Bike for unusual size girl

sparrowlegs78
sparrowlegs78 Posts: 2,583
edited November 2007 in MTB buying advice
Hiya,
Just a quick question if i may.
I am a 6ft 2" girl with a 36" inside leg so am i right in thinking i'll be needing to look at mens bikes with XL frames?
I currently have a very bum basic bike with a 18" frame and i ve got the seat as high as it'll without falling out and i can't get my legs in the right position when pedalling, i ve still got quite a bend in the knee when the pedal is at the lowest point.
I am hopefully going to get a decent spec bike asap, whether its a hard tail or full sus i don't know yet, all depends on the right deals going on at the moment (typical girlie shopping there lol)
Many thanks for any help, Caz x
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e209/FifiTRXibelle/moto_0116.jpg

Comments

  • dave_hill
    dave_hill Posts: 3,877
    As a rule of thumb, for a hardtail your frame size should be your inside leg measurement minus 14". In your case that would be 22", which is flipping big even for a blokes' bike!

    The problem may arise when you consider the "reach" of the bike - that is, the distance from the saddle to the bars. You may find on a 21" or 22" bike designed for a man that you are really stretching for the bars, which may make for an uncomfortable ride.

    This is because in general, men have (relatively) short legs and long bodies, whilst women are the other way round. Bikes designed specifically for women have shorter top-tubes to reduce the reach but it would seem that manufacturers who do this don't cater for the longer ladies!

    However, it's not all bad news. Many people "in the know" will go for a frame that is slightly smaller than convention would dictate because a smaller bike is a) lighter and b) easier to manouver so you could probably get away with a 20" frame fitted with a 400mm seat post.

    Probably the best thing to do is to visit your local bicycle emporium and tower over one of the sales assistants until they find you something that you are comfortable with!

    Aside from that it's a custom build - which aren't cheap but at least you know that the frame will fit you perfectly. Have a look at Cotic (http://www.cotic.co.uk) and Dialled Bikes (http://www.dialledbikes.com) or possibly On One (http://www.on-one.co.uk - they do some right oddball stuff!
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  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Definitely need to try a few out. Even WSD geometry varies, as it does for men. You may feel perfectly at home on a mans bike with a simple change of saddle.
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  • sparrowlegs78
    sparrowlegs78 Posts: 2,583
    Thanx guys..all food for thought..plus its an excuse to go bike shopping :wink:
    http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e209/FifiTRXibelle/moto_0116.jpg
  • fozzybear
    fozzybear Posts: 17,082
    might be worth having a word with a lass on our forum (and here) thats a little shorter than you but she will be able to give you an insight..

    also checkout shecycles ......
  • cy@cotic
    cy@cotic Posts: 8
    As one of the guys suggested a Cotic, I picked up on this thread, but you might actually suit one as it happens. I'm 6ft 3in with a 36" inseam and designed the large Soul to be the smallest bike I could get away with as I too was annoyed about having to ride gates just because I've got long legs. You'd need a 400mm seatpost for sure, but the steep seat angle on the Soul means women can be set up in a good position quite easily, so if you're interested drop me a line and I can take some more details of your setup and give you an idea of how you'd fit on a Cotic. Alternatively, Sideways Cycles in Alsager has a large demo bike which I'm sure they could help you out with.

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