tazzurro

Hello, everyone!

I'm a newbie in cycling and really not into road racing or mountain biking.
I'm looking for a bike which would be -relatively- fast on gravel or light off road.

Problem is: I'm 5'3
I always wondered how this kind of adventure/gravel/cx bikes look if they was my size: even looking on the Net, it's really difficult to spot pictures of this kind of bikes that would fit me.

LBSs are also a problem, since here in Italy road bikes are everywhere and, even if some bike shop has gravel or Cyclocross bikes on sale, they never come my size.

Also let's be honest: sometimes 700c bikes in my size really look awful, so PLEASE: show me your XS or S rig and prove me wrong

TL; DR : I'm 5'3 and I've always wondered how XS or S gravel/cx bikes look, so please show me yours!

steve-in-kville 

Interested in this thread as well. I'm 5' 2". Bikes Direct is our friend when it comes to completes in small sizes!

tazzurro

Hey Steve
I'm glad you're also interested.
Bikes Direct would be a good resource but, unfortunately, I live in Italy.
My main interest at the moment is to see that bikes.

Cheers!

steve-in-kville 

Ah, gotcha.

I'm making some changes to the Kilo as we speak. I'll post pics when I'm done.

steve-in-kville 

My Kilo TT Stripper. Just mounted 700x32's! Just barely fit! Gotta wrap the bars, add my lights and seat bag and we're off to the races next week (commuting anyway).

Calla lily

I'm interested as well. I'm 5'2" and looking for something a little lighter than the xs Liv Rove 2 I have now.

osco53

Scott bikes has Junior sizes,, the largest of these would fit a rider under five feet tall....

kuroba

I'm 5'. I had a custom gravel grinder made, which I'll be picking up this afternoon after work. I'll post pics tomorrow after my first commute on it

kuroba

Ok, not the best picture, but this is just after my first commute on my new bike. The size 48x50 (I have longish legs lol)

IMG_6122.jpg

Calla lily

That looks like a really nice bike. Cool color.

tazzurro

This looks very pleasing!(also considering our height)
What about the top tube?
Do you feel stretched or pretty comfortable with it?

tazzurro

Nice build!
Are you running 700c wheels on it?
It looks very well proportioned, considering the small frame.
I would like to see it from a different perspective, if you don't mind!

kuroba

tazzurro Yup, 700c wheels, tires are 700x35 I was told that because of my long inseam (considering my overall height) I was able to use 700c wheels. In my country 650b is not an available size (except in MTB) so my other option was 26". I am glad I was able to go for 700c with no toe overlap so far (probably because my feet are small too, I'm a size 35).

Over the weekend I'll take it on a longer ride and bring my camera for better pics

Calla lily

Well, I just ordered a 2017 Salsa Vaya Claris size 49.5 in brown. I am between sizes and of course they didn't have a 49.5 in stock for me to try. They did have a 2016 Vaya x9 in size 52 that I was able to try out. The seat was a tad too high with the post all the way down but other than that, I felt like it fit pretty good. I've never rode a drop bar bike before. If I had wanted to buy it, shop dude (the owner) said he would easily be able to fit it for me (trim the seat post). And it was on closeout so very tempting, but still over what I wanted to pay, plus not a fan of blue (even though it is a pretty blue). So anyway shop guy said 49.5 would probably be better anyway. So I'll post some photos next week when I get it.

steve-in-kville 

Truth be told, it feels about right! I think I read somewhere that many pro roadies prefer their frames a size smaller simply to feel more responsive on the road. I just switched from the stock drop bars to the bullhorns, so that feels a bit different, otherwise I am happy.

Calla lily

Just picked up my Vaya. Size 49.5cm. I think I need to do some tweeking, maybe move the saddle back. And I need to find some bottle cages that will work. And some way to carry my phone, keys, other stuff. Until then I'm using the trunk bag, but I don't like to use that unless I need to carry more stuff.

kuroba

Calla_lilly Wow, that's a pretty bike!


Here's a better look at mine, on commuter mode. I need to get me a proper frame bag to replace my saddle bag that now doesn't fit under the saddle

IMG_8061.jpg