Ladies / Women's Bike Fitting

as you would need a 35cm bar on a classic mens fit I guess the 38's will do fine

Am prepared to try a few variations though...

Writing like James now are we?

Writing like James now are we?

???

explain yourself Scoble!

are you prepared for a scoble explanation?

you will be more confused in its aftermath

very interested to see this thread. my gf rides a hybrid, her main reason for not getting a road bike so far is because of her small hands its very difficult to pull the brakes on a road bike either when on the drops or on the hoods. her fingers dont reach enough for it to be safe to use. anyone know of any shifters/brakes with a short space between the lever and bar?

there are shimano shims to help with this

I would be surprised, if no online shop in the UK has them listed that there are any for sale in real world shops in this country.

Even less likely that one pair would be shipped over.

Well you can call them and ask nicely - the worst they can say is no. Too expensive to have them shipped over from a US shop?

(did you ever see your Brompton again btw?)

Sadly not, but I have got a new one arriving in approximately 6 weeks :-D

With the current enthusiasm for extremely narrow (drop) bars on the track, there are now some really narrow (33- 37cm) width drops available. In steel, carbon and ally, prices from moderately expensive (nitto) to really quite silly (3T Scatto).

The same happened with me missmouse. The Surly fit beautifully but the longer stem/drop bar combo just left me feeling stretched out and vulnerable. Ended up playing around with lots of different combos and in the end gave up and settled for a riser stem and bars. It worked out fine for commuting in the end but really not what I envisaged it as originally!

I too went the same way, flat bar is a great way to be able to ride a bicycle with a top tube too long.

Originally fine on my ol' Bob Jackson with 100mm stem and flat bar, but once I want drop bar with brake hood, turn out I need something like a 70mm stem to compensate, way too short.

I too went the same way, flat bar is a great way to be able to ride a bicycle with a top tube too long.

This doesn't work for me. I have a medium pompino which is a smidge too long, put a 30mm stem on and it was fine with risers. Put some hub gears on so had to have flat bars, now it hurts my back.

It sounds like I'm the same size as you missmouse, but my bob jackson is a 51cm. I have a 70mm stem and I think I need to go one smaller. Does anyone know of an nice 60mm quill stem?

I have my shimano brakes shimmed on my tourer and i think it's still a bit too longer reach. I'll be buying a willer soon and would like to go for sram because of the adjustable levers option (and they're awesome).

Reading through the posts it sounds like getting a slightly smaller bike could be the better option in terms of top tube+bars length and maybe get a longer seatpost for leg length.

Happy to be corrected as I'm willing to learn.

cafewanda, I did the same, despite having a very high bar and saddle, it's much more comfortable.

I need a 57cm seat tube, but required a stupidly short top tube of 53/54cm (with 90-100mm stem).

I notice that the Specialized bicycle are pretty good for being able to ride a bicycle one size smaller without a silly amount of stem height, the Allez and the Secteur (as well as the Dolce with it's slightly shorter TT) is worth checking out.

I'm hopefully building up the tourer that I'm riding to Berlin next week and I'm so worried about the fit! I really want the option of drops on it but I don't want to have back pain 100 miles in. I'm getting the frame from a local frame builder and I think he's got the skills to help me build up something right. Fingers crossed!

This doesn't work for me. I have a medium pompino which is a smidge too long, put a 30cm stem on and it was fine with risers. Put some hub gears on so had to have flat bars, now it hurts my back.

It sounds like I'm the same size as you missmouse, but my bob jackson is a 51cm. I have a 70cm stem and I think I need to go one smaller. Does anyone know of an nice 60cm quill stem?

I have my shimano brakes shimmed on my tourer and i think it's still a bit too longer reach. I'll be buying a willer soon and would like to go for sram because of the adjustable levers option (and they're awesome).

Someone needs to re-learn metric measurements. :P

A measurement system heckle? I've heard it all now.

Yes, mm's obvs.
Blame the (wo)man flu.

What is wrong with a stem that is over half a metre long?

DJ - did you get an answer out of Action Bikes re:Bontrager bars?

Praps that's why I've got a bad back.

very interested to see this thread. my gf rides a hybrid, her main reason for not getting a road bike so far is because of her small hands its very difficult to pull the brakes on a road bike either when on the drops or on the hoods. her fingers dont reach enough for it to be safe to use. anyone know of any shifters/brakes with a short space between the lever and bar?

Definitely some WSD Treks have adjustable reach levers. I have a 51cm WSD Madone which, while being the subject of ridicule for being a Trek, works out great for my midget hands as it has WSD bars and adjustable reach. And a normal sized stem, none of this 120mm nonsense.

If anyone in the 5'6 region wants to try it lemme know and I'll bring it to drinks or something. (Though someone will have to remind me not to get drunk as it's carbon and I probably shouldn't crash it again.)

Now that I'm looking to get another bike, Islabikes (Luath small) seem a likely (the only?) option ...

Go on, you know you want NEED to ;)

islabikes! never heard of them! but a bit of a google might have actually given a good avenue to look at. thanks Cafewanda!

TricityB what shifters are on your trek? thanks for answering ill deffo look into that.

islabikes! never heard of them! but a bit of a google might have actually given a good avenue to look at. thanks Cafewanda!

TricityB what shifters are on your trek? thanks for answering ill deffo look into that.

Ultegra STIs.

I've just thought of something. When I was researching my roadbike last year I had a fit with OYB and found it interesting that the focus was more on leg length than reach, so whilst a 47cm bike was good for the legs, it was horrible reach-wise as I couldn't operate the brakes effectively with only one finger. Admittedly I was very nervous because I was more comfortable on a hybrid (still am).

This rings so true with me. I'm considering an upgrade to my current hybrid. Options are a better hybrid (with more road components) or a road bike. But I am really struggling reach-wise with the brakes. Riding along and changing gears all felt fine since the height at 47cm is fine but I just don't feel safe with the brakes - an emergency stop just ain't going to happen. The pad at the base of my thumb ends up aching since there's too much pressure there as I stretch. The woman in one bike shop today after putting me on multiple models (including an Orbea Junior) said that perhaps I just have short arms and am better suited to flats.