A ladies fixie with a tricky brief

I'm not sure if this belongs in Mechanics, General or Current Projects. So I plumped for projects because this way, people can get to see the advice and ideas come together in the form of a new bike, complete with pictures.

So here's the brief: My good lady wife would like to try ditching gears and just ride ss/fixed. "What's the problem then?" I hear you ask. Well, she has a set of requirements that seem difficult to meet, so shopping for an OTP seems out of the question. But I really don't know much about ladies bikes though, so some advice, pointers or ideas from the people who ride them would be muchly appreciated.

1. She has a point blank refusal to have to cock her leg across a bike with a flat top tube - it must have either a sloped TT like ladies hybrids, or be a full on step through frame.
   
2. The double trouble is though, she hates frame flex - and you get a ton of it on the dutch type bikes I've ever ridden.
   
3. She can't take much weight on her wrists at all (previous surgery on both hands/wrists), so the frame needs to be fairly upright and transmit as little shock from the road up into her arms as possible.
   
   

Just by the by, her current bike is a Trek hybrid with an alu frame, which we've used an adjustable stem on to bring the hands right up and back, then fitted it with some old fashioned looking bars with the back-sweep on them, so her wrists sit at as neutral an angle as possible. It's not perfect, but at least her hands don't go numb anymore.

So... We could try to build up a vintage looking bike (there is a beautiful dark green classic ladies bike under construction in Current Projects that looks amazing) but can you get step through frames that don't wobble about like you're riding a jelly? And does that completely upright stance make it harder to put power down?

Next up are those halfway-house bikes with twin diagonal top tubes - they look like they have potential here, with a low TT and not being too upright. I tried one once years ago and I don't remember any frame flex at all but I did think it was a bit "cramped". Perhaps the frame was too small for me though. I know the father in Whitcomb's said he thought this was the best all-round frame design going. Has anyone who has ridden one of these for a while have any advice on what the ride is like?

Looking at modern carbon offerings, I don't think I've ever seen one with a sloped TT. Either the material doesn't lend itself to those shapes, or I've just never run across any. Do they exist?

After a bad experience with my only alu bike, I've wondered whether the harshness of the vibrations are part of what hurts her wrists. Has anyone else experienced the same problems? Think about avoiding alu? Would super-fat cruiser tyres help on that score perhaps?

So, given that shopping list, can anyone suggest what sort of frame options could we be thinking of for her to use?

The easiest thing to do would buy a Charge Hob mixte and swap the bar and stem out for something more upright.

Singlespeed / fixed, step through mixte frame, decent components, steel... probably can fit bigger tyres on it as well. A friend has one set up as a SS and she loves it.

No doubt they'd be a lot more common in the UK too. There's also a 3-speed version.

Details:

Frame: Charge Mixte frame
Size: Sml, Med, Lge
Colour: Metallic Red
Fork: Tange cromoly
Brakes: Tektro R316 47-57mm Caliper brake Silver
Levers: Promax 239A
Headset: FSA TH industries B52K 1-1/8" caged ball bearing, with Silver steel top cups
Stem: Alloy 3D forged, with Laser Charge logo
Handle bar: Charge sweep
Grips: Charge U bend Brown padded bar tape
Chain Wheel: Charge Masher silver
Crankset: Sugino RD2 Messenger, 170mm 42t chainring
Cassette: Dicta 16t freewheel
Pedal: Wellgo
BB: TH industries 7420ST
Rims: Alex DM18, silver, alloy, 700c, anodised, with CNC
Tyres: sidewall, Text
Front Hub: Charge, alloy, silver, large flange hubs
Rear Hub: Charge, alloy, silver, large flange hubs
Saddle: Charge Ladle, Brown
Seatpost: Lee-Chi SP222, alloy, silver
Seat Clamp: Kalloy single bolt

Oh good choice @Verbs_and_Nouns. Thank you.

And buying an OTP will make for a very fast project too! Internet - website - credit card transaction - details - delivery - sign - put the wheels on - take photo - The End.

A taxing problem and a good solution.

Having never rode fixed (for any extended period), would a relatively laid-back position affect your ability to control a fixed drivetrain at all? Genuine question. At a guess I'd say you'd want to be more on top of the chainring but like I say I've no personal experience.

^^^Good shout, they look nice for OTP as well

I'm not sure of the geometry, but they market it as the step through version of the Charge Plug.

But theoretically, you can ride a fixed drivetrain anything, two brakes will always help.

1. She can't take much weight on her wrists at all (previous surgery on both hands/wrists), so the frame needs to be fairly upright and transmit as little shock from the road up into her arms as possible.
   
   

It's also important to make sure the saddle angle is correct, with an upright position, the saddle nose would need to be higher to compensate, otherwise even with the upright position, she'll still get a lots of pressure on the handlebar.

Right length is of vital importance, a little too long result in too much weight on the handlebar being stretched out.

I'm sure you know this, but one needn't have to have a proper dutch style upright position, just a slightly shorter reach with the saddle at the right angle.

If you flip the the stock stem on the Hob, and angle the bars slightly downwards, this may help.

Soma's buena vista is an option, but an expensive one.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lovely_bicycle/5644635189/sizes/m/

I got the Charge Hob single speed version for my lady friend for from wiggle; i think end of year sale.

Apart from it being a tad bit bigger for her (i bought the XS version) she is loving it, it looks great, has track dropout and decent components/finishing kit as well.

I absolutely love a mixte frame, dunno why.
Here's my before and after.
Happy to lend if you want a try, though I put the racer bars back on.

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that saddle? :/

this saddle

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If Tea-Bee decides to buy Vince's talbot and replace the bars then I would be interested in the old bars...

Gareth

I've shown her a whole bunch of frames with lowered top tubes and it looks like the mixte frame style is an outright winner! She'd never really looked at them before and is now definitely sold on the looks. So long as we can find one the right size, I believe we have a starting point.

The Charge would be good - particularly as it has track dropouts, but I worry about the weight. As a Charge Plug owner, I can confirm that mine is a bit of a lump. Solid though. But definitely a porky bike. I am hoping to be able to put something together that is lighter and costing less.

@Vince I don't know much about Talbot bikes. Is it a heavy beast or not? 501 steel? And what size of rider is it good for? (My wife is 5'6.) So how much are you asking for it?

@Garethhon If I were to buy it, those bars look like they are the fully backswept sort and my wife needs the ones with about half that angle, so I'd be happy to sell on.

The Charge would be good - particularly as it has track dropouts, but I worry about the weight...

The new Charge Plug have now a double butted tubing as oppose to the rather thick plain gauge tubing they used to have, it's more noticeable at how much thinner the Plug is.

Also, price went back to £399 as well, but to be honest, she have to choose light, cheap and strong.

Thanks Ed, didn't know about the weight improvement. Which they probably needed to do though, given that I believe my large size Plug was something like 12.5kg out of the box.

So, definitely a mixte frame then. Choice 1 - sorted!

I am hoping to be able to put something together that is lighter and costing less.

Good luck.

Thanks for the offer @Vince. However, my wife spotted an eBay find of a cheap mixte single-speed, bit ratty and with old components but it appeared to have a fairly compact with a tall head tube, so on a whim we bought it. Reasoning being that she could try out the ride for a while and if it's not right, we have some geometry numbers that we can refine from there.

A few rides later and this bike is being considered as The One. She's really taken with the riding position and the handling. A taller stem has been requested, although the original plan for North Road bars might not be needed because the old lightly curved bars that are on it now seem to fit well with the compact top tube length.

Speaking of which, I really should get a measure out and work out what her hybrid is like now and compare it to this bike.

I took the bike apart almost as soon as it had been given approval, so it's on the bike stand at the moment. Photos to follow when I've given it a service...

Smaller frame have a steeper seat tube (usually), so try and set the saddle a bit further back and see if she find it more comfortable on the handlebar.

Cheers Ed. I'll try the saddle position when the bike's back together.

Oddly, and completely separately, my wife (2nd wife) and my daughter (so no relation) in the space of a week both said they want brown leather saddles with matching bar grips on their bikes. And they both REALLY want baskets. Synchronicity...

Wife's bike has been specc'd as brown leather saddle and grips, a wicker basket, white mudguards and other white accenty-bits plus shiny chrome where possible. So it's going to end up completely retro-stylish, although probably no lighter than the Charge!

So the style of saddle has at least been chosen and she wants it like a massive leather sofa of extreme comfort joy. Although nothing in the Brookes range was floating her boat.

Anyone have any recommendations beyond Brookes? Selle was my next thought and I saw this little peach of a set...

Any smaller makers (of big saddles) I could look at that have had forum approval?

I've been bad keeping this thread up to date - in my defence, I don't own a digital camera and pics from my phone just aren't decent enough quality.

So, here is a catch-up...

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This is the bike that my wife tried and liked. It's an old mixte of indeterminate origin. I have no idea of the make and any decals fell off an age ago. There were no distinguishing marks on the frame or distinctive features that I recognised, the lugs are ok but nothing special and it was fitted with pretty standard parts and inexpensive wheels. So it's not going to be a secret Cinderella of a purchase.

On the plus side, the frame is light enough but it's dead stiff (my wife hates the frame flex from step-through steel frames). So all in all, it seems like a decent old steel frame, which rides really nicely and for some reason just feels naturally quick. We managed an hour on it a couple of weeks ago, with no lasting wrist pain, so it's already an improvement on her Trek hybrid.

It needs to be ridden though, to see if it's genuinely right for her, before we start throwing money at it, so updates are going to be sporadic in the early stages as it gets road tested.

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