My wife is just shy of 5'2", and she rides a 46cm Surly Long Haul Trucker (they also make it in a 42cm). We commute together over a mix of pavement, gravel, and single track, and the bike does well on all of it. I built it up with very light rims, a Tubus Cargo rack, plastic fenders, and 26x1.6" Marathon Supremes. The trick was getting the reach short enough for her to use it with drop bars. This stem was a good solution:
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-Thorn-Thorn-Front-Loading-Alloy-1-1-8-Inch-Ahead-Stem-+-40-Deg--Polished-Silver--90mm-3523.htm The bike is tiny, but with the small wheels and level top tube it looks normal and nicely proportioned. A lot of small frames look like they've been squashed. I haven't looked at the geometry, but I would guess that the 46cm LHT is similar to a 47cm Atlantis, which would be nicer if your friend is willing to spend the money. My wife is very happy with the Surly, though. They are nice bikes. Ian On Jul 26, 8:43 pm, Ken Mattina <[email protected]> wrote: > The soma buena vista comes in a 42cm size. The salsa vaya comes in a 50cm > although according to the geometry chart, the seat tube measures 45cm. > > Both use 26" (559mm) wheels. > > http://www.somafab.com/bvista.html > > http://salsacycles.com/bikes/vaya/frame/ > > On Mon, Jul 26, 2010 at 9:27 PM, cyclotourist <[email protected]>wrote: > > > > > Oops, that was a RBW'er in Fort Collins. Found an incredible nice 43.5cm > > custom made Hujsak > > <http://web.archive.org/web/20070502135954/http://www.hujsak.com/>bike > > built around 650c wheels. > > > 'Nother good small bike is the Redline Conquest > > 24.<http://www.redlinebicycles.com/bikes/cyclocross/2010-conquest-24> > > They have the benefit of decent tire clearance. > > > On Mon, Jul 26, 2010 at 9:13 PM, cyclotourist <[email protected]>wrote: > > >> Patience in looking for a used one, along w/ putting the All Hands On Deck > >> call out on the RBW list is probably the best thing you can do. My > >> friend's > >> wife bought a very small (42cm) bike w/ 650c wheels due to a friend of a > >> friend that knew about some bike for sale in Texas. > > >> On Mon, Jul 26, 2010 at 9:04 PM, Jim M. <[email protected]> wrote: > > >>> The Hilborne comes in a 48. If a new Riv is too expensive, there are > >>> older road bikes available in small sizes if you keep your eyes > >>> peeled. My wife has an 80's Trek and a Fuso in 48 but neither are for > >>> sale. If I was small enough, I'd go for a Vitus like this: > >>>http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/1860063345.html > > >>> Also, Surly's go to 42cm in several models, and Soma goes to at least > >>> 48cm. > > >>> On Jul 26, 7:53 pm, Earl Grey <[email protected]> wrote: > >>> > My friend has been riding a Fisher mountain bike for years (a 13") but > >>> > now wants a faster/more versatile bike for mixed and road riding and > >>> > commuting. Pretty much the only stock bikes that fit her are Terrys > >>> > (her PBH is 67cm), and she isn't quite ready to drop $3000. Does > >>> > anyone have a very small diamond-framed or small mixte-framed (up to > >>> > 48cm?) bike sitting around looking for a rider? > > >>> > If so, please send me detailed info. > > >>> > Thanks, > > >>> > Gernot > > >>> -- > >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > >>> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > >>> [email protected]<rbw-owners-bunch%[email protected]> > >>> . > >>> For more options, visit this group at > >>>http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > >> -- > >> Cheers, > >> David > >> Redlands, CA > > >> "Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There is something > >> wrong with a society that drives a car to workout in a gym." ~Bill Nye, > >> scientist guy > > > -- > > Cheers, > > David > > Redlands, CA > > > "Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There is something > > wrong with a society that drives a car to workout in a gym." ~Bill Nye, > > scientist guy > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > [email protected]<rbw-owners-bunch%[email protected]> > > . > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > -- > Where did the spring go? > Where did my hormones go? > Where did my energy go? > Where did my go go? > Where did the pleasure go? > Where did my hair go? > > -- Ray Davies -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
