Looking for a FS frame with women's specific geo for my wife.
The Specialized rumor looks decent, but the full bikes aren't great spec so I want a frame only option to build up.
The Juliana Joplin looks amazing, but that's more than I want to spend.
Any ideas?
I think your best bet is to work out what geometry and sizing she wants/needs and then find frames that match that rather than only looking at 'women's specific' frames.
Often the differences in complete bikes are more about control size placement, crank lengths etc than any major changes in frame measurements.
I agree with wwaswas. What height is she?
Im selling a santacruz superlight in a size small which is exactly the same as the julianna, just diferent stickers. If thats any use, its a 2014 29'er.
work out what geometry and sizing she wants/needs and then find frames that match that rather than only looking at 'women's specific' frames.
that. chatted to a physio a while back who'd done her dissertation on this. no difference in frames apart from paint schemes, just the kit you bolt on to it - ie maybe a shorter stem, woman's specific saddle, reach of brake levers etc. the whole thing about women having generally longer legs and shorter torso is also not statistically significant either, i understand.
Plenty of choice of frames, just add your own sparkles and pink bits after you got it and a Lady Specific badge 🙂
My missus is riding exactly the same frame as me (Blur LTc) and it fits perfectly and a Tallboy too. Try lots of bikes out on demo's, round car parks and anything that a mate is riding that fits the idea of what you want.
The only thing that some WS bikes seem to do is a "slightly" shorter top tube (1" max) thinner grips, different saddle, slightly shorter cranks and maybe narrower bars. All of which is preference anyway. The SC Rubion is exactly the same as the Bronson
The one you are looking at is the same as the Tallboy (small compared)
http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en/au/tallboy
http://www.julianabicycles.com/en/au/joplin
the whole thing about women having generally longer legs and shorter torso is also not statistically significant either, i understand
I found a decent study of human limb and torso lengths vs height when there was another one of these threads, which had studied lots of skeletons in the USA - it might have been connected with the Smithsonian. Anyway, it found that there is no difference in average proportions between men and women, despite the oft peddled myth.
There is a difference between white and black people, with white people having evolved longer torsos (along with longer narrower noses) as an adaptation for colder weather. Obviously that was based upon US data so basically Northern European origin vs West African. I don't know if it remains true for all races from cold vs warm climes but that would be logical.
OP what size frame are you looking for and what budget?
Some good points here, much appreciated!
She's 5' tall. Currently on a 15.5" Gary Fisher Tassajara. Trying to find the geo measurements isnt easy though!
Size is going to need to be around 15". Budget, not sure. Will have to see what route we go.