so may well be looking to build a bike for a short little lady i know, 5ft exactly and would say her leg/torso sizes are average for a woman.
i was wondering whilst 26 inch rims are the norm and offer the best choice of components, would 24 inch be better in the ideal world and cranks etcto match? to my mind this puts the rider lower to the groond etc. is this a mute point if riding offroad, where bb clearence is important.im just thinking she would need a fairly low crossbar to dismount and stop with ease.
anyone else had problems (or not) with a build for someone short, esspecially a lady?? or am i foreseeing problems that just arnt there?

Something like a 14″ Inbred would be just fine.

my missus at 5′ 2″ rides a 16″ genesis core, suits her absolutely fine, they seem to come up quite small for the size.

My wife is also 5ft, she rides a 12″ bike with a 21″ TT and a 50mm stem. The reach is the important thing, and women tend to have shorter torsos than men, so find something with a short TT and get a stubby stem.

gf is 4ft 10 and Spec Myka 13″ is about all I could find to fit, helped by the down curved top tube. (She now loves it but to be fair has ridden nothing else)

other tips – they do womens grips – which are thinner (smaller hands, makes gripping bars more comfy/less tiring) and check brake lever span range(ditto issue) *also check left hand/3sp change span, up is a real issue for my gf)

keep you eye on ebay – they do come up every so often

My better half is also 5ft exactly and rides an xs giant reign and a 14″ summer season 456. I couldn’t advise going down the 24″ wheel route, we tried it and although it was a blast for me to chuck about she had a job to keep it rolling.

as above – stick with 26″ and a smalll frame.

MamaDirt always has something suitable for sale 😉

This might be your answer

I am a short arse of 5’5″ with 30″ leg

I use a 14″ handsome dog xc01 hardtail from allterrain cycles, made up with peoples unwanted bits off ebay and the classfieds on here and bike radar. Was an uopgrade from my old 15″ GT karakoram.

The frame is still available at about £60 has mounts for disc and vee brakes, and am using 170mm cranks, I found 165mm too short. Got some hope pro2 wheels at a silly discount, and the mostly xt groupset now after a good 5 years i think of riding to work and evening blast round the local woods and canal. It still a cracking bike to ride, and it doesnt attract attention from the local scum.

My sons’ run 24″ wheels on their bikes, seem to work fine for them.

And as said consider the rest of the build too; short stems, adjusted levers, short cranks, narrower bars etc

Built a Giant Trance up for my girlfriend, mk1 version, size XS 14.5″ with a 50mm stem, cut down carbon bars to suit, inline post, womens specific saddle, 165mm cranks and thin ODI ruffian grips. She’s 5ft on the button and finds it spot on 8) It rides great and a fairly light build which also helps, oh and standard 26″ wheels

I’d recommend avoiding Inbreds and such – they’re long in the top tube.
Also, try to keep it quite light – it really does make a difference for iccle people.

13″ Gary Fisher Marlin for a lady I know, frame a couple of years old now so might be hard to get

Got a small Merlin Malt for Mrs Atlaz. Just the right size for her and as it turns out, a bit of a fun ride for me to take to the shops from time to time.

Another 13.5 myka recommendation here. My GF is 5’1″ and as gusmac says, due to the sloping top tube there is plenty of clearance and the ability to drop the saddle. We got an M5 alloy version so it really is light. She also has correspondingly small hands so the myka grips are ace.

As mentioned above, be wary of small blokes frames which may have long top tubes, my girlfriend tried one or two of those and was far too stretched out.

shame there does not seem to be a modern version of the old Alpinestars T-24

my missus is 5’1 and she rides an xs commencal

😆 @ wwaswas

Personally I don’t worry about weight (my BFe is around 30lbs) but I do like smaller diameter grips (Superstar lock-ons at the mo – originals not the Excess ones) and 165mm cranks. Inbreds are lovely but may be a touch longer than some of the wsd bikes out there – although I prefer a shorter toptube for confidence on the D/Hs, a short bike can be a bear to climb with – sometimes a bit of a stretch isn’t a bad thing.

On-One have some silly deals on Scandals, either as frames or rolling chassis packages, they’ve some 14″ in stock. I have one on order for my partner, so I’m hoping it’s going to be good.

Titus does a really small frame thats is what a mate of mine rides. She does 24hr solo stuff and all sorts. I think she is about 5ft, she had some cranks custom made by a sponsor.

mrs xiphon is vertically challenged too – 5’1″… rides 16″ Patriot, combined with short stem and in-line post.

http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/5287747/

Mrs PixelMix has a “Petite” Cannondale frame, which is pretty tiny. Her sister rides a 14″ Scandal, and seemed to like it. Both are 5ft. When I was looking into new frames before, the Dirty Jo Semi Creme was suggested as being a small, cheap frame.

Oooh I love that Patriot. Maybe I’d best keep away from this thread if you folks are gonna insist on posting pics of tinyness 😛

13″ GF Marlin by rOcKeTdOgUk, on Flickr

There is also the mountain cycle battery which is dead small. I’ve got one of them too…

XS Giant Trance

S Giant Reign

Small bikes are evil . . . fact 😈

. . . and why has my shipping for another small bike been cancell3d while I’VE BEEN OIT

dJOO KNOW WHAT – i’M GONNA ORDER MYSELF WAN 18″ 7″ gavel monster and be done with it!!!

Giant do a 13″ frame now and I could sort u out with a 13.5″ felt lAdies bike also…theirs tons of options really…

If you’re looking at full-suss trail bikes, definitely try the Specialized Safire. Very low top-tube for the size of frame, my wife found it much lower and easier to use than the comparable Giant Trance.