# Juliana XS Size Q's and RP23 worth it?



## paulrb02 (Aug 3, 2009)

So I'm looking at getting a Santa Cruz Juliana for my soon-to-be wife. We don't have a store anywhere close to here, and even the ones 5 hours away don't have a XS, so no demo is available. She is currently riding a Trek Skye SL, and the geometry is close. 

She is 4' 11" with a 28" stand over. Anyone around this size have the XS and want to comment?

Also looking at some options and I can get the frame with Fox RP23 rear shock for only $100 more. Is RP23 worth the upgrade, over the Fox Float R, on the Juliana? I see that its single pivot so I was thinking it worth the upgrade.


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## fishercat (Mar 1, 2004)

i cant comment on the frame size, but i do think the extra $100 for the rp23 will be worth it.


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## patches2646 (Aug 6, 2011)

I am 4'10.5" and I have a 26" inseam. I made the mistake of buying the Cannondale Lexi 3 (2011) about 4 weeks ago. I say mistake because the standover is just a bit too high for me but I LOVE the bike and am just dealing with it for the next month or so. It totally depends on many things if the bike will work for her or not. For me, The Lexi has too high of a standover so I will be selling my bike (msg me if you are interested...). The new Juliana (07-current) has the 28.7" standover with a 100mm shock in the front that *could* be lowered to 80mm if necessary, but the bike still did not give me enough clearance to be comfortable. The older Juliana frames (01-06) had a standover of 26.9" but I do not want to build an entire bike just yet because it will be pretty expensive to get the components I want on the bike. Since her inseam is 28", she might be able to get away with the Juliana at 28.7" or a Lexi at 28.7".

I looked at a XXS Titus X but with the iffy-ness of the brand and the fact that I could not find even a used one, I have discarded that option. If I had tons of money to blow, I would look at the Pivot Mach 4 in XS, but I dont have the money to waste...which brings me to the most reasonable option if the 28.7" standover will be cutting it too close...

That option (which won't actually be available until the beginning of January for sure per Trek) is the new Lush by Trek. The standover on the Lush is supposed to be 27.1" but potentially lower because they say they measure the standover from the "center" of the top tube.... I live in the DFW, TX area and would absolutely let your fiance check out my bike for size or whatnot. There is a shop in this area that has an 09 Juliana in the Sand color in XS, but that color is just disgusting in my opinion and I would have to paint the bike in order to own it! I have done tons of research to find a bike that will fit and you are very lucky that she has a 28" inseam and not any smaller!


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## paulrb02 (Aug 3, 2009)

The Santa Cruz website lists the XS Juliana as 27.8 stand over. is this wrong? It shows the medium as 28.7. 

Also her stand over is 28". Inseam is longer. We did the spread feet 12" apart and used a book against the wall. (yeah really long legs and a short torso) So 28" is her actual stand over, and I know frames in this size with 100mm fork the top tube runs at crazy angles, so the stand over is always a bit different depending on where you measure it. 

Compared to her current bike (Trek Skye SL) the stand over(according to their numbers) and Top Tube are about the same, but the Bottom Bracket is about an inch higher on the Juliana.

Also thats nice to know about the Dallas area, I have family in Shreveport, so it might be worth the drive.


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## 2WheelinChipmunk (Nov 3, 2009)

The Juliana is an awesome bike...and the RP23 definitely worth the upgrade! Have you considered trying the small as well as the x-small? When I sold my small Juliana, the girl that bought it was 4'11" and she felt to cramped on the x-small. She may very well have a longer torso than your GF but trying both sizes will ensure she gets the proper fit.


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## Heavy Fluid (Mar 31, 2011)

patches2646 said:


> I am 4'10.5" and I have a 26" inseam. I made the mistake of buying the Cannondale Lexi 3 (2011) about 4 weeks ago. I say mistake because the standover is just a bit too high for me but I LOVE the bike and am just dealing with it for the next month or so. It totally depends on many things if the bike will work for her or not. For me, The Lexi has too high of a standover so I will be selling my bike (msg me if you are interested...). The new Juliana (07-current) has the 28.7" standover with a 100mm shock in the front that *could* be lowered to 80mm if necessary, but the bike still did not give me enough clearance to be comfortable. The older Juliana frames (01-06) had a standover of 26.9" but I do not want to build an entire bike just yet because it will be pretty expensive to get the components I want on the bike. Since her inseam is 28", she might be able to get away with the Juliana at 28.7" or a Lexi at 28.7".
> 
> I looked at a XXS Titus X but with the iffy-ness of the brand and the fact that I could not find even a used one, I have discarded that option. If I had tons of money to blow, I would look at the Pivot Mach 4 in XS, but I dont have the money to waste...which brings me to the most reasonable option if the 28.7" standover will be cutting it too close...
> 
> That option (which won't actually be available until the beginning of January for sure per Trek) is the new Lush by Trek. The standover on the Lush is supposed to be 27.1" but potentially lower because they say they measure the standover from the "center" of the top tube.... I live in the DFW, TX area and would absolutely let your fiance check out my bike for size or whatnot. There is a shop in this area that has an 09 Juliana in the Sand color in XS, but that color is just disgusting in my opinion and I would have to paint the bike in order to own it! I have done tons of research to find a bike that will fit and you are very lucky that she has a 28" inseam and not any smaller!


My wife is 5'1.5" and has a short inseam, 28 or 29" I believe. She had tried a used XS Trek Fuel EX7 WSD and it was too small. We considered the Juliana, until we came across a screaming deal from a local forum. A local woman, who we knew was a bike freak, had a 2009 Titus Racer X in a 15"/S that she was looking to sell. We checked it out, and it was just amazing. It had a few upgrades, but we later learned that Titus are really nice higher end bikes. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another. They simply are not a brand like Trek, Specialized or Cannondale, that are so well known.


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## paulrb02 (Aug 3, 2009)

[Update]

We finally pulled the trigger and got a 2011 XS Juliana R. The bike is great, my wife is loving it. Only thing we swapped was the crank to a 165mm.

Thanks for all the help


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