Shortie

Been looking for a decent small womens bike that does 650 wheels. So far can only find a felt zw!
Anyone know of any makes that do women's 650?

Ta

abstractform20

Terry still does (i think)

valygrl

HOw short are you? Specialized makes some good small bikes. Not sure if they use 650s.

Mike F

Orbea did in the past but I checked the DAMA on the website and they seem to be 700c. Only heard good things about the felts. I think most 650's are going to be tri-bikes now

mpath

Cervelo in their smallest size came with 650.

NachoLibre

I don't know if they still make them this way or not, but my wife's 47cm WSD Trek has 650c wheels. Although, from a purchasing point of view, I wish it had 700c. I can't even buy tires for her bike at the LBS, and even online the selection is significantly less than what it is for a 700c wheel. Get what works best for you, but you might want to re-consider a 700c bike if you find one that fits you well.

whataracket

If you consider a very small bike with 700c wheels, in addition to making sure it fits you well, also make sure your toes don't interfere with the front wheel when you steer.

twodownzero

You obviously don't know what you're talking about. A "very small" bike IS going to have toe overlap with 700c wheels, period. Both of my bikes have toe overlap and they are in the 50 cm seat tube/52 cm top tube range. A bike smaller than mine is going to have even more toe overlap. It's not possible to eliminate it without smaller wheels.

Toe overlap really isn't an issue anyway. You will never experience it unless you are going slow like in a parking lot, and on a bike that coasts, it's not a concern.

I do think bikes with 650 wheels would be a good idea for a smaller rider and I would buy one myself it they were made in my size.

Psimet2001 

They are still out there. Have fun with that. Unfortunately the tire and rim selections are teh suck

revolator

They had the Terry womens road bike on bonktown.com today for $499. Different size frames had diff wheel sizes but one was both 650 wheels.

Trsnrtr

Schwalbe, Continental, Vredstein, Kenda, and Vittoria all make 650 tires in 23 width. I use Specialized 650c tubes in my 650 wheels. Also, Velocity makes rims as well. I also have an American Classic Sprint 350 set.

As for bike shops, I have two in my area that both stock 650 tires and tubes. They're relatively easy to find mail order especially at recumbent shops or Tri sites.

NWS Alpine

My girlfriend has the petite Felt ZW with 650c wheels and it is a great bike. Nothing else would fit without being a big compromise. She loves it.

pmt

The Cannondale SuperX comes in a 44cm size; even though it has 700c wheels, it still fits a very small person.

valygrl

I have to disagree with you, twice.
1) My Scott CR1 SL in 47 cm does not have toe overlap (all my other bikes do)

2) Toe overlap does matter if you have to make a tight u-turn where you go in down hill and exit up hill. It's hard to get around the corner w/o pedaling. You can ratchet, but it's awkward. This mostly doesn't matter, but it totally blows if it's during a road race or time trial and you have to put a foot down. (yeah, i did that).

whataracket

Well, pleased to meet you, too!

My wife's size 52 Ruby with 700c doesn't overlap. I've seen a few low speed crashes on group rides due to overlap and a less experienced rider. I'm sure one can learn to live with it, but it's not ideal.

Peiper1

Sorry, but YOU are the one who hasn't got a clue what you are talking about .... my wife is 5' tall and rides a Cannondale Synapse in a 44 size frame with 700c wheels. There is absolutely NO toe overlap even with a tight turn.

To the OP, there is no reason to go with 650c wheels considering that the selection of tires/tubes is so limited compared to 700c, and since there are at least several brands out there that will fit a 5' tall person with no difficulty.

wants185s

Toe overlap is not unique to small frame sizes. I had toe overlap on a 63 cm frame, of course my size 14 shoes are one of the factors. Toe overlap can be a surprise to an inexperienced rider in low speed manuvers. But for a frequent rider with experience it is really not a problem. I don't think toe overlap ever comes into play at speed contrary to what was stated in this thread.

NWS Alpine

My girlfriend is 4'11" and she needed to go with the Felt ZW petite with 650c. The smallest frames were just a little too big for her and with 700c wheels it wasn't the most nimble bike. If you are below 5' then you start to compromise with 700c and a really small frame.

unterhausen

a really small bike and 700c wheels with no toe overlap probably has a geometry that's a little odd, with a slack head tube and steep seat tube. This may work, but a 650c is probably going to ride and fit better.

jgrosser

Cervelo RS size 48 comes standard with 650c wheels.

Shortie

Thank you all for your posts , been some interesting reads.

My current bike is a 43cm giant tcr alliance with 700 wheels and believe it or not no toe overlap. However there's just something not right. Can't explain it so very tempted to go for the 650.
I should have stated I'm looking for a road bike and not a TT bike.
Liking the Felt ZW with 650 wheels.

Thanks for comments, keep them coming!

ThermionicScott 

Terry Bicycles still does use 650C wheels for some models, and it should be noted that Panaracer makes several tires in that size as well.

Trsnrtr

650s are try common in the recumbent world and good tires are readily available mail order if your LBS doesn't stock them. My favorites are Schwalbe Duranos or Ultremos or Continentals in all of their top models.

wle

toeverlap is also a function of shoe size, and cleat/shoe positioning
as well as speed and turn radius

i'm 5-10 and i have it on my 54cm road bike, 700c of course, size 11 shoes

wle

halfspeed

Pay attention to this one. He gets it.