Apologies but looking back through older threads I can't quite find one that's right for Mrs Clubber.
So, she's 5'9", 32" or 34" inside leg (for jeans), athletic (eg can comfortably touch her toes!) and just doesn't quite feel right on her mtb. It's a 16" Merlin (as in the shop, not Ti!) with a set if Indy SLs on (60mm travel), a 90mm 5 degree stem and a 1.5" rise bar. Following TheSwede's thread, I'll definitely not be posting pics 🙂
Looking at her on the bike, it's obvious that the position isn't right but I'm kind of struggling to decide why (despite usually being able to instantly suggest to any bloke what's wrong with their position and how they might improve it, with some success).
[i]I think[/i] that the front end is too low and that the reach is actually maybe slightly too short - The frame has quite a short top tube.
Mrs Clubber ends up riding with her fingertips on the bars most of the time that the going's not technical.
So, any ladies (or partners of ladies) of similar proportions who could let me know what fits them? Suggestions for any budget bikes/frames welcome too (it's Bike to Work time again soon).
really DIDN'T need that
think we may be getting to much info about bedroom activities!athletic (eg can comfortably touch her toes!)
she is about the same height as my GF she rides 18" (med heckler).
also he has a 27" wide bar and a 90mm stem with 3 spacers..
but the top tube is 22.5 and she has an inline post.
😉
Hmm 18" sounds bigger than I'd have expected. IIRC her current bike is approx 21.5/22" top tube though she does have a layback post. That said, She naturally seems to sit quite far back on the bike so I'm not sure that putting an inline post would be a good idea.
it really does depend.
she was on an 18" pitch while it was big enough, the TT was to long gave her back ache.
the heckler says 18 more a 17 though and with a 22.5 TT removes the need for bendy posts to encourage her to sit forward (put a longish stem on too). ( it seams to be a girl thing about sitting back and not putting weight on the forks) i've found it's not a hard and fast rule though. she had a small heckler and while i loved it, jumpy and light she found it to short to climb with.
I'm 5'9" and 34" leg. I've got a medium mans Spesh FSR, and I think it fits fine. I have just put a shorter stem on it though (after using it for over 3 years as is) and it's made a big difference - much better. I noticed from looking at pics of myself on group rides that I was really stretched out on the bike, but never really realised. Everything else on it has stayed the same.
MrsDummy is considerably shorter and less athletic than mrsclubber but I recognise the fingertips on the bars problem. I have ended up building her a Carrera Subway in a 14inch with a high, short stem and a very swept trekking bar. She's comfy on it, but she hardly rides anyway. 🙂
Looking at her on the bike, it's obvious that the position isn't right but I'm kind of struggling to decide why
All wrong imo..wrong frame size with bits added on to try(and failed)make it fit..all my inexperienced op ofcourse
Surely if she is riding with her finger tips on the bars and you say she sits too far back that indicates she does not need a layback seat post?
Fitting a shorter stem would defeat the purpose?
Seems all mixed up??
Why 60mm forks? Surely nowadays something longer is more appropriate?
Look elsewhere I reckon and find the correct bike regardless of make.
Without pics it is impossible to make an educated comment. Just give the pic a bit of a photoshop(like the pros)
I'm about the same height as Mrs Clubber, but probably with longer arms. I'd agree that her bike sounds a bit small (I had a 17" Malt 2 for a bit and that felt very chuckable, so a 16" one would probably be too small). My orange bike is 17.5" and has a 23" TT, and a 60mm stem, and while I can happily ride it all day, it feels very short and upright compared to a road bike or my SS. I have a layback post and run my saddle right back on the rails.
90mm is quite long for an MTB stem these days, and in theory it should compensate for the short TT, but it sounds like the effective seat position is a bit far forward even with a layback post - I find this really uncomfortable as it puts your foot in a weird position for pedalling.
It's interesting that you're running some tramp's cast-off 60mm forks on there, as I though most Merlins were designed to work with 100mm. I found U-turn forks really good, not so much for changing the fit, as they don't really affect this, but if you can adjust the height of the front end it makes a difference to how the bike handles and feels, which in turn changes how comfortable you feel on it. It's hard to separate out the effects of different components - one person might get on with long stems and steep head angles, someone else might loathe them, even though it's "correct" from a strict plumb-line-on-the-knee bike fitting approach.
So to sum up, get her a new frame and some decent forks, you big tightwad! 😉
My SO is 5'6", she's happy riding a bike which sounds like it's set up almost identical to your SO. I'm 5'8" with 30" inner leg and find her bike way too short and low. So I would guess you needs to buy a bigger frame... or to put it another way, I agree with Mr Agreeable's summary 🙂
Yeah, sounds like. Btw the 60mm forks are because it's about 8 years old now so that wasn't unreasonable then and the head angle is pretty slack with those so longer wouldn't be good.
Mr_a - what size is mrs_a's Ribena bike?
I think you might be right about the "suspension corrected" design- mine was an 01 or 02 frame so frames were just starting to be redesigned to work with "long travel" forks - hindsight, eh? 🙂
Celia's bike is a bit of a gate - I think it's an 18". OK for longer rides but I bullied her into getting one that was a bit shorter and smaller when we went to the Alps last year. In its original guise it was one of these:
http://www.vario-bikes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=124&Itemid=152