Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Sorry but that is a mistaken assumption. A 15 mountain bike frame is far too large for a small woman. Mountain bikes are sized to be 3 to 4 smaller than a road frame but they have the same proportions as the larger road frame. A 15 mountain bike is build for someone who fits on a 49cm (19) road frame or someone 54 to 58. In a road frame, you wife should be riding something closer to a 43cm bike and in a mountain bike frame closer to 12. You are Supermaning the poor woman!
It depends on what kind of bike she wants. For a drop bar road bike, yes, the stoopid long top tube of the '90s mtbs would be an issue. I understand '80s bikes didn't have that issue, so if she can find something old enough... For pretty much any other riding, they're perfectly fine. With the right stem and bar, they're much more proportional for us shorties. Even with fenders, I have no toe overlap on my 18" mtb. I'm using a 160 mm stem and Velo-Orange Tourist bar. The Princess is super comfortable and takes me wherever I want to go. OP can also look out for a step through mtb so she doesn't have to worry about standover.
A Princess on the Mad River