# Less than 5 feet tall? If so...



## sliderhouserules (Mar 30, 2004)

Are any of you shorter than 5 feet tall? If so what bike do you ride?

I'm just getting my 4' 10" girlfriend into mtn biking and she's liking it (she's ridden three times now), but I'm at a loss as to helping her find a bike to buy. We've rented an XS GT Avalanche a few times and she's got no complaints about the bike, but then she has absolutely nothing to compare it with. The GT is a nice bike (I think) but the sucker is as heavy as or heavier than my XL Heckler which is not a particularly light bike. I don't think it's a WSD either, but I haven't asked that yet. There's only one other place in our area that has an XS bike for rent (much older bike), and she may rent that one this weekend while I'm out of town, but otherwise there isn't jack for her to be able to test ride or anything. 

An entry-level bike is the ticket, I think, as spending a lot of money at this point isn't really possible/prudent. She'll be riding aggresive XC once she gets the hang of it enough to go on the non-beginner trails around here. But with bikes this small it'd be hard to go too light, if you know what I mean.

Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!


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## triscuit (Apr 26, 2004)

See if you can find someone that sells or rents Gary Fishers and try an extra small genesisters frame (WSD). I have a small Tassajara GS (15.5" WSD frame, I am 5'4"). The extra small is a 13" frame. The WSD, in Gary Fisher anyway, really makes a difference, at least I think so. I have a Tassajara, which has an msrp of $620. My bicycle weighs about 28 lbs with few changes from when I bought it. A little heavy, but when I fully upgrade to XT parts it should lighten a little. (Came with mostly Deore or Bontrager sport.) The fork is also a little heavy (4lbs), but I have not seen anything much lighter unless you are willing to spend another $5-600 on the fork alone.


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## sliderhouserules (Mar 30, 2004)

Hmmm.... went and checked out the GF dealer on my lunch hour and they happen to have a 13" Tassajara WSD, and it's even baby blue which is her favorite color, hehe. Only problem is this shop has a (very) bad reputation.

She needs to go in and test ride this bike though.

Thanks triscuit.


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## cyclemama (Apr 22, 2004)

I'm 4' 11" and my 13 year old daughter is 4' 9". I ride a trek 6000 xs 13 inch (about 4-6 years old) WSD hard tail and my daughter rides a speciaized hardrock xs 13 inch hard tail. (a hand me down from her brother) I'd say they are a little too big for us, not as much standover as I'd like, but they work for us. When you are this size bikes that are too big are a fact of life. The WSD does come with 165 mm cranks shorter top tube length, smaller / shorter reach break levers and a women's saddle. I was thankful that I didn't need to switch these items out. We bought a used Rock shoc SID fork for my daughter, as the fork that came with the bike basically did nothing. This is an air shock and can be set to an infinitely low pressure for the light rider. Many heavy riders hate them. the fork that comes on the tassahara (pilot) is not recommended for riders under 120 #, too stiff (so says rock shox) they recommended the SID or Judy (you switch out the springs) for light riders.
If she wants a road bike to ride when the trails are too wet try trek, My daughter and I are quite happy with our trek WSD model 1500 and 2000 bikes size 43cm. After riding a 47cm for years, it's nice to be comfortable


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## MTBmoose (Dec 31, 2003)

*Small entry level bikes*

You might want to check out the Rockhopper Women's from Specialized. The Rockhoppers are killer entry-level bikes. If you can spend some more dough, then definitely consider the Specialized fsrxc Womens model. A pretty decent part spec and an all around excellent design for just over a grand.

I started my wife out on a Rockhopper and she really liked it. After a year she moved up to a Trek Fuel 90WSD which was nice but had no end of drivetrain problems. That one got stolen so we moved her up to a Santa Cruz Juliana full suspension which she absolutely loves.

Don't get too hung up on women's geometry, but do make sure the bike fits well. This is the most important thing. The women's specific bikes do sometimes have smaller diameter bars/grips and more lightly sprung forks which can help. Adjustable reach brake levers like the Avid Speed dials are a great help as well.

Good luck on your search!



sliderhouserules said:


> Are any of you shorter than 5 feet tall? If so what bike do you ride?
> 
> I'm just getting my 4' 10" girlfriend into mtn biking and she's liking it (she's ridden three times now), but I'm at a loss as to helping her find a bike to buy. We've rented an XS GT Avalanche a few times and she's got no complaints about the bike, but then she has absolutely nothing to compare it with. The GT is a nice bike (I think) but the sucker is as heavy as or heavier than my XL Heckler which is not a particularly light bike. I don't think it's a WSD either, but I haven't asked that yet. There's only one other place in our area that has an XS bike for rent (much older bike), and she may rent that one this weekend while I'm out of town, but otherwise there isn't jack for her to be able to test ride or anything.
> 
> ...


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