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Wife currently rides a old Forme Winscar Carbon HT in small 15" on 26" wheels 100 mm travel. In 2014 I bought it new on a deal but at the time it was a 2k bike. She loves it and has had it for a good few years now but forks are shot, headset worn, chain due a replacement etc.
I changed the wheels 6 months ago to some stans from Superstar running now 1x11 from the original triple.
The main issue for her is stand over height. Its maybe an inch to high on the top tube.
Looking for a replacement and ideas.
Must be light with total bike under 10KG which this one is now.
Really struggling for ideas. I have no issue with frame only and adding new and existing parts and using the qr 26" wheels but struggling here.
Use is in the main XC fire road stuff but also we ride the likes of the hope valley, lakes, road. She is not a hard rider basically.
Money directly isnt an issue here and would consider a one off build. Steel is too heavy and I suspect TI is too but if a guarantee on weight is good I would go TI.
Many thanks in advance!!
Inside leg is 68 cm in bare feet.
Hi I have Small Merlin Ti hardtail for sale in classifieds. Bristol area. Let me know.
My missus is an inch taller and just recently sold a very nice Trek Pro Caliber (15.5cm size).
It wasn't being used, but it was one of her favourite bikes she's ever had apparently. I'd look at one of those. I think that size suits 5'0" to 5'5"
She struggles finding nice bikes that are small enough too.
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Mrs_oab is 5' and 7.5st...
Our experience of petite bikes is that fit is really important. A few mm on an XS frame is a greater proportionate difference than the few mm on a large frame. I also think weight I is really important - again proportionally a light rider with smaller muscles feels lighter wheels or lighter overall weight much more. Mrs_oab runs paper thin tyres that I've no chance of keeping air in, but she has no issues.
Her bikes have been as follows:
Cannondale F900Sl, 26" wheels on XS frame. Lightest bike of all of them.
Trek Superlight, 27.5" wheel on 13.5" frame. Fastest but quite firm riding.
Only sold because...
Liv Lust, 27.5" wheel on 13.5" frame.
Added
Liv Invite, 700c wheel.
MTB for wife 5ft 1 and 8 stone.
sounds like a fair swap but I'd want to see a photo of wife first
Cheers all.
Frame now is 15" and to big as her leg size is for approx 4ft 11". Veey short legs for height so had been looking at the trek as sized 13.5". No stock to sit on though.
"Rocketdog" what bike though!!
Trek Procaliber was the model in XS that looks the most interesting.
Trek Procaliber was the model in XS that looks the most interesting.
Mrs_oab's was the XS/13.5". She was almost on the next size up S/15.5". There was only about 3mm extra length and standover was basically the same with an extra 1.5cm seat mast. We saw both and were fitted up by someone who did full bike fit. She could have fitted either, so mrs_nowad would likely be the S/15.5" with being an extra inch imo.
We went smaller as it was 'nippier' and allowed for a dropper more easily.
Frame now is 15″ and to big
You have to peep at the mm's of geometry then. One brands 15" is nothing like another's. We looked at Saracen 15" and it was a clear 2cm longer reach and stack, higher BB etc than the Trek...
You don't know mrs oab's inside leg do you?
Unless the top tube is dropped it would be an xs for mine. As always stock is the headache.
Cube also do a junior model which could work.
John w how tall was yours and what size frame was the trek?
My kid is 35kg and something under 5' he doesn't have an issue on any modern geo bike really.
His bike is a small Bird Aeris MK1.5 with Pikes (only slight mods to damping and low friction seals) and CC DB shock but he happily rides my medium XC HT (2015 Giant XtC) size wise with suitable cranks with Fox 32's.
So much nowadays will have the seatpost way lower... he can almost get a 150mm on his full suss... his 125mm is quite a bit out of the post .. and my 85mm dropper on the XC is about right when dropped or inserted all the way then he can extend it.
I think it's going to be too big but I've got a small kinesis ti sync.
It's takes 27.5 but you could use 26in wheels to make it a bit lower. I mulleted it, 27.5 front and 26 rear which made me feel a bit more in it than on it.
It's a compact little bike and feels to small for me but I'm 5ft 5in.
Let me know if any interest.
my wife is 4’11.5” tall. she is still riding an xxs titus racer x that she bought about 15 years ago. unable to find a new bike in a similar size.
though norco do xs sizes and seem to be amongst the smallest that i’ve looked at.
edit: not sure if you mentioned a budget, but something custom and titanium may be the only option for light.
@nowad
She's 5'2" and it was the small (15.5") frame. We actually sold it to a lady that was a bit smaller (think she was actually 5'1" too).
We just had to adjust the saddle height a bit for her, but she had a sit on it and took it away that evening.
The Trek frames seem to slope down quite a bit too so the stand over is pretty decent.
Mrs NBT rides an XS Turner Flux (26" wheels), shes 5'4" but runs a really huge seatpost. With a smaller seatpost, it would suit a much smaller rider
Look at a dropper for getting on and off. MrsF isn't a MTB'er but I picked up a BMC FS03 full suspension in XS for a song from a mate. It's a 29'er, but he chucked in a reverb. She's used to rigid bikes, so with an 'unloaed' FS being 2 inches or so higher than a normal bike, she uses the Reverb to get on and off.
I use my dropper if my back is knackered to get on/off.
Her BMC is stupid light for an XC FS... £2k originally in 2014/15... mate £300 and it was mint under the muck.
Liv Pique 29” xs - my wife is 5’ and it’s perfect - light weight and a great ride - see the reviews 👍
my wife is 4’11.5” tall. she is still riding an xxs titus racer x that she bought about 15 years ago. unable to find a new bike in a similar size.
Geo has changed A LOT.... so "similar size" is misleading.
If she loves the bike, replace/upgrade the worn parts and carry on?
As an aside, my son loves his trek ex jnr - 26 inch wheel full suspension designed for a child. He's probably 4'10
My Mrs used to always struggle when she rode years back but now my son rides a small gt avalanche 27.5 and he's 11 and well under 5' as they have said above the geometry changes over the last few years really have opened up more options for shorter folk
As someone who is married to a lady of similar height I can confirm it’s a nightmare finding bikes to fit. We haven’t tried many but the smallest Specialized bikes always seem to fit very well abs if you’re buying a full bike the kit they put on them suits smaller hands too in my experience.
Just get what Isla Short rides, or a cheaper same size substitute from Orbea. She's 5' and quite a long torso so.......
My wife is 5'4" and was on a small scott scale 910 but did have the seat up a reasonable amount so would go down to a smaller size quite easily.
I had an XS Giant Talon 1W that had very low stand over. Bought it for son 2. Sold it to a work colleague who’s the same size as your wife. She absolutely adores it and the fit is perfect. Finding an XS frame 26 inch bike will be a challenge but keep looking. Size is more important that weight. Fit light parts and wheels to an alloy frame.