SashaSolitaire

Thanks for the comments, everyone. We tried the 24" bikes and found that her knees are fouling up with the handle bars (tried Giant, Trek and Diamondback). She is 54" long, and has longer legs compared to her peers. We tried out the 43" size in the bike shop, and the only issue with the bike was that the brake levers were about an inch or two beyond her full reach, i.e., she could press the brake levers but not down to their fullest extent. The bike shop said that with a shorter stem, they can alleviate that issue. She had no problems getting on or off the bike, and sliding to the top tube from the saddle as she braked to a full stop.

My hope is that this is a bicycle she can grow into over the next 4 - 6 years. We also have an younger daughter (currently 5) who loves bicycling as well, and can pass this bicycle to her down the road. To answer other questions, I am 5'10" and my wife is 5'7". Both sides (paternal and maternal) have grandfathers who are 6'2" and taller. I personally have a Felt F4SL (2009) which is still going strong, and I admit to having a soft corner for Felt. The other thing is that my older daughter wants to come "biking" with me (her way of saying she covets my bicycle :-)). The bike shop is giving a discount (will make the bike around $1K), and is throwing in a free fitting (I know that in the bigger scheme of things neither is too much of a markdown, but we like supporting local businesses whenever we can).