to all those who were saying the cannondale will be too big for me….you are correct !
oh dear, sooo today i was measured up properly for the womens cannondale rush 2009, and im just too tiney for their bikes ! their frame size for PETITE yes Petite- is coming out at 15.9 …… as their crossbar is straighter than ,my specialized (which dips quite low anyway, so having a straighter crossbar on cannondale means i wouldnt even be able to straddle over the bike ! at just 5ft small i am going to struggle at getting a full sus .. scott bikes also are too big as the small frames start at 15 inch……
just rang ‘leisurelakes’ to see if they can help and im going to look at 2 womens xc marins hopefully at the weekend and also will look at the womens specialized safire comp but will have to try it with a chopped down seatpost ….
oh dear my quest for a full suss becomes a problemo for my height…any more ideas ? i was told i was child size !!!! oh dear that relly boosted me somewhat..NOT !

Pricey option: Orange 5 Diva, 14″ frame and has a curve in the toptube that might work for you…

http://www.santacruzmtb.com/juliana/index.php?sizing=1

Still 15″ but the top tube bows down.

ventana are always mentioned in these threads.

as are Titus.

Titus Motolite? Also expensive, but reet dinky.

Or just WTFU and outride everybody on your hardtail.

xs trances look pretty little – or you could run 24 inch wheels on pretty much any disc-braked bike ??

The Yeti ASR (not the carbon one though) comes in an xxs – for 4ft8″ to 5ft.
And Titus certainly used to do the racer-x in xxs.

i used to ride with a short lady,

think she had a XS GT with 24″ wheels.

check out an XS trance i reckon, swoopy top tube, and a great ride.
if you are proper diddy, 24″ wheels might not be such a daft idea, would make the bike lighter and handle better for you possibly?

titus are pricey but well thought out for smaller riders, as they use different shocks and tubes on the S & XS frames, so that they work properly for tiny people.

IIRC the Trex EX8 WSD goes down to 14.5 inch frame – and don’t Titus make extra small sizes for the RacerX/Motolite? (EDIT – yep, looks like they do!)

There’s a nice Kona I think that’s diddy with 24″ wheels…

This is brilliant:

Might be a bit burly tho. But it’s so diddy!

Or there’s this, available in 14″

i can only fit 13 inch frame !!! just rang leisure lakes back and they said they have instore 2 womens xc marins to have a look at for size and they are size exra small so i will have alook at those and a small specialized saffire (but to try it with one of their chopped seatposts just to try for size…..
im going to struggle very much ! when god handed out long legs (he forgot me !!!! lol.

check out an XS trance i reckon, swoopy top tube, and a great ride.
if you are proper diddy, 24″ wheels might not be such a daft idea, would make the bike lighter and handle better for you possibly?

I think Olly is right, don’t rule out 24″ wheel bikes.

My wife is just over 5ft and she has an XS Giant XTC, 13″ frame I believe.

Standover is just about OK, but toe overlap with the front wheel is a real problem.

Don’t know if anyone makes 24in XC-style FS bikes though.

As another ‘only 5 ft’ person I can sympathise with the difficulty of finding full-sus bikes. I’ve tried quite a few bikes over the lat couple of years and found that there are 3 that should be OK for fit: the Specialised Myka, the Orange Diva, and the Titus motolite. They vary massively in price and ride – the Myka is the cheapest, and I found it to be quite a heavy and unresponsive ride – if your budget is tight I would recommend considering a high spec hardtail rather than the somewhat heavy weight Myka. The Diva is great fun, especially as a ‘downhill’ bouncy orientated bike, although it also holds it’s own on the climbs. The Titus is a great all-round xc full-sus bike that would handle anything you could through at it (mine has coped well with the downhill trails of Morzine and also the never-ending climbs in the Rocky mountains). But the Titus isn’t cheap – having said that do a quick search on the forum as I’m sure someone was mentioning that there might be an xs titus at a bargain sale price.

hasn’t mamadirt tried/bought pretty much every frame going thats suitable for a 5′ rider? might be worth an email.

Tell you what, Mamadirt on here is the one to talk to about tiny bikes. She’s had most designs!

Stuff for smaller people is difficult. As a small bloke (5’4 1/2″; 9st), I’ve often found a lot of stuff is too big, too heavy or just plain wrong. Not so bad these days, as more manufacturers acknowledge there are more sensibly proportioned people around…

Full suss is always an issue for those of more diminutive stature. Difficult to get all the suspension gubbins into such a small package. Personally, I don’t much like big 5-6″ travel forks etc, as I feel too high off the ground.

The Rush does not in any way look like a design that would work well in a very small size, as it needs a certain amount of space in the frame, for the shock. Maybe a design that has the forward shock mounting on the downtube would allow for a lower top-tube? The Orange looks like a preferable design to the Rush or SC Juliana, in that respect.

I suspect a happy solution will be a little more costly than if you were of more environmentally inefficient proportions.

Tinies Unite! I’m sick of stuff being too big and heavy, just because other people eat too much and grow unfeasibly long lims and torsos.

My frames use less metal, therefore, I am better for the planet. And other stuff.

Someone call? 😉

24″ wheels are an option but on a frame designed for 26″ers the bottom bracket will end up being quite low. I have the same problem being only 5’2″ but with pretty short legs 🙁 . Tiniest full-susser I’ve ever had was a Kona Stinky 2-4 – an absolute blast but with a toptube length of only 19.5″ riding to and from the trails was cramped to say the least. I’ve also had a couple of 4″ travel Kona Cowan DS frames and a 15″ Coiler which were fine length-wise but standover clearance was non-existent. My current ride is a 4″ travel Intense Tazer – seat tube measures 16″ and again standover clearance is ‘interesting’ but it’s a very short bike (21″ toptube – spot on!) so despite being quite tall feels perfect fit-wise. If you can live with the lack of clearance I’d say go for something that’s going to fit you lengthwise first – maybe have a look at one or two of the women’s specific frames.

XS 5spot is only a 13″ frame

thats what im doing is looking at womens spec bikes and even finding one to fit in a small is crazy ????? the orange diva this year is about 2, 500 plus cant afford that.. where do i find titus models… i live in singletrack area ! tho i will search the whole country if i have to !!!

I’d have a look at Rocky Mountains (element are their XC) too, I’m 5’3″ ride the 15″, they go to 13.5″ in their womens (mine is a guys). Sorry can’t help you with a dealer as I’m in the US.

have you looked at an Sc juliana? I’m 5ft2 and ride the middle sized Juliana.

Fat treads used to import Titus http://www.fattreadbikes.co.uk/ so thats who I would call.

My 2 pence worth –

i can only fit 13 inch frame !!!

Don’t get fixated on an actual number with frame size. Brands vary in size even though they may be technically the same size frame. You gotta try one, and be comfortable on it, otherwise you’re not going to get on with it. Better to spend a bit more and get a good bike that you like and will ride a lot, rather than make a “cheaper” mistake and have to start again…
🙂

EDIT – Also, when you do get a bike, let’s see some pics! Dinky FS bikes look the mutts nutts!
😀

My wife is 5′ and rides a XXS Titus Racer-X. Great bike & fits her perfectly – better than the XS Motolite which she also demoed.

Just for illustration – here’s a small person I know with her small Titus…

Point Proven!!

That little blue Titus looks fantastic!
😀

It is a lovely bike. The ano finish is really nice.

Biggerer here

Titus again here – its the only FS bike that mrs_oab has ever fitted on (she is 5′, rides a 13″/XS Cannondale F9000SL) – even the Orange she sat on at a shop was too large, I think as it had so much travel…Never seen a Juliana in XS, but it would be weeny.

Bristol Surfer – That link goes to a “privete pic”
🙂

That Titus looks good, because it has a relatively short travel fork, which does not in any way jack the front end of the bike up, too much. But I think the issue here is with standover at the mid-point along the top tube.

Tiny bikes rock! Big ones just look like something out of a powerstation or engineering yard or something.

or another option is a Pivot, might be a bit pricey and difficult to get a test ride though.

My wife is 5’5″ but has a short inside leg so a low standover height is crucial for her too. I asked about this a few days ago (thread here) and was also suggested to try the Safire, Titus and Orange Diva.

I’ve done some web research since then and the other bike to look at could be the Rocky Mountain Altitude(clicky). Standover height is the same as the Safire, but not as good as the Titus Motolite XS or Orange Diva Short.

I have a small Titus Motolite and it has great standover for my 30″ inside leg. I’ve also found Konas to be really good for smaller riders, I had their 14″ Kikapu Deluxe 2005 spec which was a lovely bike that I replaced with the Titus.

giant anthems also come up pretty small, and are light.

another small person here *waves*

mine was a small, and i am 5,5, they go down another size to a 14″ i think?

you guys are great ! hey can i buy that blue titus off you ! lol 😉

so quite a few to look at then… having probs in demo bikes as they dont really have demos in super tiney , so if i see one in a shop thats fits, i guess i shud just buy it ? the shops say they cant get rid of extra small bikes so its twice as hard to demo one !
i,ll have alook at all the above bikes then ,..brilliant you guys..

I think I might be mrs_oab’s doppelganger – same height, same bikes – a titus and an xs cannondale (although mine is now doing duty as a commuter with slicks!) I don’t suppose mrs_oab has found an audax-style road bike that fits? I’ve been looking for one for ages!

But, back to the pursuit of small full-sus bikes – the Titus will be more expensive than the orange, so if the Diva is over budget then you’ll not be wanting to consider a motolite or racer-x. As has been mentioned, don’t fixate on frame sizes – look instead a the geometry charts for 13″ and 14″ frame bikes. I would seriously consider a women’s frame, as the weight of the bike will be a consideration. As a ‘short’ person I’ve also had an issue with longer travel forks – with 130 – 140 forks I’ve found that I can’t keep the front wheel down on the climbs. However, I went for adjustable travel forks as this means I can dial then down to 80 for the climbs and back up to 130 for the descents.

here’s a small person I know with her small Titus…

had to read that twice – that’s good. 😀