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Road bike for my wife (pulling my hair out!)

graemevetgraemevet Posts: 61
edited July 2016 in Road buying advice
Can anyone help?

Looking for a new road bike for my other half. We are planning on doing some hilly rides in Europe next year and we have had issues over the last 18 months with her ability to brake from speed/on hills. She currrently has a Trek Lexa (tiagra) and I've fitted 105 5800 brakes along with Swisstop pads. This helped to some extent but she still struggles to slow down / control the bike.

The biggest problem is that she is JUST 5ft and has tiny hands. What I'm really looking for is something like this:
https://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bikes/road/ruby/ruby-comp-disc/106759 but I can't track one down in a 44cm frame and she wouldn't manage anything bigger. I can get the next model down but that comes with Rival 22 hydraulic discs and reading the reviews they say the hoods are too big for small hands.

So I need a tiny frame (reach <365 and stack <525) ideally carbon/light and with hydraulic discs.

Any suggestions?

Graeme

Posts

  • BelgianBeerGeekBelgianBeerGeek Posts: 5,226
    Did you buy this from a bike shop? Just asking, because if you did, I would expect them to factor this in.
    Ecrasez l’infame
  • TwellyTwelly Posts: 1,437
    My other halfs bike has Sram Apex kit on it and the levers are a good size and have enough adjustment to suit her midget hands
    Epic Threads
  • aberdeenalaberdeenal Posts: 200
    My wife is also 5ft and had a Trek Lexa which we just sold on this weekend - she now has a Canyon Endurance CF8.0 WMN - more comfortable, lighter, easier to ride...............all her comments not mine!
  • janwaljanwal Posts: 489
    How about Ridley Fenix disc.
    https://www.ridley-bikes.com/be/es/bike ... fenix-disc
    XS is very near in size but there is a XXS aswell but reach is longer?
  • amrushtonamrushton Posts: 1,245
    Poss Trek Silque? Are you using the shifters with the shims that reduce reach? FSA compact bars are good. She will prob. need a 38 or max 40cm bar
  • graemevetgraemevet Posts: 61
    Thanks for the comments.

    I've managed to get her current bike to a point that it fits well - we had a bike fit done and are using 38cm bars, a tiny weeny MTB stem and the current brake levers are shimmed to reduce the lever reach but she still struggles even with the caliper upgrade to stop well. She is generally quite comfortable and easily managed L-2-P last year without discomfort. The reach on the Ridley is just a little too stretched out comparing it to what she has at the moment. Would upgrading from Tiagra to Ultegra shifters make any improvement to braking force?

    She had no issues on my disc brakes on the MTB so would love a way to get the same power / modulation on a small womens road bike.

    I've got a Canyon Endurace and I like the look of the WMN version, just a shame there is no WMN disc version.

    I think I struck lucky tonight when I came up with this:
    http://www.shandcycles.com/bikes/stoater/

    I wonder if a custom sized frame / small components and Ultegra hydraulics is the way to go?
  • TwellyTwelly Posts: 1,437
    Put a flat bar on it and fit some Deore brakes or similar. You could then go back to a longer stem for more stability and the brakes would be very easy to bring right in to the bar.
    Epic Threads
  • arlowoodarlowood Posts: 2,561
    How about the On-One Bish Bash Bosh as a possiblity.

    http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBOOBBBCX1 ... nture-bike

    Slightly left field with SRAM Force single crank and an 11-speed 11-32 cassette as standard but you can select an 11-36 in the buying options if that would be better. SRAM hydraulic discs and the SRAM shifters/hoods are smaller than the Shimano and better suited to small hands.

    The XS frame has a 366mm reach so almost identical to what you specify. The stack is a bit higher at 551 but that is not too far off what you want.
  • fenixfenix Posts: 5,437
    I'd tweet one of the women pros. Who is the teeny tiny one that we had in the Olympic TT ?
  • tangerineowltangerineowl Posts: 101
    Have a look at the Felt ZW series e.g. Carbon frame / Ultegra.

    Re the hood/lever size, I suppose someone in the know would be able to suggest a small-hand option.
  • graemevetgraemevet Posts: 61
    Great suggestions. I'll have a look at the Planet X bike and I like the look of the Felt ZW3 but its a little love budget.

    I'm also quite taken with a custom build of a Kinesis 4s Disc or Bowman Pilgrim.

    It would be interesting to see what the teeny lady pros ride..
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