small frame size

gazofglos

Hi all at the moment i am riding a carrera valor with a frame size of about 44 cm this seems to be about the right size for me as i am very short but i am thinking of getting a new bike for the summer for sportive riding but most of the main manufacturers (cannondale,specialized etc)start there frame sizes at 47 cm and above do any of you know of any out there starting with smaller sizes :?:

Berk Bonebonce

Rather than comparing seat tube length, you might want to consider effective horizontal top tube length as this is a more relative dimension.

Get a frame the 'right' size for you and because of its size it might come with dreaded toeclip overlap.

Elio

As Berk says, top tube length is usually more relevant than frame size i.e. seat tube length... I'm rather short myself as well, and I've always had trouble finding the right frame size. If you don't mind my asking, how talll are you?

tx14

short guy here too. look at effective toptube length. seattube only really affects standover height. I think toe overlap isn't such a huge issue, you need to make a pretty big turn for the tyre to hit your toe and at speed, that means falling off even if there isn't overlap. it's not a issue unless you weave traffic crazy.

gazofglos

thanks guys i am about 5foot 1

1_reaper

I'm 5'2 and get away with a 50cm TREK with an in line seat post and a shorter stem. Never had any issues and comfy. Suppose people have different body dimensions so suit different frame sizes, geometry

Elio

Came across this link in another thread:

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Bianchi-C2C-Via-Nirone-7-Alu-Xenon-Compact-2010-Road-Bike_30164.htm

Monty Dog

Agree on toptube length being the key dimension rather than seat tube. Frames with a toptube of less than 51cm are difficult impossible to achieve with 700c wheels simply because the wheels are so big and you have problems with front wheel overlap and very slack headtube angles making handling difficult. e.g. Kinesis do the KR210L frame which is available down to 40cm.

Berk Bonebonce

As this is fast turning into a 'short guy' thread, I might add that some smaller riders deliberately have a 'too large' frame to factor out toeclip overlap. This usually means them fitting a short stem.

tx14

Berk Bonebonce wrote:

As this is fast turning into a 'short guy' thread, I might add that some smaller riders deliberately have a 'too large' frame to factor out toeclip overlap. This usually means them fitting a short stem.

short cranks helps too.

gazofglos

i think i might need to go and get a proper bike fitting anyone know where a good one is around Gloucester or Bristol and how much i will need to pay

MichaelW

Giant defy may come in XS
Measure up the horizontal reach of your current bike for comparison.
You may find that bikes with smaller 650c wheels have better geometry and behaviour than small frames with large 700c wheels.
Short legs deserve short cranks and even better, short cranks permit low bottom bracket height for easier mount/dismount.

cyberknight

I have no end of fun getting a bike to fit as i have long legs + a short torso for my height so even though i can easily fit on a 56 cm i end up on a 52/54 cm with a shortened flipped stem to make myself comfortable , the stem being flipped to give me the right amount of drop from saddle height as i have the saddle high enough to fit 2 lights easily peeping over a rack.