Best Bikes for Women

minnesotamike

I'm looking to get my wife a new bicycle for Christmas. She is small (5'0 tall, with a fairly long body for her short height).

This wouldn't be a surprise, since, she would, of course, test ride it. She test rode a Terry, but felt too far over the front wheel. She also rode a specialized Veloce (might be spelled wrong).

She wants a traditional road bike with drop handlebars, but she won't be racing; just recreational country rides. What bikes do women on this forum ride and like? Are there more bicycle's designed for women than what she has ridden?

Thanks.

Mike

WyoRoadChick

I have 4 bikes (3 road,1mtb) and all are "mens" bikes. I am 5'5" and also am long in the torso. Trek and LeMond have women specific road bikes. I believe the differences are narrower handlebars, shorter reach to brake levers, and shorter cranks. You can check their web sites for more info. www.trekbikes.com and www.lemondbikes.com

stella

specialized veloce is a good bike, a colleague of mine rides it and gives it a "thumbs up." Hers was a BD gift from husband.
the colnago classic is reasonably priced and they make small frames-mine is a 49cm. It is what I ride (I am 5'3"). they can be purchased w/basic campy mirage group or veloce group.

There is also the Bianchi Eros Donna. it has the drop handlebars with a more shallow reach for smaller riders. One of the women I ride with weekly has this and loves it-she is shorter than I am.
You will find this bike easier than the colnago.

hope this helps!

steve

Have you had a look at Giants? The compact frame would suite someone thats 5'0 tall, I think they also make one thats designed for women.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/au/03...&mode=rangelist

cheers

__________________
Steve

CyclingForums.com

brightgarden

if she has a long torso compared to her legs, she may fit a "mens" or "unisex" bike better than a women's specific model. i have a similar issue, and i was way over the front wheel on the Tourmalet (among others), although the Trek 5200 WSD fit me ok.

try a compact frame--definitely. i'm 5'3" with "very short legs" and barely can stand over my bike (50cm specialized allez elite cro-mo). it's a "unisex" bike and other than having the seat rather low, it fits me nicely.

my other choices that i never did get a chance to try out: size 44-45 Fuji and Bianchi bikes (nearby stores just didn't have them in stock for a test ride).

i didn't have issues with handlebar width or my brake levers (some women's specific models come with ultegra shifters because they can be adjusted for smaller hands). so my bike has 105 parts--less expensive, but still good.

the only other thing i'd say is to take with a grain of salt the advice about using a shorter stem: shorter stems make the bike harder to handle. better to get a bike/frame that fits better than to screw around too much with the stem.

in my experience, when you just walk into the shop, you could get anyone (e.g., a "seasonal" employee) who may just show you the women's specific models. doing a little bit of research, apparently, women generally have shorter torsos and longer legs proportionally then men. therefore, since my torso:leg length proportion was closer to a typical man's, i went around asking "what would a short man ride?" and that got me a wider range of possible models to try out.

i generally ended up trying all the women's models, then moved to any other small bike they had in stock to test ride. finding my bike was a total fluke. i had more or less given up and decided to have myself measured for a custom frame (intending to take my measurements online to find frames that had a "compatible" geometry and test ride those bikes). the store i went to had this bike that worked for me. whew!

good luck!