SeniorCanadian

Hooray - my wife has accepted my invitation to join me on tours and I want it to be the best experience for her. I am requesting all women riders to comment on their bikes and to give us your wisdom if you were to get a new bike now. My wife is 55 years old, 5'2" (157 cm) tall and quite athletic. This bike will be used for tours in mountain areas and almost always on pavement.

martianone

My partner and I have ridden together during the 30+ years we have been partners. Also several bikes during that time (for both of us). She sounds to be of similar height and shape to your wife, we call that un-tall in our house. She rode a tweaked mountain bike on several years, then about 10 years ago she wanted a touring bike. Spent the better part of a year checking out bikes and trying any touring bike we could find - finally decided on a Cannondale 2000. Replaced the stock handlebar set up with Onone Mary bars and twist shifters with ergo grips - end product was similar to some Euro touring bikes. Along with some other fit adjustments, saddle and pedal swaps - she can comfortably ride that bike for hours. Handle bar choice and set up as well as a professional bike fit were important steps for her.
My suggestion- make sure she picks the bike and gets a good fit, you are just guidance in this project.

digibud

My wife has a friend that is about 4" taller than her. Recently she wanted to ride one of my wife's bikes but we weren't sure if it would fit and assumed we'd need to raise the saddle. We didn't. As it turns out the friend has a very long torso. "Women's" specific bikes assume that women have shorter torso's and the bikes are often fitted with a "woman's" saddle. Be sure there is an actual need for a "woman's" bike because many women have no particular need for getting a woman's model. If she has a short torso and prefers the colors in a men's bike, just get the right saddle and smile. Her height may limit selection, of course, but that's a different issue.

fietsbob

Similar question, my answer still holds https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/10...ort-rider.html


Fit compromises by sticking with a Big wheel go away when a smaller wheel will solve them.

& the Oregon company's component option Menu is extensive.


Added benefit the part where you get the bike to the start of the trip or come back Home

is a smaller thing to deal with .. Packs in a suitcase within the 60" girth deal.

Machka and Rowan Bought a pair of them..

79pmooney

At 5'2", if she has a short torso. getting good fit on a men's 700c bike will be a challenge; probably requiring a stem so short that steering will feel very quick. A long torso and short legs means height-wise any man's bike may be a challenge.

My first move would be to see if Terry makes or has made any touring bikes. A 700c rear (handling normal panniers easily) and a 24" or whatever the current designation is front wheel could be just the ticket.

I have toured on bikes not designed for touring. As long as you can mount tires of reasonable size and work to get the weight locations to work, many bikes can tour quite well. There tricks now for fenders and rack options that weren't available in the past. But bike fit will always remain high on my list. I can put up with a lot on a bike that fits. The perfect touring bike that doesn't could make for a mamorable (in a bad way) tour.

I saw an older small Terry sit for several months last winter at a bike shop. Sweet steel bike, nice perhaps late '80s components. It finally got sold. I kept thinking every time I saw it that this sweet bike was being neglected; that its future owner would be getting a great ride. That bike could have toured just fine though it was built as a sport bike. And been a great bike with the bags off the rest of the year.

Ben

alan s 

Human beings come in all shapes and sizes. AFAIK, it's just marketing BS saying a particular bike is designed for women. If you're not sure what to buy, go to a reputable bike shop and ask. Try one that specializes in touring bikes if available. They may take some measurements or just eyeball the fit. There is little science behind a comfortable bike, unless you are talking about racing and wind tunnel testing. Best thing to do is get a bike that is comfortable, tweak the fit as necessary, and ride the hell out of it. After a few years, your wife may want something different, but she won't know until then.

jonc123

You've got Surly listed in your profile as one of your bikes already. My wife is 5'2". She rides a 50cm Surly Long Haul Trucker with 26" wheels. That model will come with a long steerer tube to get the bars up. Whatever bike you get, don't let them cut it until you say so...even then, I would leave 10-20mm on top just in case you decide to raise it some more in the future or go with different bars, stem, etc.

You stated, "I am requesting all women riders to comment on their bikes and to give us your wisdom if you were to get a new bike now."

That would make a great sticky thread for this forum. Here is my wife's bike, she uses different panniers now.

10 Wheels

5,000 miles NY to LA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXcj03dd-r4

indyfabz

My GF is 5' even and rides the smallest Surly LHT made. The nice thing is that you can also take it off road.

AusTexMurf

Soma Buena Vista
50cm or even 42cm
Front and rear fender and rack mounts
True mixte frame
650b build
Would make a very nice ride…


Very nice, cheaper, order complete from LBS.
Kona Coco
KONA BIKES | 2016 BIKES | WOMENS' | Coco

MassiveD

So my question would be if she is willing to come riding with you, does she ride now? Is she comfortable, or fitted on the bike she has now? Rather than start from ground zero, my approach is to now one's numbers. If she is comfortable on say an MTB she currently rides, or any other bike with reasonably applicable posture, start there, measure the basics there, the power plant will be exactly the same on a touring bike. Measure the seat nose over the BB, and you can lock that in. The stuff behind you is basic to touring bike set-up, and will probably be different, but isn't a problem for your comfort on the bike, the longer the stays the better. Reach may vary if you are using different bars. But at any rate try to stick with real numbers not stuff in catalogs, you can pretty easily become you own expert based on what works for you and what you have proven.

The normal approach is people start with the bike and then do everything else. But really, when you can, start with everything else, and then get the bike. So for instance the Brooks saddles I have do not fit seat posts with the same range of motion or sweet spot as most saddles do. But if your nose position is known, and you have the seat post in hand, then so long as the tube angle is accommodating, you will be fine, but as it happens I need a tube laid off about a 1/2". Own the numbers and the rest is easy.

Fitters are a possibility, but most of them, you are lucky if they know how to fit a roadie. Then throw a few curves at them: touring; female of X stature; a few physical problems; a bike format they are unfamiliar with; you are probably better off just doing a little homework yourself.

The other four folks in my family are female, and I build frames so I get into this somewhat, though for a few of them they are still at the point of resisting normal saddle height...

Machka 

I'm a woman ... first one to comment here, I think ...


My first touring bicycle was my Marinoni Ciclo sport touring bicycle. It is a lightweight steel bicycle good for randonneuring/audax events ... and touring. It is also a custom-built bicycle. My shop measured me, sent the measurements to Marinoni, and a few months later, my Marinoni Ciclo showed up. It was the first bicycle that really fit me. Since then, we have customised the bicycle quite extensively.

Unfortunately, Marinoni doesn't make the Ciclo anymore, but I think they do still make something similar.

I have done a lot of randonnees and some fairly decent tours with my Marinoni Ciclo ... 3 months in Australia, a couple months in Europe, etc.


Sadly, my Marinoni Ciclo was stolen on a tour in 2010.


So for our 8-month Round-the-World tour in 2012, Rowan bought us a pair of Thorns ... mine was based on the measurements I had wisely taken of my Marinoni Ciclo before it was stolen. My Thorn Club Tour is a little bit bigger than my Marinoni Ciclo, but still comfortable and the slightly larger size was possibly more convenient for carrying stuff.


And happily, my Marinoni Ciclo was recovered shortly after we returned from that trip in 2013.


From the experience of hauling the Thorns around the world, we decided to acquire Bike Fridays ... folding bikes. And now we're the proud owners of Pocket Llamas ... custom built based on our measurements and the measurements of our current bicycles.


I use all three of those bicycles + some others.


What does she ride now?
What does she like about it?
What does she dislike about it?

I found it helpful to make a list of my likes and dislikes of my pre-Marinoni Ciclo bicycles. Then I started exploring options ... and along came my Marinoni Ciclo.

staehpj1

I am not a woman, but I did the Trans America and half of the Sierra Cascades route with my daughter. I have also done a lot of the maintenance on her bikes for commuting and recreational riding over the years. I think that in her case the fit is the best with non woman specific designs. WSD bikes typically assume a relatively short torso and longer legs, which for her is not the case, but may be for your wife.

A couple other things that may be factors are seats and brake levers. In my daughter's case she is happy with non WSD stuff in both cases though. Brake lever suitability does depend on hand size, bar shape, adjustment, and exact location on the bend of the bar. Be sure that she can comfortably operate the brakes on whatever bike she chooses or else be prepared to adjust or swap out the levers.

Saddles are a very personal choice. My daughter has several different saddles on her various bikes that are all non WSD designs. She seems to be fine with all of them but especially likes an old 1990-ish Cannondale labeled "Competition". It came on a men's Crit racing bike. I think a close second for her is the saddle on her carbon fiber Fuji road bike.

I think that the important thing is to try out a few bikes to see what works for her. When trying out saddles it is easy to make a poor choice if she is not road hardened a bit already. A new rider is likely to choose a too cushy saddle that feels good at first and later on long rides may not. I recommend putting in a few hundred miles on whatever saddle comes with the bike before giving up on it. Some times a saddle that feels bad at first works out well in the long run.

djb

another husband chiming in. My wife is 5'1" and I have made adjustments and changed out stems and handlebars on her bikes over the years, as well as for friends of hers who are about the same height.

after well over 15 years of trying, I finally was able to get my wife to try a drop bar bike, which after riding it for a few years she now sees that (given that the bike fits her, a XS) these bars are much more comfortable for her hands, wrists than mtn bike type bars, flat bars.
Does your wife ride regularly now and on what type of bikes has she ridden?

The entry level road bike my wife uses with dropbars still uses 700c wheels, with her clipin pedals, she can get a tiny bit of touching the front of her shoes on the front wheel if the wheel gets turned a lot at very low speeds, its not a real problem, but I bring this up because if fenders were put on the bike, it would be a real problem.
For this reason, a bike like the Surly LHT that uses 26in wheels would be a big help in these smaller sized frames. There are not a lot of 26in wheeled bikes out there, but especially if you think you want to use fenders, eliminating toe overlap would be nice.

The XS frame of my wifes bike has a slightly shorter stem, so your wife at 5'2" would probably fit a XS frame also, and still allow for slight stem length changes to adjust either the bar reach from the seat or the bar height.

as for gearing, depending on how much weight you think she would be carrying, a triple crankset is a must, and the LHT comes stock with 48/36/26 which gives a fairly good low gear, although it is possible to put a mountain bike crankset on 44/32/22 which gives lower gearing overall and which works very well for touring, especially in hilly areas.

get back to us with some more info re does she ride, how much she rides, that sort of thing.

the most important thing is that she is comfortable on the bike, and that the gearing is nice and low--these two important factors will go a long way towards her enjoying herself, and thats the main thing.

LlamaBikes

If you have the budget you may want to look into Terry touring bikes, as they are touring bikes specifically designed for women.

maxine

Second actual lady replying, and I'm a shortie, to boot -- 5'1. Since about 2008 I have been a mostly happy rider of the smallest stock size Trek 520, using panniers.

Agree with the poster earlier who warned about getting caught up in the "women-specific" thing, and who noted that people are people, and come in all sizes and shapes.

I would have to search to find some links (no time at the moment), but I have read several articles that largely debunk the idea that men and women have vastly differing body proportions. Q: What two groups *do* actually tend to have differing body proportions? A: Short people vs. tall people.

If these sources are correct . . . when you compare men and women *of equal height* there tends to be little difference in their average proportions (ratio of torso length to leg length, etc.) However, by and large, women and men are not of equal height; most men are taller than most women. And since for many, many years most bikes have been designed for men (a/k/a taller folk), "most bikes" don't fit the smaller folk as well -- but, usually, that's as much a problem for the 5'2" man as it is for the 5'2" woman.

As an extreme shortie (with correspondingly tiny hands), here's the "WSD thing" that I would love most: brake levers around which I can wrap more than half my forefinger and the the tip of my middle finger. (I do like drop bars, so . . . ) Throwing a shim in there just doesn't cut it. On both my bikes I had a set of crosstop brake levers installed; that helps.

fietsbob

(LBS Guy, & equipped several Bikes for X-GF's over the decades )

Not the 2nd product line of brifters , But there was a short reach brake lever in the recent past , for road Bikes .

Just the space required for the gear shift mechanism demands more volume inside the brake lever Body ..

bar end shift levers and you can search the past for those break levers..

another adaptation was denting the back of the drop so your hand can get closer to the lever..

but sales numbers + being from more expensive sources

and they are not going to be on your out of the box bike builds shipping from TW.

jefnvk

I'm not a woman, but my recent experience of finding a bike for my girlfriend taught me one thing: the bike is not for YOU, let HER pick the bike

Have a general idea of where you want to start, but don't wall yourself into one idea. Go to as many bike shops as you can. Have her sit on as many bikes as she can stand. The bikes I diligently researched and lined up for the girlfriend, she hated. She loved much larger frames than I (or the bike shop employees) would have ever expected. Some women's bikes fit better than men's, and some men's fit better than the women's. In the end, she liked something that wasn't have been on my radar to begin with, which fit the functional requirements we needed, and she went away happy.

mdilthey

Hi SeniorCanadian and Wife,

I'm giving my account over to my girlfriend Kelley. This is her typing:




I own a rigid Surly Ogre and she's a beauty! I've never had a really nice bike before her and I'm very pleased with my choice. I ride her almost every day to work and she's great for the 5-mile commute. I use disc brakes on her, but she's got the option for cantilever brakes if you prefer. A little bit more about the setup: I use riser handlebars because they feel the most comfortable to me. I previously rode 26" wheels on my old Kona, but my Ogre has 29" wheels and I didn't think I'd like the larger size, but I feel SO much more confident off-road with larger wheels. I chose no suspension because I prefer the smoother ride with a rigid fork (again I mainly commute on road and any off-road is on beginner difficulty, single or double-track). For some reason, I just feel too bouncy with a suspension fork and it makes me feel like a jalopy.

One of THE BEST features about the Ogre frame is it's utilitarian style. It's no cargo bike, but it's got bottle cage mounts for days! I would really like to pick up some Salsa Anything Cages to strap on some dry bags, but I just haven't brought myself to spend the money for a set. The bike is so versatile with touring setups. Max and I are planning a 30-day trip and my setup is as follows (at least at the moment): two panniers on my Bontrager back rack, frame bag from Rogue Panda, water bottle below my bottom tube, Oveja Negra small top tube bag, and two Salsa Anything Cages on my fork (still need to acquire). I may also buy a handlebar harness. This is only the beginning though. This could evolve into many different combinations.

I guess my "comment" is turning into a rant, but what I'm trying to get across is that I have not been a bike person nearly as long as Max as, nor did I realize I know this much about my bike until I was asked to talk about it, but it's an amazing bike that you get excited to learn about and fall in love with almost instantly. I love my old Kona for nostalgic reasons, but really, the Ogre is a Goddess in bike form.

Hope this is helpful.

P.S. There may be a new wheel set in my future: 27.5" with FAAAT tires, baby.

P.P.S. I'm 5'7" and athletic, with medium-length legs and a tall torso. My Ogre is a size Small.

alan s 

There is also the Surly Troll, which will take 26 wheels or 27.5 or 29 (700c) with skinnier tires. I've had one since 2011, and just bought a World Troller as a travel bike. Has S&S couplers to separate the frame for packing in a case. Awesome bike, as is the Ogre.

jonc123

I try to stay off the website below, if I start reading the journals, it's hard to stop and I get nothing else done. Here is a link to the solo woman section:

crazyguyonabike.com: Bicycle Touring: Journals by Category: Solo Woman

Jon

SeniorCanadian

We appreciate each and every comment we have received to our question.We read your comments together and agree with everything you all have said.Especially the parts where you say the choice must be hers.Frankly the reason I posted the question is to be sure that I did not impose any of my own biases on my wife.
Now for the additional information you asked for.She is currently a regular commuter to work on a Norco Sasquatch Mountain Bike (circa 2002).It has been tweaked with Butterfly bars, a bell, fenders and lights and a rear rack.The bike has front Rock Shock forks which have been set to the most rigid setting.She loves her bike, but it is getting tired.We have tried a few saddles but the one she has settled on came stock from my Specialized Sequoia.
Several years ago we did a four day/three night circuit tour involving the sunshine coast to Powell River, over to Comox down to Qualicum Beach to Nanaimo and back to Vancouver.The trip was amazing and interesting involving four ferries and lots of seafood.Our first night was at Sechelt Provincial Campground where there is a designated biker hiker area.Not far from the campsite was a great seafood restaurant.The weather was perfect and the roads on the sunshine coast, while without shoulder relatively quiet.In fact this circuit is currently under consideration by the BC Government to develop for tourist cyclists.After this perfect setup she was committed to join me on a trip from Bangkok to Hong Kong.Alas, her Masters Degree took longer than expected; she could not break away so she missed that trip.
So we are looking for another perfect setup.We have committed to the RSVP ride (Ride Seattle to Vancouver and Party) and later the Whistler Gran Fondo.Yes neither of these rides qualifies as a tour but are teasers for what is to come – I hope.The bike I want her to have will be a treat for her on these rides and capable of carrying heavier loads on actual tours.So the end game is touring, likely with two rear panniers and a handlebar bag.
Burning questions are 26” vs 700c wheels, brake levers for a smaller hand (we will get disc brakes), shifting alternatives (bar end, sti, thumbies), preferred handlebars, etc.

djb

tks for the added info. Sounds like you have a bunch of decisions ahead of you about all those things mentioned.
I guess the only thing I would add is given her riding experience on the mtn bike with the butterfly bars, is that you take measurements of this and that, reach from seat post to various parts of the bars, height of bars compared to seat, etc etc and have her really think of what slight (or large) changes would make things more comfortable with a diff bike. I know when I bought a new dropbar bike to replace my old touring bike about 6 years ago, I did just this. I measured this and that and tried to be very subjective about what "wasnt just right" about the position of my old bike. I always knew that a bit closer reach of the dropbars to teh seat would be nice, and with my new bike the slight closer reach makes it so that I can ride this bike all day, day after day, and not have any significant hand, wrist, or neck issues--simply due to that crucial few cms closer of the bars compared to my old bike.

having a known factor of dimensions that are good, or close to good, is a big plus for her when looking at diff bikes and will help get past possible not so helpful bike store employee advice (yes, it can happen).
If and when you look at drop bars, that may be tricky if she hasnt ridden drops before. Like I said, my wife had it set in her mind that dropbars are uncomfortable, and 15 years or more of me trying to convince her otherwise was futile. Finally after being told by numerous women riders of how they work well if your bike fits you, she tried them, and her new bike is a good one in that the shape of the frame is that the bars are quite a bit higher than racing bikes, so keep this in mind that diff bikes have diff frame geometry, and the ones that have the headtube setup so that the bars are at least as high as the saddle are always going to be a plus-especially to someone new to drops.
The forementioned LHT is like this, and of course, with other bikes, handlebar stems can be changed that have an angle that puts the bars higher. I second the suggestion of having those second set of brake levers (like mtn bike brake levers) on the tops of the dropbars--you will have to check if this is easily done with disc brakes though. My wifes bike has these and they are both handy and reassuring to riders new to drops. I have them on my dropbar bike and love them, and I have nearly 40 years experience of riding dropbar bikes.
My wife took quickly to sti shifters also, the advantage being the confidence of not having to move hands from the hood area to shift--or you may find that she really does prefer the butterfly/trekking bars setup-which leads back to looking at the measurements of her present bike and applying them to a new bike, with any adjustments that would improve things even more than her present bike.

good luck with trying out and looking at diff bikes.