UKC

I'm currently on the look out for my first road bike, and have been doing some research into the kind of bike I'm after.

I was wondering if there are any other shorties on here - I'm 5'1" - who have any recommendations/experience of women specific road bikes, different brands etc? After a bike I can ride all day, not really into competitions and racing, will probably be longer distances. Will be going and trying bikes out as well but suggestions would be welcome.

Cheers all.

In reply to lizard-16-07:

How are you proportioned ?

In reply to lizard-16-07:

Budget?

In reply to lizard-16-07:
My wife is slightly taller than you and has a BH Prisma. Nice bike and well specced.

I think your main problem will be finding a shop that stocks such small sizes so you can try riding any bike you are thinking of.

In reply to lizard-16-07:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/ruby-x3-2014-womens-road-bi...
freind of mine has one of these comfortable and not aggresivly racy.

In reply to lizard-16-07:
+1 for how are you proportioned? I am 5'4" but for a gurl have short legs and a long back which means I am better with the kind of reach you get on a blokes or unisex style bike from saddle to handlebars. I'm on a small Kinesis which has never, as far as I can tell, put a foot wrong for me. Having the Giant female specific saddle has been the thing which made the difference for me in terms of women specific adaptations. The bike shop also fitted narrower handlebars to the bike for me to take account of my narrow shoulders and ability to have arms parallelish.

Where are you based? Near me I was impressed with Cookson Cycles (North Manchester) - female owner I believe, and great customer service, but ended up equally impressed with Alf Jones cycles in Wrexham where I ultimately bought the bike.

In reply to lizard-16-07:

My wife is 5'1" and she has a condor racing bike, a trek mtb and a Thorn 26" tourer/Audax that all fit her very well. The nice thing about the condor bike is it has full size 700c wheels, some smaller frames go to 650c which makes tyre choice harder.

Good luck.

Toby

In reply to lizard-16-07:
Ah yes sorry, proportion wise, inside leg 27.5"/70cms,'normal' arms and a slightly longer back if anything. Based in Birmingham/Leeds. Budget wise, I'm not sure. That doesn't help I know, but the bike is going to be a present (lucky me!), and when I asked that question I was told "25 quid off gumtree." But basically something that'll come in the just above entry level bike price band.

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Was having a look at the Specialized range earlier, thanks. @Bob, I'll have a look at BH bikes.

In reply to lizard-16-07:

For lower priced options the Evans own brand (Pinnacle) are worth a look, particularly if you can get to one of their stores. My wife bought one of their hybrids via the internet - using just their sizing guide and has been very happy with it - she's not that much taller than you are but I think got medium. http://www.evanscycles.com/categories/bikes/road-bikes/f/pinnacle/female#!!...

In reply to lizard-16-07:
my wife spent ages getting a new road bike she liked a couple of years ago and ended up with a womens specific cube. at the time as well as being the best fit it was also very well specced for the money. worth taking a look.

In reply to lizard-16-07:

I'm similar height and proportions to you and I ride an xs giant avail. All terrain cycles in saltaire might be a good place to check out - that's where I got mine a couple of years ago and they were really helpful.

In reply to lizard-16-07:

A girl in our club has a Specialized Ruby. A lovely bike. £1600 or so I think. She's a short-arse like you!

She bought it & had it fitted at one of the Specialized shops. There used to be one at the Fort - not sure if it's still there

In reply to lizard-16-07:

Thanks all, I've spent the afternoon looking at more and more bikes, quite like the look and spec of a fair few at the moment! Yep, the Specialized shop at the Fort is still there, so chances are I will be taking a trip there and trying them out for size.

In reply to lizard-16-07:
Here's a nice one for £500 (46cm should fit you)

http://www.ridedirectcycle.co.uk/bikes-c1/road-time-trial-bikes-c88/road-bi...

I'd say It is worth sitting on the bike first before buying one !

In reply to lizard-16-07:

I'm also 5'1" and have similar size proportions to you...I got my road bike from Evans where they took my measurements and cycling position and let me know which bike would be suitable for my size and reach, so I'd recommend going in there and getting some advice.

I ended up buying a Jamis Ventura Comp (Womens) in 2012 and have a lot of praise for it. Good spec at a reasonable price; I paid around £650 after adding SPD pedals onto the bike. I find the bike is nice and light and you can get good speeds from a static position, but is steady on the longer rides too. The dropped handle bars seem to have an extra 'curved' structure and allow for different positions when riding which is good. Also, as you want to do longer distances, the saddle is surprisingly comfortable, and I don't tend to wear any padded shorts as a result!

Good luck!

In reply to karen87:

Thanks for that! I've read some good stuff about Jamis bikes. Armed with these ideas (cheers everyone) I'll be heading out to the shops soon to try some bikes and frames for size before anything else.