# womens bikes



## rflach1 (Dec 11, 2006)

i'm buying a road bike for my wife, she doesn't currently ride but is interested in trying it out. i'm not wanting to sink a lot of money into this purchase so i'm looking online. my question is: can i buy an approipriately sized men's bike that would fit her or do i need to get a womens bike that is the appropriate frame size? by the way she's 5'3".

thanks


----------



## SadieKate (Feb 22, 2006)

Who knows if a generic build will fit her? If she doesn't currently ride, you do not have a sizing benchmark to use. She needs to test ride the bike no matter what the price. Fit is absolutely critical. Body proportions, flexibility and personal preference decide this.


----------



## KayTee (Jun 24, 2006)

Sadiekate is spot on. Different frames have different geometries, and although some might work for your wife's physique, most probably won't. She needs a good bike fitting and many test-drives if you (and she!) want her to be happy and comfortable in the sport. I'm about 5'3" myself and although none of my bikes is WSD, all have had components modified to provide the fit I need...and one is custom. A poorly fitting bike can kill one's ability to love cycling.


----------



## kaotikgrl (Dec 14, 2006)

.....
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-sizing.html


----------



## SadieKate (Feb 22, 2006)

And "size bike" means the actual measurements of the top tube, head tube, etc.. It does NOT mean the label that each manufacturer assigns to their bikes. For instance, all bikes labeled 50 cm are not the same size. Your wife should also test ride bikes because she may prefer certain ride or handling characteristics that she can only ascertain by riding the bike.


----------



## JayTee (Feb 3, 2004)

There are certainly women her height that are on men's/unisex frames and bikes in the 47cm-49cm range, but as others have noted it is more complex than merely height.

The big issue for most women is that they are more leg than torso, which means the reach on stock frames may be too long. A shortened TT is one of the common differences for women's specific frames. On the other hand, 90% of women don't ride WSD bikes, I'd suspect. They may swap out the stem and be good to go. Another issue is smaller hands. WSD bikes often come standard with bars that have a shorter reach (and also narrower). 

I'd ditto the suggestion to take some measurements and evaluate based on them.


----------



## kaotikgrl (Dec 14, 2006)

.....


----------



## SadieKate (Feb 22, 2006)

Cool, I just wanted to emphasize this because it seems to be the number one problem with bike sizing. Somebody is told once that they should ride an XBrand bike in X cm, and the person never understands the relationship between brand and size. A bike shop owner who is also a friend just had a customer come back to him really angry becau that because the LBS "fit the customer wrong." The LBS fit the customer on a Cannondale and the customer went out and bought a Trek, unridden or measured in the "same size.":mad2:


----------



## heb (Dec 22, 2004)

I am 5'3 and I love my Bianchi Eros Donna. The components aren't high end but for what I wanted it for it works for me. Just had a baby 3 months ago and wanted something I could just ride at the drop of a hat and get some exercise. I love the WSD set up. I added look classic pedal and will change the saddle for one with a cutout soon. Frame size is a small.


----------

