kmhues88

I have always wanted to give road biking a try but I don't really know where to start with fit. I know that going to an LBS for sizing is my best bet but I am not able to at this time. I am looking at a Terry Symmetry Flat Bar in 46cm but this seems like it would be too large. I have looked at the geometry chart but admit that this is beyond me. I am petite 4'9", so I am afraid sizing will be challenge. Anyone with experience fitting this particular bike?

Iride01 

This bike


Save up to 60% off Womens Bikes, Road, Bike path Bikes - Womens - Terry Symmetry Flat BarWomen's Mountain Bikes Specific for women

In their sizing guide above the specs, it seems like it's showing a XXS for someone 4' 9".

My personal opinion is that flat bars don't make for comfortable riding if you are going to ride for longer than an hour maybe 2 at the most. They just don't put your wrist in the proper position and don't give you any other choice unless you throw money at more gizmos to add to them.

kmhues88

Thank you for the help with sizing! I appreciate the explanation of flat bar vs drop, it makes a lot of sense.

AnthonyG

At 4' 9" I'd be putting you on a juvenile bike and not an adult bike. I'm 5'1" and I ride juvenile bikes rather than adult size bikes.
It may not be the look your going for, but the fundamental geometry will be better.

kmhues88

Thanks. This is something I have seriously considered. I am not too concerned with looks but wasn't sure if a juvenile bike would ride as well as an adult bike.

Darth Lefty 

Something to consider, the above bike may not really be for sale even though the product page is still up I tried to add it to cart and got an error. If it's still really for sale, has been in a box for ten years.

Georgena Terry, the designer of the above bike, has taken a couple of stabs at making small women's bikes in mass production. Her first attempt in the 1980's was going great until basically every large Japanese-built brand stole her design and undermined her. After that she turned to women's apparel and did pretty well at that until turning back to bikes. If you find an old Terry frame it's nice and you can build it up modern if you like. Her bikes had several sizes whereas the "proportional" bikes from the other brands were just the smallest of a given model. Their distinctive feature, copies too, is that the smallest ones have a 24" front tire and standard 700c (or older, 27") rear tire. You can estimate how small it is by lining up the top tube with the rear wheel, the smallest ones are under level. The bike above was part of another stab at mass production that didn't last. She also hand makes frames still today. https://georgenaterry.com/

Surly makes some very small road bike frames. 38, 42, and 46 cm for the 650b wheel version of the Straggler, 40 and 46 for the Midnight Special. It's funny because their mountain bike line are real monster trucks that look really awkward at XS and don't go 2XS.

Because I have kids and I'm planning I'm aware of a lot of good juvenile mountain bikes, but not so much about road bikes. I know Woom and Cleary have bikes going up to tween sizes. The problem you might run into is that these bikes are not built like road bikes. Woom spends a lot of effort making their bikes lightweight but they're not aero or racy or anything like that.

This article has a decent list of touring bikes at small sizes. Some of them are less heavy duty touring and more all-purpose.
https://www.cyclingabout.com/list-of...ller-cyclists/

Salsa recently came out with a 24" wheel Journeyman. You can see what the wheel size does it if you compare it to the smallest adult size Journeyman

(from the above article)


(from Salsa's website)

AnthonyG

Well for my money, yes they do. I ride a Giant ARX 24 bike from the juvenile range. Yes I've put a longer seatpost on it, a stem extension to raise the bars and a few other things, yet the fundamental geometry was the right place to start, rather than an adult bike.
I would definitely put you on a 24" wheeled bike and most of the bike manufacturers have produced some rather good 24" wheel models in the last few years.
Try them out.

icemilkcoffee 

That Terry Symmetry bike is from 2011!. It's long out of production even if the page still exists. And in any event basically all kids' bikes are sold out. You need to look for a used bike on Craigslist. Trek produced a series of WSD bikes back in the early 2000's, which used 650c wheels in the smaller sizes. Cannondale likewise made a bunch of R300,R400,R500,R600 etc, which had 650c wheels in the small sizes. These are quality bikes meant for smaller adults. Another quality 650c drop bar bike is the Felt F95 Jr, which were produced from 2012 - 2018 or thereabouts. I got one for my son who is 4'9".


You'll come across the Fuji Ace with 650c wheels also, but that one is a lower quality bike with clunkier components. The Windsor Willow is another lower quality 650c bike you might come across. These might serve your needs too if you want something cheap to roll around on while waiting for the bike shops to re-stock.