Old 06-17-20, 03:37 PM
  #8909  
canklecat
Me duelen las nalgas
 
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Texas
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Bikes: Centurion Ironman, Trek 5900, Univega Via Carisma, Globe Carmel

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Originally Posted by noglider
A small woman's Ironman came through my home a few years ago, back when I was flipping bikes. My kid Juj already had a bike of their own but they fell in love with this bike with the small front wheel, a replica of the Terry design. (I'm using they/them pronouns to refer to my kid, as that is their choice.) The bike was too small for my kid, but they loved it anyway. Eventually I sold the bike. Then they met Kat, their girlfriend, now their wife, who is 5'0" (152 cm) tall. And a bike just like the one I had bought and sold popped up, so I grabbed it. Kat isn't an experienced rider and wasn't all that comfortable with the racing geometry and drop handlebars. On my suggestion and her approval, I just replaced the handlebars. I have to find some shifters that will mount on the handlebars, because upright bars and down-tube shifters are not a great mix.

Before:




After:

I switched my Univega from the original flat bar a thumb shifters (which broke after nearly 30 years) to riser bars with SunRace SLM10 friction thumbies (cheap but good) and, finally, to Nitto albatross swept bars with Shimano bar-end shifters.

The latter works best for me, but it needs either a long top tube, shortened swept bars, or both to avoid knocking the knees. Fortunately the Univega frame was already slightly large for me (58cm frame, I'm 5'11" with 33" inseam) with a longer than usual top tube due to the bike starting life as a rigid frame MTB. But I still swapped out the original 120mm riser stem for a 120mm horizontal stem - same length but effectively longer reach. So the reach and knee clearance are perfect.

That might not work with some road bikes including that "Terry" style Ironperson. Looks like the top tube isn't long enough to clear bar end shifters with swept bars. But a longer stem might do the trick.
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