Mrs M has started doing some local road loops to get into cycling, plus a friend of hers has recently invested in a road bike. Up till now she has been using an old Rockhopper of mine with fast rolling tyres and it starting to enjoy it, but sees how much easier it is for her friend on the road bike. So looks like its time to splash some cash and get her the proper kit. A few questions therefore:

1) Is there really that much difference between mens and ladies frame geometry or could we just put a shorter stem on a mans bike? Much more choice in mens, and a liklihood of picking up something decent S/H

2) Are there any bikes that are particularly good value ATM, or are all the big brands about equal? If we go new, thinking of spending somewhere between £700-£1000. The obvious ones are Spec, Trek and Giant, plus perhaps Boardman.

Lots of ladies ride mens road bikes. Like you say, there’s much more choice. Fit is, however, more important o a road bike than a mountain bike so you might have to accept that there could be a bit of tweaking. Narrower bars would be one example.

Have a look at Cube and Merida too.

Depending upon how tall she is, this might be a bargain.

What size bike?

Not sure if the link will work but my gf has got one of those in the green – shes a proper roadie in so far as shes spent more time on the internet trying to find kit that she can colour code to the bike than actually riding it.

She’s 5’10 though so geometry wasn’t as much of a problem for her, i’ll check what size it is for you.

Usually a few Giant SCRw’s about on ebay etc, should get one for £300 to £400 and the majority don’t seem to have been heavily used.
Mrs MdL rides one, upgraded 10 speed 105 groupset and wheels, probably less than £700 all in, and that was new.

What size bike?

Mrs M is 5′ 3″ so I assume it would have to be a small

Unless she’s really short… and I’m 5’2 and still would have managed on a small mens bike… you shouldn’t have a problem getting a ‘mens’ bike to fit, but I bought the female version because it was better looking which may be a consideration!

Never had a problem with my Specialized but I’m thinking about selling it because I just don’t ride it enough though.
If you’re interested in a 51cm Specialized Dolce Sport (2011… the pretty red one!) in v.good condition give me a shout.

At 5’3, i would recommend going for women’s specific. I’m 160cm and have long legs/short torso so the TT on men’s bikes is too long for me. Also, i’m running 165m cranks and my bars are 36s AND an 80m stem after a bike fit. My Trek is a 47 (fyi if you are considering Treks)

lizzz/DGOAB – thanks that’s really useful. Just the kind of input I was wanting but actually quite confusing. One at 5!2″ on a 51cm frame and the other at 5!3″ on a 47cm frame??

It either shows that there are huge differences in shape that need to be taken into account (Mrs M has relatively long legs and short torso), or there is a lot of sizing differences between makes

scaled – that Felt looks really nice, and lizzz yes looks will be a slight determining factor (unfortunately 🙁 )

CaptainMainwaring – Member
there is a lot of sizing differences between makes

+1

And within makes too.

Well if it’s any further help… I’m 5’2 with 29″ legs, but really to get the sizing right she’s probably just going to have to go and sit on a few! Mens, womens… just try anything in the correct colour. 😀

There’s different sizing between makes as well as body differences. I’ve had my trek for around 5 years and recently got a bike fit (5 hours of measuring, taking my flexibility etc) so i know mine fits me 100%. If the fit was just done on leg length, i’d have been given a 51 frame but chances are the TT would be far too long given my small torso. As it is, during the bike fit my stem went down from 90 – 80, along with a host of other changes to the bike.

I tried a 52 tripster which was far too big for me so i’d be wary of a 51 if she’s got a small torso. Even a few cms too big in the TT won’t be fun.

Edit:

Well if it’s any further help… I’m 5’2 with 29″ legs,

I suspect we aren’t going to help matters as I’m nearer 5’3 with 30.59 legs!

If she’s serious about taking up road riding, get a proper fit done and chose a bike from that!

lizzzzzz… Wowser – your legs must go up to your armpits! I’m 6 inches taller and still only 32″ leg.

This is turning out to be more of a minefield than I would have dreamt. When I bought my MTB it was a slam dunk for a medium sized frame then choice of stem and crank length and away you go.

Rather than buy new and get it wrong, tempted to go S/H (so probably men’s bike), shorten the stem then see how she gets on.

So apart from going and sitting on a few at bike shops that know what they are doing, anybody got any rough guides or tipes on sizing, I guess mainly seat to crank distance and reach?

At 5’3″ with ‘female proportions’, I would definately recommend getting a women’s specific bike. It’s not only the frame size, but as DGOAB says, covers things like crank length, bar width, brake reach etc. Also, opting for new means she can try riding many bikes – absolutely crucial! I took my time and tried a lot to find one that fitted me best. Getting the fit even slightly wrong is not only uncomfortable, but can lead to spine / hip / knee problems.

For comparison, I’m 5′ and ride a 48cm Specialized Dolce. It’s got a 50.6cm ETT, small bars with short reach brake levers. My inside leg is 29″, so I have a short torso. I tried other makes, sometimes in ‘smaller’ frame sizes, which felt too big, so frame size isn’t the only factor to take into consideration.

It either shows that there are huge differences in shape that need to be taken into account (Mrs M has relatively long legs and short torso), or there is a lot of sizing differences between makes

it’s both, a decent fit in a proper shop or even just sitting on a few in a good road shop is far more useful that making second guesses bases on anecdotal internet sizing advice, it does sound like a women specific bike would be a good starting point as you may not have to swap stem and bars over.

If she’s starting to enjoy it then as the others have said I’d get her a fitting sorted out first.
You can then look at bikes knowing what’ll work.

It will involve her in the buying process so she’ll be more knowledgeable and will have confidence that when the bike feels different it’s still the right size for her.

OK, thanks everyone. Looks like we need to spend some time in some good bike shops, although almost non existent around here, and probably go for a new women’s specific bike unless we strike lucky and find the right size S/H, but I’m guessing not many of them around.

Mrs M is 5′ 3″ with a 29″ inside leg, so would welcome all suggestions of similar sized ladies on what bikes they have that work well for them.

One other question on spec, not knowing anything about road bike kit. Everything up to about £800 seems to have Shimano Sora shifters and mechs, 3×9 drivetrain and presumably lowish spec wheels. Is it definitely worth pushing up to £1000 to get Tiagra, 2×10 and something like DT Swiss wheels. What is good road bike componentry in this range?

Just trying to be helpful here – why not ask if there are any STW girlies who wouldn’t mind your missus sitting on their’s for size? This is something I’m always happy to do but I’m 5’5″ so probably not helpful!

Just a possible useful point – a good friend of mine is a roadie and she’s just taken delivery of a Focus in an extra small size, she’s around 5’2″. After one ride she ended up with a large cut just above her knee due to cabling *I think*. Basically she’s having a different brake set-up put on bike at a cost of £300.

I’m 5’2″ and ride a 48cm specialized dolce. I’ve not been road riding very long but the bike feels fine to me, makes my MTB feel huge and heavy even though in terms of MTBs it isn’t! A road riding friend of mine recommends using a triple (e.g. 3×9, which is waht mine came with) for a first road bike as it makes hills easier. I have to agree with her even though I still find hills hard. Mr mouse had a 2×8 set up on a Specialized Allez and he replaced the front set with a compact after getting frustrated with it.

+1 for the triple (or compact with sram apex as it has a huge granny cog at the back!!)

Am 5’6 so probably had an easier time of it, but I bought SH from ebay and just got lucky I guess.