# Trance W 13.5 inch vs. 5'2" wife



## laurenlex (Sep 13, 2006)

Hello ladies.

Sorry to invade your forum, but I'm looking for a (nice) bike for my wife, and will have to order this bike, no so test ride, and no stand over test.

Old bike: '97 Rockhopper with Judy. 15 inch frame. A little too big, standover is tight, top tube length is OK, about 21".

Potential new bike: Trance W 13.5 inch.

Wife: 5'2", Short legs, not agressive rider, but we do a lot of off road riding as a family.

Problem: The closest bike shop with nice bikes is about 5 hours driving. Can't test ride anything other than entry level junkers.

Am I crazy spending big bucks on a bike she can't test ride? (really good deal, though)

Any other Trance W owners in the low 5 foot range willing to comment? I measured her top tube, and think this will be OK, but worried about standover. I know it's tough with 4 inches of suspension and short legs, but wondering if you think this would work.










Thanks for any input.


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## racerzero (Jan 4, 2004)

Have a friend. Same bike and same height. See loves it. She under 100 lbs so the 4 inches of travel probably feels like 6 inches of travel. 

I'm 5'7" and this bike feels like I'm riding a kids bmx bike. Plenty of standover and very short cockpit. Solid components.


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## laurenlex (Sep 13, 2006)

Thanks for the the input. Greatly appreciated.


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## *rt* (Jan 15, 2004)

laurenlex said:


> Hello ladies.
> 
> Sorry to invade your forum, but I'm looking for a (nice) bike for my wife, and will have to order this bike, no so test ride, and no stand over test.
> 
> ...


the chart says the standover is 29.4". are your wife's legs longer than that? my guess is that standover will be tight since you say she has short legs. (but, what exactly is "short"? a measurment would be useful. e.g., i'm 5'1" with a 30" inseam. i have long legs relative to my height and my torso length and 29.4" standover would barely give me an inch of clearance.) however, it is unlikely that you're going to be able to find a FS bike that will give your "short legged" wife more than about 1/2" of clearance without going with a custom frame (which it sounds like she doesn't need given her riding).

give some thought to this: how often will she just be standing over the bike? standover is a static measurement while bailing off while riding is dynamic so the suspension will likely be engaged to some extent making the static standover a moot issue.

rt


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## racerzero (Jan 4, 2004)

Giant has a weird way of measuring standover. They measure basically the middle point of the top tube so it's not the lowest point.

Anyway my inseam is 30 inches and I know there was tons of clearance. The only issue my friend has was the seatpost adjustment. The seatpost does not go down all the way. Not an issue if you only ride XC trails. Shes ride some technical trails so the seat needs to be dropped. She got one of those double seatpost so that seat can be dropped lower.

The bike will really be tested when she heads to Whistler for Crankworx next month.


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## VeganRyder (Mar 2, 2007)

I am 5'2 (and then some) and just purchased a women's MEDIUM Specialized Epic Comp. I would never have ordered this size because all expert opinion would have put me on a small - with that even being a little big. I, too, could not find anything to test ride and there are a bunch of bike shops where I live! BUT, it would turn out that the day I went into my LBS to pick up some parts, there was a small Women's Epic built-up that someone else had ordered. I was so excited, I asked if I could test it inside the shop. I knew immediately it was too small - I felt like I was on a hybrid and that my sternum was over the bars! I got the medium and have a ton of clearance, a nice reach to the bars, and my seat post is up about 5"! By all accounts, this bike should be really big for me, but I love it!

My "lengthy" point here is that she'll never know until she actually rides the bike. I would have purchased the wrong bike if I had gone by specs alone or input from other folks via phone or whatever. The 5 hour trip to a shop, if you are spending $2300 plus on a bike, might be worth it. Plus, you'll probably get a deal on the bike anyway because Giant is releasing some of their 08's in about a month! 

NOTE: I also rode a ROCKY MOUNTAIN WOMEN'S ELEMENT yesterday at a fundraiser (16.5" frame) which is probably a perfect fit and has ALOT of clearance as well. You should consider this bike for her- PLUSH, RESPONSIVE-IT ROCKS! and they come in smaller sizes.


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## fatbottomedgurl (Jun 28, 2006)

I'm 5'2" with like a 29" inseam and I rode a 13.5" Trance all last year. There is LOTS of standover on that bike, way more then the spec's say. I loved that bike. The only issue I had was keeping the front end down on really steep technical climbs, but was able to help with a longer stem (it comes with a shorty). I never move the seat up or down so the seatpost was not an issue. 

I bought mine site unseen off ebay and no regrets.


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## LyNx (Oct 26, 2004)

Hey Laurenlex, head on over to the GIANT forums and do some browsing, think you'll have a much better chance of getting opinions from owners on this bike there. 

Can't say for the size for sure, but I can say that it's a great bike, I also bought mine sight unseen and was, nor have not been disappointed with it in the 2+ years I've had it.


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