You'd be advised to go to a proper LBS and get their advice rather than asking people on here or anyone at Evans.

well i just rang Evans as im just looking at the womens specific bikes, and Evans says if a see one i like on theor website they can order that bike in to have a look at and try out…but i have to put a £50 deposit down before i can look at the bike…get it back if the size is wrong etc… its stops people ordering loads of bikes apparently so thats why they ask for a deposit

what do you mean "or ask anyone at Evans" ( they are a bike shop ? do u not like them or something ? lol

I don't have anything against Evans, I've just never found it a shop to go to if you don't know exactly what you want.

Mrs North is 4'10". She rides a xxs sized Giant (SCR3 to be exact).

A while before we bought it, I took her to be measured by Paul Hewitt. He did a grand job, and recommended a 650c wheeled bike.

Frankly, when you're that tiny, it makes perfect sense and hels the frame fit better.

She's now pregnant, so it's gathering dust in the cellar. Along with her 13" MTB and shooper bike. And five of my six bikes….

well thats just it cos im new to the road bike scene…not sure what im after apart from maybe 'specialised' , 'Trek' or 'cannondale'…maybe lapierre….so lots to think about if i decide to get a road bike or not,,,… its hard to know what your after when buying something new for the first time…

I'd disagree – cross bikes are pretty much just as quick as dedicated road bikes, they just tend to handle slower.

My mate Ian disagreed. Cross bikes have slacker seat angles, which means less power on the pedals…

do you have any 'roadie' mates who you can drag along with you when you are bike shopping?

i dont have any road mates…. just mtb….supose i will look at Giant bikes then if they come in xxs sizes then

elaine, maybe you could email the loacal roadie club and ask them the best local to shop to go visit. Where I live has an Evans and also a very good roadie based shop, I know which one I'd go to for advice. A good shop will get you fitted properly my girlfriend is not much bigger than you and she rides a tiny giant with 700c wheels.

I am five nothing too – def def get yourself a proper bike fit somewhere, I was fitted properly at the Bike Works in Edinburgh bought a gorgeous wee Principia have never looked back.

Frame size isn't THAT crucial you can do a lot with stems, seatposts etc. What is more important is crank length if you are small get 165s. And narrower bars.

I decided against 650 wheels just sounded like too much hassle, and you lose some acceleration (so they say, don't ask me about the science) on short sharp sprints, and as I was buying it for road racing that was a consideration.

Cannondale do some good spec womens bikes (althought most "womens specific" bikes are a rip-off) you will get smaller cranks etc as standard. Look at European brands they usually offer better specs for small people.

Ha ha ! Welcome to the Dark Side…

P.S and don't worry about what all the fuddy duddies roadies tell you and GET A TRIPLE

well i dont want to end up spending loads on this potential road bike ie start changing stuff on the bike to fit me , id rather have a complete bike all round ,just(only cos i luv my mtb alot and rather spend money on that as i go along….small upgrades here and there…. geez i need another job….lol
eh up when i were a lass a bike was a bike..just wash it and occasionally mess with the brakes….no money spent in them days apart from the washing up liquid…. now its upgraded upgrade upgrade…who ever invented the word 'upgrade'…i,ll ruddy kill em !!! hahahhaha bet they are a millionaire now..

P.S and don't worry about what all the fuddy duddies roadies tell you and GET A TRIPLE

Why?

A small chainring is pointless on a road bike, I cant see when you'd ever use it unless your incredibly weak or unfit. And then using it isnt going to help you get any fitter or stronger. Standard double is fine for anything really

There is a 30% hill near me that's just doable on a double. Same with my driveway (over 30%). But a triple is wrong on a road bike.

'But a triple is wrong on a road bike'.

Because cycling is all about image and not about fun, isn't it? 😀

Previous discussion on the topic of roadie gearing.

I've just about got used to it now, but it still spoils my enjoyment of big days out in the Peak, Yorkshire or North Wales.

Will definitely be getting a compact chainset or a bigger cassette when this drivetrain wears out. If my knees don't explode first.

Why?

A small chainring is pointless on a road bike, I cant see when you'd ever use it unless your incredibly weak or unfit. And then using it isnt going to help you get any fitter or stronger. Standard double is fine for anything really

HAHAHA!

Right, don't even know where to start with this.

Firstly, there are plenty of steep hills in this country that are bloody murder with a standard chainset. I'm a fairly handy rider, quicker than most, and I use a triple. Because I live in South Wales, and not every road ride needs to be a power training session. I can't do steady rides on a double chainset around here – it's simply not possible.

Secondly, if someone's starting out with road riding, don't fill their head with bullsh*t about how many chainrings you MUST HAVE because THAT IS HOW IT IS in roadying. That's just ridiculous, and makes people think they are copping out or being useless somehow just because they've got a wider spread of gears for a wider spread of riding or terrain.

Definitely get triple, then you can swap it to a double if you want to time trial or show off, or pretend you're Marco Pantani or something.

Oooh the rage!

My main reason for going double was for the chainline – I may be wrong on this but road gears seem a lot more compact and so the chainline of a triple just looked wrong to me. If I want super low gears, I use the MTB. I can get up a near 1 in 3 hill on a double – very few roads are steeper than that.

It's also a road bike – it's meant to hurt.

You can get pretty low gears on a double – I have a 50/34 on the front and 13/29 on the back and it has got me up numerous hills in the alps and pyrennes – including alp d'huez and port du bales.
Basically don't confuse the lady afterall she is just after an entry level road bike to see how she gets along with it. An off-the-peg small complete bike would be the best place to start.

I have a triple – I am not ashamed 🙂 Actually I surprised myself when I got my Cross bike that I didn't miss my roadie gearing, perhaps I didn't need it after all…

Elaine – you just need to go to as many shops as you can and ask about the smallest road bikes they have and try them. There are plenty of suggestions on this thread other than just Giant.

650 wheels just sounded like too much hassle, and you lose some acceleration

Exactly the opposite – in theory 650 wheels accelerate quicker. It's not a significant enough difference to worry about one way or the other though.

As to:

A small chainring is pointless on a road bike, I cant see when you'd ever use it unless your incredibly weak or unfit. And then using it isnt going to help you get any fitter or stronger. Standard double is fine for anything really

🙄 – this one keeps coming up on here because too many people seem bothered about image over practicality. I have a triple on my winter/hack road bike, and very happy it's there. Of course it is possible to grunt your way up steep climbs on a double if you're strong enough and fresh, but it's not necessarily that much fun even so. I'll wager that I'm faster on a road bike than most on here, yet I still found my bottom gear on a compact rather higher than I'd like going up a steep hill after 80 miles of a sportive a couple of weeks ago. Oh, and no issues at all with chainline from what I can see.

why are the stems longer too on road bikes

Mine is shorter than on my MTB! Fortunately a stem is something that's easy to change.

trouble is tho bike shops only have your average size bike in… not many have xs sizes in for you to try….then you have to put a big deposit down just for them to get a bike in for you (just to have a try)….. there arent that many small people in this world so its not like i can just go to the shops and they have loads of xs sizes in …lol im fed up of being a midget now…ah well good things come in small packages…so they say…

Yes but going in and asking them often turns up surprises. I was offered a ride on a bike shop owners super dooper shiney Cervelo. It wasn't in my budget but it was so that I could try a bike for size. I didn't take them up on the offer, it was raining and I didn't trust myself but the offer still stood. Another bike shop tested me on bikes that were too small and too big, one of their customers suggested I have a go on her bike to see how that fitted for size, perfectly as it happened.

It's also a road bike – it's meant to hurt.

Stupid thing to say. Hurting like that is a certain kind of riding or training. Not the only kind.

Re doubles, I wonder how many people are talking about standard doubles vs compact doubles. 50/34 is compact (afaik) and that does indeed give you a useful range of lower gears, and is what a lot of people have because they are too embarrassed to get a triple.

I hated compact though – on base rides I was right at the boundary between the two rings most of the time which meant I was shifting rings a lot and the chainlines were annoying a lot of the time. And when you did shift rings, there was a big jump.

Elaine, try travelling to the biggest bike shop you can find.. where are you based?

there arent that many small people in this world so its not like i can just go to the shops and they have loads of xs sizes

Hi Elaine Anne,

You may not take this seriously, but here goes anyway.

I've just heard through our cycling club that a shortish, adult woman has bought & is very happy with a large child's Islabike – a large framed Luath 700. This bike is aimed at the teenage market – the wheels, as the name suggests are full size, but the frame is smaller. Our daughter, who must be coming on for 1m 50cm rides one.

They come for cyclo-cross, or road. If you want to try one & are within reach of Ludlow, they will set one up for you & let you try it out on their track before you buy.

Might be worth a thought.

I hated compact though – on base rides I was right at the boundary between the two rings most of the time which meant I was shifting rings a lot and the chainlines were annoying a lot of the time. And when you did shift rings, there was a big jump.

compacts are great. for most rides it's all in the big ring with no issues using the whole of the block and the inner is for steep hills only.
no problems with 20% gradients and any lower and the speeds would be so slow you might as well walk (haven't walked yet apart from a very muddy koppenburg at the ronde sportive)
maybe yours was badly set up? i'm using new ultegra so maybe the tooth profiles/chains are better now?

i can see the point of a triple for touring when carrying heavy panniers but not for normal road riding

im up north west right here in singletrack-land..home of the Aliens.lol Todmorden.lancs….
nearest big bike shops will be Evans in Manchester, 'Leisurelakes'in Bury- (went to leisurelakes last weekend but not alot of stock for road bikes.
will have look further a field i guess.. not rushing to buy one imediately this may become a quest ! lol i wud have thought the wheels wud be smaller on a larger childs size bike ?

but not for normal road riding

Depends on your definition of normal road riding.

Like I say, mine allows me to base train without going into the red in this very hilly part of the country.

A small chainring is pointless on a road bike

Oh dear 🙄

You can come and ride the hills with me on your 'man sized' 42T inner ring. The last laugh will be mine. I'm not especially unfit but I do occasionally need my 30T granny ring. It doesn't hamper my riding the rest of the time. The uninformed talk of chainline issues is absolute poppycock. You can always swap to a compact later if you want.

I am 5'3" and have Giant SCR size XS (42cm). Elaine, the Dolce or an XXS Giant Defy or s/h SCR would be a good size, they have a sloping top tube and 650c wheels. Don't listen to the talk of inner tube or tyre scarcity for this size, that's just bobbins.

The Islabikes Luath road models may well be appropriately sized for you. Their size chart is pretty accurate and Isla really knows what she's doing.

I like a triple, with a 12-23 or 12-21 cassette. That way all your gears are very close together. For 99% of riding, you are in middle ring or big ring, but if you just run out of legs due to tiredness, or hit something insanely steep, you have a bail out gear, or a more efficient gear to go up quicker than mashing away at a big gear.

I very rarely use the granny ring (in Derbyshire), but every so often I'm glad it is there. I think with a compact, 12-25, the low gears would be too low for most riding, I wouldn't have such close together gears, and I wouldn't have a bail out gear.

I also find it very simple to pick gears on hills – big ring = flat or downhill, middle ring = uphill, small ring = crazy uphill bail out gear, whereas when I had a compact, I found myself messing around between little and big rings more.

Joe

Depends on your definition of normal road riding.

Like I say, mine allows me to base train without going into the red in this very hilly part of the country.

riding 50-100 miles with your mates. not specific training

if a triple works for you that's great. i don't know anyone who needs one as they all use compacts unless they are racing. not seen anyone get off and walk yet even the pie eaters

As previously mentioned, compacts are almost the same as triples. We are talking about standard doubles vs triples I think, aren't we?

Out of interest MrSmith, where d'you live?

I happened upon the steepest road hill I have ever encountered the other day, between Newport and Cwmbran on a country lanes. It was so ludicrously comically steep that I needed all the power I could possibly muster at about 10rpm in my triple bottom gear to inch up it. I'd have got off and walked but I didn't think I'd be able to dismount without falling back down the hill.

i wud have thought the wheels wud be smaller on a larger childs size bike ?

No – they're not, that's the point.

The Luath 700 is for someone with a height of at least 158cm, & a minimum inside leg of 76cm.

See here for the bike spec.

& here for an article on women choosing them.

There are four sizes of the Luath road bikes – one with 24" wheels, one with 26" and two with 700c wheels.

rig, that article is rather old, quite a bit has changed since then with the big manufacturers. Isla has put a lot of thought into her bikes – crank length, bar diameter, grips, shifters etc.

that article is rather old,

Yes I realise that thanks Simon.

There was an article in a cycling mag a couple of weeks ago about a lady buying one recently, but I can't put my hand to it now I'm afraid.

donr think id like a bike with 24 inch wheels really ! too small..
saw this on the leisurelakes website soething like this perhaps wud be ok if it fits ok size 44 whats thats size for a 5ft midget…

http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/product/specializeddolce24womensroadbike2010.aspx?&id=11691

Out of interest MrSmith, where d'you live?

i ride surrey/london/kent borders but before you mention no real hills i have ridden all over the place and wouldn't feel the need to get a triple if i was to move to snowdonia tomorrow.
there are plenty of 20%plus gradients (whitedown/toys hill/ide hill etc) around here.
only time i have needed to get off and walk was on this years ronde sportive but when the cobbles are covered with mud and a fat german has fallen off in front of you a triple isn't really much use.
personally i can't see the point in changing to one just for the .05% of the time it might be useful.

Stupid thing to say. Hurting like that is a certain kind of riding or training. Not the only kind.

Worked so far for a number of sports from running to kickboxing, cycling to weight training. If you don't push it that extra bit towards pain/exhaustion, it's a waste of time. The "thin film of sweat" brigade never get very far. You need to push it to get better. In my OPINION. Not many people share this view of sport/hobbys.

Worked so far for a number of sports

I'm not getting into a training debate. I didn't say you wouldn't get fast/hard doing it.

I'm just saying it's not the only kind of riding or training. Base training is easy if you don't do it for very long, but it's hard if you do it for many many hours.

But that's another thread.

But was it a "stupid thing to say?" I'd say a lot of roadies thrive on pushing themselves hard for extended periods of time. Otherwise they don't get any better.