ride.

It’s all about confidence. Let her ride around on a short-arse bike until she feels more confident to use a proper bike.

Your missing a trick here. This is your chance to build yourself a nice 24″ Jump/dossing about bike

Got the other half (5-5ft 2″ or thereabouts) a 15″ Specialized (26″ wheels). Let her have the saddle low for a while but then kept sticking it up a little bit before each ride. As she got more confident she then started raising it up herself as she realised the efficiency benfits.

Basically a 26″ wheel bike is the right size for her but she just needs to get confident on it. A smaller wheeled bike will be less efficient for distance and will be more easily upset by bumps etc so it will be better in the long run to use a 26″ wheel that will ride over stuff easier.

Suitable frames do exist.

The Specialized Myka HT is available in 13″ size. My 5′ 1″ partner has the 15″.

well thats a valid point i guess.
its just she is sat so low i actually think her balance is prob worst when riding and it wont be comfortable which will lead to the “that bike makes my legs ache” line.
perhaps the seat post might happen to rise a mm per month..

but this just seems ridiculous to me.

Why? If it’s what she’s happy riding, what is the problem?

Would you be embarrassed to be out with her on that – is that what this is really about? 💡

Why shouldn’t she ride a kid’s bike if she is kid sized?
Get a long seatpost and raise the seat height bit by bit as her confidence grows?
Top tube length is prob more important- so get one with layback?
Loads of 6′ blokes on here seem to think they need 16 inch bikes with a foot of seatpost showing- both MTBs and roadbikes!
I have similar issues with my wife who seems to always drop the seat and stick it in the big ring- then complains she can’t get up the hills- thinking of treating her to a double and bash set up without her asking!

EDIT- you all beat me to it

Hopefully get the post in the right spot before her knees are totally shot.

Sort of makes sense. 6′ 6″ blokes on 29ers look in proportion. 700c is the same rim size as a 29er. A 5′ person on a 29er would look a bit over biked.

They’re alll bikes – better that she’s having fun than on the “right” size.

Whatever fits is best but my sister in law is an inch or two shorter than your GF and has a proper, really nice, 700c Spesh commuter and she flies along on it. She doesn’t ride often but is actually a natural on a bike, very confident and quite skilful really.
Thing is, your GF has probably had this ‘feet on the floor’ thing drummed into her at an early age and can’t get away from it. We all know its wrong bit it’ll be a tough habit to break. Mrs PP was told by her dad when she was little to ‘keep her kness in’ when riding and she still tries to grip the top tube with her legs when she stands up. It’s a very stiff position and try as I might I’ve really struggled to get her to stop it!

but a 700c wheel and tyre is about the same diameter as a 26″ mtb wheel and tyre. 29″ mtb is HUGE next to both. Willow Koerber manages to ride a 29er despite being 5ft 2″ but she is an exception (in several ways).

Another suggestion is a 26″ bike with low profile semi slicks – that will remove about 1″ from the total diameter compared to a mountain bike tyre. Then just adjust the post to suit as she gets more used to it. Also go with a rigid fork as the A-C will be lower than a suspension fork.

She might feel a lot more confident on a mtb/hybrid style frame than a proper road frame.

you could always try the ‘bloke at the bus stop’ approach.

this is where despite months of explaining the logic behind something to a love one and them continuing to insist you’re wrong they have a revelation when a complete stranger articulates what you’ve been saying and they then immediately adopt the new approach. Often to the extent of saying ‘why have you never told me this?’

So, take her to a bike shop and get her to test a few different sizes and talk to the staff – don’t try and influence her yourself.

she needs to put both of her feet down, completely flat on the road when she stops

Show her how to stop and dismount off the front of the saddle to stand over the top-tube. And then set-off from that position.

A lot of yoofs round our way all ride these tiny little bikes with 20″ wheels, no gears and a saddle down below their knees. They seem to ride them OK hopping all over the place.

Mrs mW is exactly 5ft tall. She’s owned three bikes:

Marin Bear Valley, 15″ frame 26″ wheel. She was never properly comfortable on this.

Gary Fisher Kaitai 14″ frame 26″ wheel. Loves it and considers the sizing ideal.

Specialized Dolce 44cm frame, 700c wheel. Looks tiny, but again she is comfortable on it and there is no toe overlap with the front wheel (which I thought there would be with such a small frame).

Adult bikes that will fit your girlfriend are relatively plentiful but the problem is likely to be finding any in stock that she can try out and convince herself that they are fine. Small bikes in bike shops are a rare find.

kids have proportionally longer limbs than torso compared to adults
some kids bike designers take this into account when speccing geometry on kids bikes

there is your justification to go buy a dirt jump size small adult bike (;

Most folk who aren’t cyclist have the same belief.

My wife rides a very small framed trek mtb and proportion wise it looks like a standard 29er. I often think she would have been better off on a 24″ bike and have offered to build her one many times but for the amount of riding she does the 26″ is fine, according to her, so I haven’t pushed it at all.

MTB : 14″ Kona hardtail
Road : 650c wheeled woman-specific design

Here’s my sub 5ft son out on his Trek 2200 WSD. A fantastic, sub 20lb bike that I bought used for £250. Carbon forks, Rolf vector wheels and full 105 groupset. Find me that on a kids bike.

Sadly the 650c wheels have been dropped by most manufacturers small women’s bikes. A mistake in my opinion.

My wife didn’t have a bike as a child. I know, it’s almost child abuse!
Fast forward 30 odd years and for my sins I am digging through fluffy dice and fake carbon fibre fuel flaps trying to find her something just to get started on. She started off with the saddle slammed to the bottom but has gained confidence and gradually lifted the saddle to the point where she needs to slide off it to get her feet down. It just takes time to build the confidence, don’t rush it. She now goes off on 20 mile plus road rides and really enjoys it.

There is a lot of sexism in this thread.

I have the same problem with my GF. She’s 5’2″ and I’ve been on about raising her saddle for ages. She’s finally coming round since I showed her how to dismount/tip the bike to swing her leg over.

Unfortunately, her confidence/balance issues stem for weakness on her right side as a result of having a stroke years ago. I bought her a Rock Lobster Team Tig which seems about the right size, but we’re having all sorts of issues getting her saddle right, as she can’t articulate quite what the issue is.

We’ve managed to eradicate the ‘fanny mashing’ by adjusting the angle very slightly nose down, but she still feels like she has to push herself back to avoid resting on the nose of the saddle. I’m quite sure we’ve not yet hit the right fore/aft position, but I’m starting to wonder if the bars I put on are too wide for her, pulling her forward. Reckon next ride out I’ll stick some On-One Mary’s on for her, given her right wrist could do with a little more support.

Sorry for the slight hijack.

Specialised do seem to be the bike of choice for the the more compact lady. The better half (5’2″) rides a Specialized Saffire and it fits her fine. She’s only started riding, to humour me, a couple of years back, but she’s done Mabie, Ae and Gisburn recently. Its just a case of building up the confidence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NvgLkuEtkA

Mrs North is 4’10”

She very nearly bought a 24″ wheeled bike. But then we found a Trek 4500 (this is back in 2001) with a 13″ frame and 26″ wheels. Fits her just fine.

She also has a road bike – a Giant SCR in XXS size. This has 650c wheels. Fits like a glove.

Sadly, she has no desire to ride either of them any more. But they still fit..!

mrs xiphon is 5’2″, and rides a 16″ Patriot – short stem and in-line post makes the reach a perfect fit.

And also has a 51cm Spesh WSD road bike (Dolce ’12)

Apparently having a WSD road bike is fantastic!

She’s the same when it comes to stopping – likes her feet flat on the floor – but I accept that’s how she does it (and she’s most comfortable with).

Insist she wears a school uniform whilst riding her kids bike….

Alternatively just wait until she is more proficient and then ask her to have a go on a 26″ wheeled bike…..she wont look back

I’m exactly five foot too.

Crank length and bar width and stem length are also factors. I love my wee cranks, on all my bikes, makes a lot of difference.

When I was measured at Principia many years ago for a custom build road bike they said 650 wheels but v glad I never went for it as hassle to get tires.

Hmmm.

Why not go to a spin class together? The instructor (should) insist she has the saddle at the right height (“same as on a real bike, isn’t it?” you cheerfully chip in, to which the instructor says “of course”) and as it’s from a new source that is
– non-cyclist
– not you
– (maybe) female
she may start to accept the mounting evidence.

(I mention it as my S.O. immediately knew where the saddle goes because of lots of time in spin classes.)

Insist she wears a school uniform whilst riding

er, I could say more but I’d get a ban

And also has a 51cm Spesh WSD road bike

If ever there was a stem that needed slamming…

RE: saddle height
i have had exactly this type of conversation with about half a dozen people, i urge them to just try it with the seat up closer to “road position” the response has always been the same ‘it looks a bit high’
then they try it i ask them how it felt and its always ‘i feel like ive got more power’
but its a confidence thing, very difficult to overcome something you are scared of no matter how irrational it may appear to other folk.

My wife has her seat too low…won’t let me adjust it as she likes her feet to touch the ground too.

Then she complains about aching knees.

Isn’t the solution obvious? Dropper seatpost!!!

– She can lower it to stop, and raise it as she gets more confident. Win.
– If she doesn’t like it, it goes on your bike. Win
– If she does like it, then you have justification to put one on your bike(s). Win win.

MrsMCTD rides a 24″ wheel girls bike, but she is only 4’10.

Think she might be eyeing up our lads 24″ Spesh for when he grows out of it….

can anyone some up why a 5 ft bird can and should ride a regular size bike and where this is all going wrong (cos im struggling too!)

From your attitude I assume you have tried slapping her?

Short women..know your place!!!
interesting points there.do 24 inch wheels actually put you much lower? i mean are your pedals lower as surely the cranks are shorter etc etc..?

Bloke I ride with considers himself short an likes riding with his seat up but also struggles mounting/dismounting so has a dropper post pulls up to stop drops his post