Originally Posted by nik
I'm planning a touring trip with my girlfriend next summer. While I've ordered a LHT to build up for myself, I'm having trouble finding a frameset that will fit her. She's got a 27-inch true inseam and is just shy of 5'2".
I've checked out a lot of the usual suspects for frame sizes (Trek, C-dale, Jamis, Bianchi, Surly) but they seem to be a touch too large for her. The other option I've seen offered while lurking on this site is to build up an older mountain bike. Can you guys recommend any older mountain bike frames that might work for a small lady?
Thanks for your help.
I won't go into the new bikes since they have been cover already (but the Fuji is a good bet.). For mountain bike frames or frames for 26" wheels, which is more of what you should look for, an older Rockhopper or Hardrock from Specailized might work. Schwinn Moab 1 or 2 would do well. Trek 8000 WSD (which my wife has and loves but it's not set up for touring) would work well. But by far my favorite would be an old Bridgestone XO series. My wife has used that one as here touring bike for a long time. It was built as a "hybrid" with 26" wheels but I put drop bars on it and it works very well as a touring bike.