Bike for Wife?

flames9

Looking to buy a new bike for my wife. She is a smal lady at 5'1. The guy at one shop said hybrids were out, due to the fact they dont come in frames smal lenough. She tried a bike a few months ago, and felt comfortable on a 13" frame. He recommended a Trek Mountain Bike. We dont plan on going off road. Just biking the paved trails around DC. Any recommendations would be great. Would like to max out at $500. Thanks. Scott

KGnagey

Many companies offer a women's specific frame, even in hybrids. This would allow more standover clearance and a shorter reach from the seat to handle bar. Many have adjustable stems as well, to provide the best comfort. Don't let a shop sell you what they have on the floor. Most LBS's have the ability to order sizes they do not stock, such as smaller and larger frames. They should not charge any extra for this service, but may ask for a small deposite to make sure you came back for a test ride.
Check out Raleigh or Giant - they offer many sizes and have good prices. $500 for a hybrid will buy a very nice bike though.
ex. Raleigh women's specific hybrid: http://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp...228&childid=351
ex. Giant women's specific hybrid: http://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/03...asp?model=11055

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gclark8

A short lady friend 5'0", test rode a (47cm) Felt SR-81 650 wheel size yesterday and its the best fit she has found in 12 months of looking.
http://www.feltracing.com/2005_bikes/2005_sr81.html

She rides on cycle and dual use paths, it is light enough for her to lift in and out of her hatchback.

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Cheers,
George.

tyler_derden

Is your wife actually going to ride it, or is she like my wife, and demanding a new bike because you have one?

If your wife is like mine, she won't like anything but a completely upright machine that has a thick, soft seat, and handlebars that come back far enough to keep any and all weight off her arms. Ah yes, the most important feature- she must be able to put both feet flat on the ground while seated on the bike.

Forget about mountain bikes. They are designed to stretch the rider out and put a lot of their weight on the hands. Try the Giant Revive bikes. Very comfortable for short rides, step through frame, upright seating, adjustable handlebar height. They are everything she could possibly want in a new garage decoration...

Giant Revive

TD

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skycat

1st ask her what kind of bike she really wants, and let her test ride a bunch of different ones. She may be like me and like being stretched out on top, or she might like riding upright.

I'm 5'1 and at first looked at women's models, what I found out was that almost all of them had crap for components. I wanted something that would allow me to keep up with my boyfriend and that fit. I ended up getting the Specialized Hardrock Pro with Disk Brakes and a 13 inch frame for around $600. I did have to get a longer stem and strait bars to give me the ride I was looking for, but other than that it's been perfect.

If she is 5'1 check her inseam she may need smaller cranks than the 170mm ones that almost all bikes come with. I need something like 155s but 165s are the smallest you buy and even they are hard to find. Anyway for me it made a huge difference in the feel and am about to drop almost $300 just to get smaller cranks for my new road bike cause I just can't get the cadence right with the 170s.

gclark8

The 650 wheel size Felts come with 165mm cranks. Sheldon Brown, Harris cyclery has cranks down to 150mm ex stock. I got some 160s for my 4'11" friend recently and fitted them to her XS Giant Sedona.

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Cheers,
George.