cyccommute 

First, when you talk about “90's rigid MTB”, that’s not usually referring to a late 90s mountain bike. By the late 90s, most mountain bikes came with at least front suspension and fully rigid ones were less common. Suspension bikes have their own problems in that they have higher front ends which makes them problematic for smaller riders.

Second, did you look at the sizes? The smallest size for the Trek 850 Is 14.5”. For most people the difference between 14.5” and 15” is close enough. tmbrown0203 needs a 12” frame and may have difficulty fitting on a 12” bike. That one is 3” too tall...as I pointed out. Go buy yourself a bike that is 3” too big and see how you like the ride.

My wife has a 12” mountain bike with an 80mm shock on it and it is just barely short enough. She has much less bail-off room than I have on my mountain bikes. She doesn’t ride off-road like I do but I suspect the reason she doesn’t like mountain biking is because mountain bikes have always been too large for her. Finding road bikes the proper size has been hard enough.

I’m not trying to “rewrite history”. I’m trying to get the history right. Mountain bikes went through major changes in geometry from the early 90s to the late 90s. Sticking just with hardtails, they went from rigid bicycles to frames that could accommodate a front suspension and they went from long stable bikes to bikes with more balanced geometry for more aggressive riding.

But, again, the main point is that the sizing is wrong for very small people.

tmbrown0203

Thank you !!! That's the #1 thing!!!

tmbrown0203

100% thank you.... Yes...I am buying new for this reason. I have Nothing against vintage but for something that I'm going to be riding for long periods of time. And with me being so new to this...I want certain guarantees.

Metieval

so 1996 isn't 90's because it's late 90's

and 14.5" isn't smaller than 15" because well it's only 0.5 of an inch.

Semantics much??

cyccommute 

I would suggest against a 650B wheel. It has a 584mm bead diameter and a tire diameter of 27.5" inch outside diameter. A 650C wheel has an bed diameter of 571mm and a tire diameter of around 26". 650C tires are rather limited to narrow sizes. The old mountain bike standard of a 559mm bead diameter and a nominal 26" outside diameter with a 2" tire is even smaller which reduces the frame height for your small stature.

cyccommute 

Lack of understanding much?? 14.5" is close enough to 15" to not make a difference. A 15" mountain bike frame is far too large for anyone who is less than 5'4" tall much less someone 5 inches shorter than that. Someone 4'11" tall is going to have fit issues with a 12" to 13" bike with 26 inch tires and 559mm wheels.

As for the year issue, Read. My. Post.

Finally, how much experience do you have with trying to fit small people onto bicycles? I have tons of it. My daughters aren't as diminutive as my wife but I have also helped lots of other small women I've known find bikes that fit properly.

Metieval

then maybe you should say they don't make bikes smaller than 14.5" next time?

btw 1996 is the 90's no matter the reasons you want to argue it isn't.

indyfabz

Yep. As I mentioned above, I bought my 5’ ex a 42cm LHT with 26” wheels. It was the only touring bike I could find that might fit her. Fortunately, a LBS had one in stock. I tricked her into going to the shop with me when I needed to pick up my road bike after service. Said “Hey! Look at that! You should try it out.” The shop owner was in on it. She liked it, so I called the shop the next day and asked them to hold it for me. Picked it up a few days later on her birthday, brought it home and hung it on the wall rack. Took her a couple of minutes to find her present.

BTW...Ignore the perennial troll.

cyccommute 

Semantics much? Again, it's not that the bike is a 14.5" bike rather than a 15" bike. It's that the bike is far too big for a person 4'11" tall. If a 15" bike is 4" too tall, a 14.5" bike is only going to be 3.5" too tall. It. Is. Still. Too. Tall.

Context. Context. Context. Are bikes from the early 90s exactly the same as bikes from the late 90s? No, they aren't. The 1996 bike is a very different bike from a 1990 bike. One could make a good touring bike if it is the right size. The other one, no so much...at least no for traditional panniers touring.

But that makes zero difference if, again, the bike is. The. Wrong. Size.

greatscott

I just went through looking at a lot of touring bikes, what I settled on is a bit over your price range, however I did find bikes in your price range that will work, one of the best ones for $900, there's your wiggle room!, is the Fuji Touring Road Bike, steel bike that comes with rear rack and Deore drivetrain which is on the bike I got and it works really well. This bike does have bar end shifters, like mine, and like most touring bikes have.

Jamis makes a bike called the Aurora which is right at your $800 price point, but it comes with a road group Shimano Sora drivetrain which in my opinion isn't as suitable for touring or gravel as the Deore is.

In an effort to keep the prices down, neither bike comes with decent tires, but for a short 200 mile tour you will be fine, but when the time comes step up to the much more expensive Schwalbe Marathon Almotion tires, their light weight for a touring tire, have really good puncture resistance, tires durability is quite high, and they have the lowest rolling resistance of any tire tested in the touring category. Even my bike came with crappy tires, but due to C19 I can't get any tires for awhile, in fact due to C19 you may have a huge problem finding a bike!

If you can swing the price get the Fuji, if not the Jamis is the next best choice though a bit more limited, but the Fuji is only $100 more, I would beg borrow and steal to get the extra $100!!

The price of the Almotion tire might shock you, they cost around $85 each, but if you are touring with a load you don't want slow heavy clunky stiff riding tires like the Vitts that come on the Fuji or the Kendas that came on my Masi to slow you down more. Another recommended touring tire is the Schwalbe Marathon Supreme, these weigh about the same as the Almotion, the rolling resistance is more than the Almotion, but the Almotion has a thicker tire tread so it will last longer, plus it has some tread design which will be adequate for gravel whereas the Supreme is virtually smooth. Also the fuji and the Aurora come with 35c tires, which work fine for touring, but if you want a bit more comfortable ride you should probably go to a 38c tire, the slightly wider tire will wear a bit longer too and have a bit better control on gravel.

You also should consider fenders, Topeak makes a really nice fender called the Defender TX, these cost less than $50 and I like them better than the more expensive SKS full fenders I had on another bike, the Topeak are easy to put on, they don't make as much noise in any, and they stay in adjustment. But since I can't see the bike you have to have a bike shop make sure those will fit your bike, if not Topeak has other choices that are similar. Fenders will keep your bike from getting as messy, and prevent the dreaded soaking from the rooster tail be deposited on you.

I don't think you need a front rack to put front panniers on, you're not doing a cross country trip, so pack around 20 pounds worth of stuff in the rear panniers. It's nice to have a front handlebar bag, but it's up to you, I chose one because I'll eventually be doing more than short 3 or 4 day out trips, but I won't ever need a front pannier, because I only carry 25 to 30 pounds tops even when I do a cross country trip. Topeak makes really nice handlebar bags as well.

I'm assuming either you already have panniers or will be buying them, and I'm also assuming if buying them you probably on a tight budget there as well. So the best set of bags for under $100 is the ArcEnCiel Bike Bag Bicycle Panniers sold on Amazon, they're not the best but for $70 they do the job. I would suggest if you get a set of inexpensive bags is to spray the outside of the bags with a waterproofing spray, also line the panniers with a plastic trash bag that cinches up, because a cheap bag is not going to be waterproof, also put anything you want to make sure doesn't get wet, or leak out, put into zip lock plastic bags, including clothes, you don't want to find wet clothes when you get to camp.

Make sure you spend some time riding the bike loaded because you don't want to be surprised by how much slower and harder work it is riding a loaded touring bike once you start your adventure.

Read as much information about touring and what to take as you can off the internet, also google on Youtube how to eat cheap while backpacking, these videos will show you what to buy at Walmart that you can eat cheaply. Also do the same thing about buying cheap camping gear, a lot of stuff an be found at Walmart, and some on Amazon that won't cost you an arm and a leg. For example, you don't need a $75 stove when a $13 dollar Etekcity stove will do the same thing. You have to do a lot research to find stuff cheap that will work.

cyccommute 

The problem, again, is size. The Jamis Aurora come in a 47cm while the smallest Fuji is 49cm. Both are far too large for someone tmbrown0203 size. That is going to be a problem with almost all the touring bikes I’ve looked at. The Surly Long Haul Trucker is about the only touring bike the comes in the right size at 42cm. The Trucker will take a wide tire for off-road use. The problem is that an LHT complete is $1200.

The other alternative is a hybrid. The Trek FX series comes in a small enough size for someone 4’11” and it has fittings for racks. Specialized Sirius would also be a good choice. But the hybrids may not take really wide tires. They are much cheaper than the LHT, however. The FX3 is well outfitted for $800. Someone small like tmbrown0203 doesn’t need a beast to stand up to being ridden hard. As an added advantage the FX3 is likely lighter than the LHT.

SalsaShark

I know i sound like a broken record here, but the Salsa Journeyman should fit the size requirements for the OP.
The Journeyman flat bar geometry chart puts the XS (extra small) frame sized 650b rider height in a range of about 4'9 through 5'3. The drop bar 650b 50cm (smallest frame size) is a little different geometry, but still puts rider height at 4'11" on the smallest side of it's range of height.
I am an average build 5'10", and ride a 55.5cm drop bar Journeyman, which fits nicely, and puts my height smack in the middle of Salsa's recommended height chart for this frame size, so the geometry chart appears to be fairly accurate.

fietsbob

Then you spend more, for every thing else,

Germany_chris

There's the Breezer Radar Expert

https://www.breezerbikes.com/bikes/a...r#radar-expert

Under 1k and has some pretty good reviews

Paul Barnard

Good find, and it's kinda in New Orleans Saints colors. It has solid spec as well! TMBrown, what do you think of this one?

Paul Barnard

With shipping this one goes slightly over budget. It checks all the boxes though and the manufacturer says the XS fits down to 4'11" I think it's a good looking bike as well.

https://www.jensonusa.com/Marin-Four...lueTan-X-Small

Available here in a different color

https://www.bikebling.com/Marin-Four...shoppingengine

Chris!

I've been happy with my jamis renegade. I have 2 wheels sets, one with 40c tires for touring, gravel riding, commuting and 25c for more road dedicated riding. Some of the smaller sizes come with 650b tires. It comes in both steel and aluminum models in a variety of models/price points. I bought the 2019 expat and over time have been able to change out a few things that I didnt like. A compact road crankset it not good for light touring. Good luck in your search.

tmbrown0203

Yeah, finding a bike has been quite difficult but my LBS actually is the only place that even has any bike. I have called literally every other bikes shop in the area and they have nothing. Also I have raised my price point (~1400) or so . The most important thing is making sure it fits. Really hoping that the xs Surly Bridge club fits but I am also looking into a few more bikes just in case it doesn't. Also, I want versatility . Thank you !

cyccommute 

You haven’t really said which bikes you are looking at before. The Bridge Club looks okay but I’d suggest some changes, if you can get the shop to go along. Go for the double crank if you can. Your knees will thank you. Look into going with a 26” tire over the 27.5 if you can. With a 50mm tire, you can drop the stand over by about 3/4”. Since the bike has discs, this is an easy change. The smaller wheels will also give you a lower gear. And they are lighter.

For the future, I’d suggest some upgrades. You don’t have to do it now because it will drive the price up a lot. But look into things that will drop weight. This bike is going to be heavy. Replace bars, seatpost and, if possible, fork with carbon. Your size is made for carbon fiber parts. Try to save as much weight as you can where ever you can. But that’s in the future.

morrberg

I'm in the process of building a cheap bikepacking bike from second hand parts. Don't think this particular Miyata was available in the US. But i'm sure you can find something similar.
The plan is to ride it Norrköping (Sweden) to Gdansk and back, about 1400 kilometers = 869.919669 miles this summer....
Bike 26" Steel Miyata On/Off Road runner from 1991?, found local 50$,
Rear Derailleur Shimano Acera RD-M390 10$ on ebay (front derailleur is original Shimano LX 300 Exage)
Gear lever + V brakes 15$
Wheels used ALEX RIMS DM24 incl 8spd cassette 25$,
Lowrider, rack, bottle cage, and handlebar new about 80$,
Panniers, already had them, (have 2 of the blue ones)
Tires: Schwalbe CX comp, 26x2.0 25$

Will switch to Schwalbe Marathon Mondial for about 60$ when/if i go on a longer tour, and a proper Brooks saddle..

tmbrown0203

[QUOTE=greatscott;21538217]I just went through looking at a lot of touring bikes, what I settled on is a bit over your price range, however I did find bikes in your price range that will work, one of the best ones for $900, there's your wiggle room!, is the Fuji Touring Road Bike, steel bike that comes with rear rack and Deore drivetrain which is on the bike I got and it works really well. This bike does have bar end shifters, like mine, and like most touring bikes have.

Jamis makes a bike called the Aurora which is right at your $800 price point, but it comes with a road group Shimano Sora drivetrain which in my opinion isn't as suitable for touring or gravel as the Deore is.

In an effort to keep the prices down, neither bike comes with decent tires, but for a short 200 mile tour you will be fine, but when the time comes step up to the much more expensive Schwalbe Marathon Almotion tires, their light weight for a touring tire, have really good puncture resistance, tires durability is quite high, and they have the lowest rolling resistance of any tire tested in the touring category. Even my bike came with crappy tires, but due to C19 I can't get any tires for awhile, in fact due to C19 you may have a huge problem finding a bike!

If you can swing the price get the Fuji, if not the Jamis is the next best choice though a bit more limited, but the Fuji is only $100 more, I would beg borrow and steal to get the extra $100!!

The price of the Almotion tire might shock you, they cost around $85 each, but if you are touring with a load you don't want slow heavy clunky stiff riding tires like the Vitts that come on the Fuji or the Kendas that came on my Masi to slow you down more. Another recommended touring tire is the Schwalbe Marathon Supreme, these weigh about the same as the Almotion, the rolling resistance is more than the Almotion, but the Almotion has a thicker tire tread so it will last longer, plus it has some tread design which will be adequate for gravel whereas the Supreme is virtually smooth. Also the fuji and the Aurora come with 35c tires, which work fine for touring, but if you want a bit more comfortable ride you should probably go to a 38c tire, the slightly wider tire will wear a bit longer too and have a bit better control on gravel.

You also should consider fenders, Topeak makes a really nice fender called the Defender TX, these cost less than $50 and I like them better than the more expensive SKS full fenders I had on another bike, the Topeak are easy to put on, they don't make as much noise in any, and they stay in adjustment. But since I can't see the bike you have to have a bike shop make sure those will fit your bike, if not Topeak has other choices that are similar. Fenders will keep your bike from getting as messy, and prevent the dreaded soaking from the rooster tail be deposited on you.

I don't think you need a front rack to put front panniers on, you're not doing a cross country trip, so pack around 20 pounds worth of stuff in the rear panniers. It's nice to have a front handlebar bag, but it's up to you, I chose one because I'll eventually be doing more than short 3 or 4 day out trips, but I won't ever need a front pannier, because I only carry 25 to 30 pounds tops even when I do a cross country trip. Topeak makes really nice handlebar bags as well.

I'm assuming either you already have panniers or will be buying them, and I'm also assuming if buying them you probably on a tight budget there as well. So the best set of bags for under $100 is the ArcEnCiel Bike Bag Bicycle Panniers sold on Amazon, they're not the best but for $70 they do the job. I would suggest if you get a set of inexpensive bags is to spray the outside of the bags with a waterproofing spray, also line the panniers with a plastic trash bag that cinches up, because a cheap bag is not going to be waterproof, also put anything you want to make sure doesn't get wet, or leak out, put into zip lock plastic bags, including clothes, you don't want to find wet clothes when you get to camp.

Make sure you spend some time riding the bike loaded because you don't want to be surprised by how much slower and harder work it is riding a loaded touring bike once you start your adventure.

Read as much information about touring and what to take as you can off the internet, also google on Youtube how to eat cheap while backpacking, these videos will show you what to buy at Walmart that you can eat cheaply. Also do the same thing about buying cheap camping gear, a lot of stuff an be found at Walmart, and some on Amazon that won't cost you an arm and a leg. For example, you don't need a $75 stove when a $13 dollar Etekcity stove will do the same thing. You have to do a lot research to find stuff cheap that will work.

Since then I have actually doubled my price point and a lot of things are just a tiny bit off and I would have to tippy toe or some other kind of adjustment. THAT is not an option . I may very well end up spending $2000 on a bike but it will fit me EXACTLY how it is supposed to and have everything I want on it.

adalah

Following!this seems like a very interesting thread

Korina

I'm 5'4" and my main (squeeze) bike is an 18" vintage Specialized RockHopper. I love the 26" wheels to tiny bits. There's over an inch between me and the top tube, so standover is fine, but dang that top tube is loooong. I fixed it by going with a short stem and swept bars, specifically the Velo-Orange Porteur bar, and it's super fun to ride. I also have a 17" Trek SingleTrack for off-pavement, and it's also quite fun and light. What I'm saying is that a vintage 15" steel mountain bike would make a great tourer for the OP, if she can find one. It would definitely need modifications; shorter stem, swept handlebar, and the shortest cranks s/he can find, but it would make for a comfortable, sturdy ride that I think s/he would really enjoy. Assuming you can find one; this is a bad time to look for bikes.

I lied; just found this on eBay. You'd put money into it, but you'd end up with a very nice bike.



This Trek is 15" but might work for you.



This RockHopper24 frame might work; you could build it up the way you want. Not cheap, but again, you'd end up with a very nice bike.

Korina

tmbrown0203 , how goes the search?