wearyourtruth

my friend wants to start riding a bike to work, she lives 8 miles away (long enough, imo, to have a dedicated "commuter" and not just a mountain bike or something). she has a $500 budget. here's the thing, she's 4'10" as a 6 footer i'm not terribly familiar with small bikes, other than at a certain point having 700c wheels is a disadvantage for proper fit. does anyone have any recommendations on a good bike for commuting that will still have an efficient posture for someone smaller? thanks!

markhr

Check out Women Specific Design (WSD) bikes. Trek, specialized, etc., all have models in that price range.

I believe there's also a women's forum here on BF that your friend could join.

girljen

I am 5'3". I have a K2 T-Nine Crosswind from REI...K2 and Novara both make 'extra small' bikes for short people.

Bezier

It's a little over budget but I know Trek 1.2 comes in 43cm (with 650c wheels). I saw one at the bike shop and it looked microscopic compared to all the other bikes! Official stand-over height is 25.4"

Edit: Eh, as of 2009, it's a lot over budget. Although they did upgrade the front derailleur and shifters to Sora.

cyccommute 

Specialized Vita is in the price range and a pretty good bike. It is a flat bar road bike, however. My wife (5') had one for about 3 weeks and 40 miles. She really liked it.

Pinyon

I see women that ride to school and work in that height range all the time at the college campus that I work at. I've noticed a lot of mid-late 90s mixte (low-sloped top bar) mountain type bikes with stiff front ends. Most of them that I see now were made by the Pacific and Mongoose companies before they were sold off and started putting out cheap bikes, but I've seen some others around that were made by Giant, Cannondale...and I can't remember who else.

I also know a local 15 year old kid that picked up a Pacific Mixte with Shimano shifters at an attic sale for $35. He has been riding it to school and stuff for over a year now, and it works great. We see bikes like these all the time on the local craig's list for cheap too. Here is a picture of a mixte.



I've also seen some smaller people on kids bikes, but I've noticed that they also seem to have more mechanical issues with gears, brakes, and such. Kid's bikes are really heavy for the size, too..

Good luck.

barturtle

Dahon Speed D7 could be a very good option in your area (Baltimore having a good bus/light rail system) as a folding bike can be taken on the bus or train much more easily than a full sized bike. Also it can be stashed in the office. The small wheels eliminate a lot of the height restriction issues and the bikes a still quite suitable for a ride of that length.

cyccommute 

Mixte frames of the past had a longer effective top tube than a regular diamond bike. Short women need a shorter top tube for their shorter reach. I don't know if this has been fixed in modern mixte frames but it's something to be aware of. Fit is everything and fit for small women is the most difficult of all fits.

A good bike shop would be better than trying to find something used...especially in a very small bike.

Indie

Electra sells women's frame bikes with 24" tires. The Betty, Daisy, and Hawaii cruisers and the Townie 3-speed and 21-speed all have that option available.

https://www.electrabike.com/

I've never ridden any of these but I've heard a lot of good things about them. They're comfort/cruiser-shaped frames with an upright riding position, and they're all in the neighbourhood of $300-$400.

barbunny

If she ends up having problems with the womens bike still not being quite small enough and she wants a drop bar style road bike instead of a folder, Fuji sells the ACE 650 as a kids bike. It has a stand over that 5-10 cm lower than many of the femme models other companies sell.

Nozzle

For what it's worth, I bought my 5'4" wife a 2008 Raleigh Detour 3.5 over the summer and she loves it. I specifically avoided the suspension fork of the 3.0 and 4.0 models, plus the bike was only $270.00 on sale. One could easily spend another $200.00 adding a rack, bag(s), spare tubes, lights, fenders etc. Make sure you take these things into account when shopping for a "commuter" with a $500.00 budget.

thdave

Consider the Biria Easy Boarding bikes. Nice for short legs. Don't go too fast down a steep hill, however, as the frame will shimmy a tad when you're over 20 mph.

Boston Commuter

I'm 5'3" and I'm riding a Breezer U-frame Town bike in the 17" size.

The Breezer Villager 7-speed model comes in a 15" frame size, and they claim it fits a person to 4'11" (or even shorter if you replace the suspension seat post with a regular seat post).

If she prefers a road bike, you might see if a Terry would fit.

Sirrus Rider

I'm a short guy (5'4") so I have some experience in this frame range. In conventional sizes I'd look for bikes made for women (most will be 47 to 48cm frames). In a 700C wheel you have some issues with toe overlap especially at very slow speeds, however, from a day to day experience it's an over played argument. If she is looking for a conventional road bike one possibility is a bike based on 650c wheels.

dogbreathpnw

I want to second the 650B recommendation. My 5'3" stoker bought a 700c WSD bike and the clearance between the front wheel and the down tube is...interesting. Can you say "toe whack"?

She bought a 650B randonneur bike and she hardly ever rides the 700c any more; it's just a more comfortable fit all around.

Blue Roads

The REI Novarra Buzz V is a quality commuter with fenders. $449 less 20% until October 13 for members. A good deal.

The Web site only shows the 17" and 19" sizes available, but they also sell a 15" size that has a 26.3 inch standover height. REI might be able to tell you what store has a 15" in stock, or you could call around to a few REI stores yourself -- you might even get a nice employee to track one down for you.

If you find one, REI ships free to stores for pick-up, though I don't know if that applies to shipping between stores (free shipping for pick-up might only be for items coming from a warehouse).

Torrilin

Novara Pulse is a "kids" bike, but the frame might be small enough to be useful for your friend. It can take a rack and fenders, so if she wants drop bars it might work. The components are pretty cheap tho, and she'd probably end up upgrading it quite a bit.

If she would prefer a more upright bike, there are a lot of options. Probably the cheapest is to find an old Raleigh 3 speed. The women's frames adjust down to suit small women, even tho it looks like the bike is quite large. If you're buying new, watch the reach... some of the "flat bar road bike" types can be really huge reach. I'm long torso/short legs, and some of 'em are too long a reach even for me.

A folding bike might suit her, but I'd worry about the reach on a Dahon. I've test ridden them, and they're very me-sized in terms of reach... and I'm 5'6". Getting it down to an appropriate reach for someone 7 inches shorter might be quite difficult. And if she's a classic short torso/long legs type, it'd be even tougher.

dynaryder

"Offer not valid on bicycles. "

https://www.rei.com/promotions/fallsalecoupon08.html


Gotta wait until spring for that coupon.

cyccommute 

A 15" is probably an inch or 2 too tall for a 4'10" woman. Jamis makes the Coda Femme in a 14.5 and the Durango 1 in as small as a 12.5". I happen to have two Durango frames in a 14 and a 12 at home. (I have a whole army of pixies running around my house) They are very light frames but usually come with heavy components.

lukewall

at 4'10", ever think about getting a s or xs mtb and putting slick tires and a rigid fork on it. the 26" wheels and sloping top tube might be better for her. and its easy to mount a rack and fenders on a mtb frame. if its going to be a dedicated commuter, you could prob pick up an entry level mtb that fits her for around 300-350bucks, leaving you some room for a rigid fork, slick tires, rack, and fenders. you're in baltimore, no need to spend a lot on a bike that's going to get locked up in that city.

funkydrum

+1 for the 24" wheels. She should be able to find a 24" wheel mountain bike (Specialized, Trek, etc) that she could put street tires, fenders, etc. on.

cyccommute 

I agree. That's why I suggest the Jamis Durango. A very small mountain bike frame. The frame is light but the components aren't. You could lose a significant amount of weight by ditching the shock and going with an aluminum or carbon fork.

Boston Commuter

I agree with the 24" wheels for a 4'10" person.

My daughter was about 4'8" when we bought her current bike. We tried her on some bikes with 26" wheels but she was definitely more comfortable on the 24" models. We ended up getting her a 24" Novarra Moxie from REI. She is now 5' tall and she has nearly outgrown it.

Blue Roads

Thanks for the clarification. Per some other comments here, it sounds like a 15" bike might be too big for her anyway. If a 15" size did fit, she could always buy it as an REI member and get the regular 10% rebate. She'd get 5% more using an REI Visa.

nashcommguy

try https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/willow2.htm They have a 44cm w/650cm wheels...in pink, no less. It's 459.00 delivered w/no shipping. BD is very responsive, but your friend will have to have some one who knows how to tune up a bike(like the OP, maybe). It's a solid deal and the componentry, though entry level will give years of solid service w/regular maintenence.