TRY-ATHLETE

Hi all. I am shopping for a comfortable endurance road bike for RAGBRAI 2023. I like a pretty erect riding position. I have done RAGBRAI twice on my 2004 size small Giant OCR 1. I recently added a riser to the OCR to get more erect, and I have also raised the OCR’s stem as much as possible. I like having multiple positions for my hands. I think the OCR small frame is 51cm.

I am female, 5’2” tall, 108 lbs. and 66 years old. I am not a strong rider, but I am a determined one. I might spring for electronic shifters or I might spring for carbon fiber, but if a $1,000 bike will make me comfortable that’s great!

Any suggestions for a comfortable, small, short-reach endurance bike? Thanks!

thin_concrete

Have you thought about swapping out the handlebars and/or stem for something more comfortable?

The best suggestion I have is to visit your local bike shops and test ride different brands and models to find the best fitting bike for you.

VegasJen

First, if you're 5'2", a 51cm bike might be a little big for you. Especially if you prefer a more upright riding position. I'm 5'4" and have 5 bikes: two 49cm frames, two 50cm frames and one 51cm frame (tri bike). I'm a couple inches taller than you and it's hard to tell the difference between the 49 and 50cm bikes, but I can between the 49 and the 51cm. My 51cm tri bike is right at the edge of what I am comfortable riding, and I tend to ride low and aero (as much as I can).

That's really all I can say on the matter. But for those of us who are unfamiliar, what is 'RAGBRAI"?

Polaris OBark

Trek Domane size 49 might be a good place to start.

SoSmellyAir

Literally the first Google search result for RAGBRAI (in either lower or upper case): Home - RAGBRAI

TRY-ATHLETE

Thanks for your advice. I am starting to visit bike shops. Started by riding some hybrids but I didn't really like them. So now I am thinking endurance road bike. And different handle bars might help.

mstateglfr 

If you want upright riding, not sure if a drop bar bike is best.
But if you find one that mostly works, consider pairing with a 35deg rise stem and drop bars that have a 20 or 30mm rise from the stem.
Both will help raise the bars up.

TRY-ATHLETE

Thanks for your advice. I've always thought that my 51cm Giant OCR was a little big for me, so I am happy to hear your opinion. And RAGBRAI is an acronym for Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa which began 50 years ago. Starts at the west edge of Iowa and, in 7 days, you bike to the eastern edge. You dip you back tire in the Missouri River, cycle across the state, and dip your front tire in the Mississippi River. Not a race, but challenging. Different routes each year, some more difficult than others. About 500 miles.

VegasJen

Or you could just say. You honestly believe it never occurred to me to do a web search? If someone asks me a question to which I know the answer, rather than a snarky reply, I'm happy to explain it.

TRY-ATHLETE

Thanks for this technical advice. I'm going to print it and I'll have something to talk with the bike shop people about. Very good.

TRY-ATHLETE

Thanks; I'll check out the Trek Domane size 49.

Polaris OBark

I think the Al one has a smallest size of 49 and the carbon one has a 47. My daughter is 5'6" and her 52 is a little bit too large for her.

VegasJen

Thanks for that! It actually sounds pretty cool. Now I'm going to have to see if they have something like that out here. If not, might be cool to start. Maybe like a Vegas to Reno challenge!

SoSmellyAir

I do not believe that it never occurred to you to do a web search. Rather, your answer seems to confirm that it did occur to you, but you did not do so for some reason.

Pizzaiolo Americano 

The Salsa Journeyer is a perfect Ragbrai bike in my opinion.

https://www.salsacycles.com/bikes/20...eyer-sora-650b

RB1-luvr

Cannondale Synapse?

VegasJen

OK, let's play a stupid game. Let's pretend we're having this conversation in real life. Let's say you come up to me and say, "Hey! I just signed up for the super wazoo triptokeptic sprint and I'm super excited!" Now I say, "Hold on, I'm going to google that."

See where I'm going here?

genejockey 

Now, to be fair, that may be exactly what Millennials would do.

genejockey 

To the OP: If you're comfortable on the OCR1 with the raised bars, your goal should be to find a new bike that allows you to replicate that position. This can be accomplished by taking a number of measurements of it, and determining what bike allows you to get closest to that without things like an ultra-short and/or very angled stem.

SoSmellyAir

I see where you are going but I disagree with your premise that BikeForums.net is a proxy for a "conversation in real life" or a platform for real time communication; this is Bike Forums, not Bike Instant Messaging.

bikemig 

There's something to be said for a 650b wheel bike for a smaller frame.

t2p

Liv bikes - designed for the gals (?) ... are they still around and a good option ?

some companies have XS size bikes - Trek ... Specialized ... ?

maybe Cannondale Synapse mentioned above ?

maybe Salsa Journeyer mentioned above ?

Cannondale Topstone is avail in a XS size - gravel bike with relaxed geometry, fairly upright bar position (relatively speaking) and wide gearing ... 700c wheels ... throw some 32 - 35mm smooth tires on it and it could be a fairly good candidate for RAGBRAI (?)

SoSmellyAir

Excellent point. The smallest size(s) of many bikes have strange geometry (compared to size M and above) to accommodate the 700c wheels.

VegasJen

It's all a matter of how you use it. I prefer face-to-face conversations with people. I live in a rural area where that's a little more difficult. For me, an online forum is a reasonable analog.

Kontact 

I just want to interject that an 'endurance bike' is not going to do you any special favors riding across Iowa. The idea is that these bikes might have a more upright position, some additional shock absorption and more predictable handling for fast decents.

The reality is that virtually all bikes for someone 5'2" are going to have fairly tall front ends, limited ability to modulate shock due to your low body weight and you won't be doing any real fast downhills. Any sort of road bike will work well. Older carbon fork bikes, pre-disc brake, generally had more shock absorbing rides. But you can put bigger tires on today's bikes - and then ride them at incredibly low pressures du to being so light.

Long story short, get whatever you like that fits. Beware of many newer bikes with "small" frames that have really steep seat tube angles in an attempt to fool you with their apparent short top tubes.

Personally, RABRAI seems like an ideal place to ride a classic '90s bike. Weight and braking being unimportant.

If I were you I would get your OCR handlebars where you want them to model for a future bike. Then you'll have a good back up "rain bike" as well.