# WSD for 5' woman



## PoorCyclist

Hi, I am doing some shopping for my wife who is 5' tall..

my budget is within $1000, and if possible, getting 105 components would be great.
but not necessary have to spend all of it!

My first question should be drop bar, or flat bar?
She has small hands and brake lever has always been an issue, I feel on a dropbar it is not that easy to squeeze the brakes on the hood with small hands.

I saw REI has a Novara Carema Pro (105) in my price range or the regular Carema (Sora), 
I have had good luck with the Novara XS size that is sized for rider 5'-5'3"
The top tube is 51cm and the seat tube is 42cm, does that mean it's a 51cm bike?

http://www.rei.com/product/791140?preferredSku=7911400039

Other than that there are about a dozen of choices out there and I am open to suggestions.


----------



## Trek2.3

No. It's a 42 cm frame.

Try the Trek 2.1 WSD in the 43 cm frame. It is a BEST BUY.


----------



## Andrea138

Scott and Cannondale also make some entry-level WSD bikes. Try to test ride as many as possible before you make a purchase.


----------



## Andrea138

Scott and Cannondale also make some entry-level WSD bikes (check out the Contessa Speedster and the Women's Synapse) . Try to test ride as many as possible before you make a purchase.


----------



## shudson16

Trek2.3 said:


> No. It's a 42 cm frame.
> 
> Try the Trek 2.1 WSD in the 43 cm frame. It is a BEST BUY.


the Trek Lexa SLX is the equivalant to the 2.1 and sells for a little better than $1300. All 105 except crank and brake calipers. nice bike. hth.


----------



## evs

*This summer I bought a*

2010 Trek 1.1 WSD bike for my daughter. Her first road bike. :thumbsup: She's only 5' 2" and it was about 650$. plus tax. It was a 47cm frame. Only one small bottle fits in there. Great components for the money and she really liked the great paint job they had. The only thing I didn't like was that it had Shimano 2300 STI levers but she test road it and said it didn't bother her at all. I explained the difference but she was cool with it. I'm going to swap her seat with her moms Terry Butterfly and she'll be styling this spring. Also it was only an 8 speed but that is still good IMO.

ps I just looked and the 2010 2.1 wsd has 105 but its 1400$ and its a 10 speed


----------



## PoorCyclist

does it really have to be 650b to work well?


----------



## Trek2.3

Unless you want a* $3000 *Trek 5.2 in the sloping top bar 47cm WSD size. But beware of the minimum seat height requirement of new Treks. You may clear the stand over but find you can't reach the pedals with proper knee bend. I have a 50cm men's frame and make it by 5mm.

I have bikes with both 700 and 650 wheels. I can't notice any difference.


----------



## PoorCyclist

So are you saying 42" or 43" frame will work best for 5' tall?
Trek's size chart doesn't even go that low..

MTB she is riding 13.5"


----------



## KoroninK

Cannondales are larger bikes than Treks. I'm 5'0 and the Cannondale is too big for me, but I can and do ride a Trek 47cm. Cannondale and Trek measure their bikes differently. I actually have a Trek 2000 men's bike which is about 8-10 yrs old. I'm right at the extreme limit for being able to ride it, but I do ride it and am very comfortable on it. There are a few Trek's that do have a 43 cm frames, several of the Madone and the top end Lexa, although I think they are more than what you are wanting to spend. Now for Mountain Bikes I just got a Trek 4 series that is a 13 inch (33cm).

As I stated I currently ride a men's bike and have no issues with the breaks, but I also would say I have normal sized hands for my height, not small hands. I just have short legs. I have a men's handle bar, and the WSD bikes have smaller and narrower handlebars than what the men's handle bars are. I have no issues at all with the hoods and reaching the breaks. 

What you stated for top tube and seat tube that would be similar to a Trek 47cm road bike. Bikes are measured from the ground to a point on the seat tube area to determine the height.


----------



## PoorCyclist

KoroninK said:


> Cannondales are larger bikes than Treks. I'm 5'0 and the Cannondale is too big for me, but I can and do ride a Trek 47cm. Cannondale and Trek measure their bikes differently. I actually have a Trek 2000 men's bike which is about 8-10 yrs old. I'm right at the extreme limit for being able to ride it, but I do ride it and am very comfortable on it. There are a few Trek's that do have a 43 cm frames, several of the Madone and the top end Lexa, although I think they are more than what you are wanting to spend. Now for Mountain Bikes I just got a Trek 4 series that is a 13 inch (33cm).
> 
> As I stated I currently ride a men's bike and have no issues with the breaks, but I also would say I have normal sized hands for my height, not small hands. I just have short legs. I have a men's handle bar, and the WSD bikes have smaller and narrower handlebars than what the men's handle bars are. I have no issues at all with the hoods and reaching the breaks.
> 
> What you stated for top tube and seat tube that would be similar to a Trek 47cm road bike. Bikes are measured from the ground to a point on the seat tube area to determine the height.


Hi... since you are the same height, what is the top tube length on your trek and stem length you are using?


----------



## KoroninK

The effective top tube is 49.5 cm. (At least that is what we think as we measured it ourselves since we can't find the geometry info for it anywhere). The bike came with a straight either 100 or 110cm stem. I could ride it that way, but we had to angle the handle bars to where I couldn't use the drops. We just bought a smaller stem (which I can't remember the size of at the moment, will post here when I find the info, but I think it is a 90cm) with an angle and now I can ride it with the handle bars in the correct position and use the drops. Being an older bike, the handle bars on it actually are larger with a bigger drop than even what my husband's new Cannondale CAAD 8 has. The Lexa (Trek) has an effective top tube of 50.9 for the 47cm bike. I did ride one on a trainer a couple weeks ago and it seemed to be fine and actually is a main reason that I'm seriously considering getting a WSD Madone when I get a new road bike.
With the Specialized I have been able to stand over and sit on a Dolce 44cm, which I could also ride. The new ones have a top tube length of 50.6. 
The specialized 44cm is similar to the Trek 47cm and shows how different companies measure things differently.
I could easily go with either one, I just like the Trek a bit better than the specialized. However, for your wife do not rule out either Trek or Specialized if you have dealers for both in your area.
We do not like the closer Specialized dealer, but do like the one in Raleigh (2hrs away). We still need to visit the Trek dealer in Raleigh. We are not fond of our local LBS. We, however, really like the Trek dealer in Charlotte and Mooresville (5hrs) away and have no problems driving there to get my new bike. We also like the Trek dealer in Warren, Oh, which is where I grew up and actually purchased my new mountain bike from, but that is more like 11 to 12hrs away and we'd have to line things up really well to order a bike from there. LOL
I have stood over a Cannondale and would NOT be comfortable riding one due to the standover height of the smallest ones they make. It is too tall, as are Giants (did a stand over on one of their mountain bikes a few months ago).
Hope this helps. If you have any other questions/concerns I'll try to help. Unfortunately I really can't help with the issue of being comfortable with the breaks though, as I don't have any issues at all with that.


----------



## PoorCyclist

Thanks Koronink!! Your information is valuable..

I ended up buying this bike for her, found a rare 2009 and one of the last one on clearance.
https://www.rei.com/product/776882

It comes with 105 except brakes and crankset.. (kenisis frame) hydroformed top tube and carbon seatstay. 
It has a 51cm top tube, that is the actual, not the effective -- which should be less due to the sloping top tube. and 90mm stem. Couldn't test it because this is my xmas gift to her.
I think it should fit her OK at most need a stem swap, if not they have an easy return policy. 

I weighted it to be 21.5 lbs without pedals (XS). I wish it was lighter, but OK.

Here is a picture I found on the net of the same bike.


----------



## KoroninK

It's a nice looking bike. The stem should be fairly easy to swap for a shorter one if needed. Mine was a bit more complicated because we had to buy a converter thing to be able to use the new stems. The only issue I can really see in not having her be able to test it is more standover height than anything else and making sure that is good. I hope it works well and that she really enjoys it.


----------



## PoorCyclist

Standover will be fine because she has a XS novara MTB with enough clearance, spec wise they have the same standover within 0.2". I also measured both actual bikes the standover matches the specs. 
I am thinking maybe we'll take it to a fitter.. will report back in a month or so.


----------



## KoroninK

Good. Glad the standover height is good. That would be my biggest concern. I hope she likes it. A fitting wouldn't be a bad idea.


----------



## Dajianshan

My LBS just started producing a classic looking steel frame especially designed for small people. It is a frame and fork for 650 wheels. It is full CrMo steel with internal cable routing and equipped with DT shifter mounts, shaped stays and beautiful paint job. I will probably post more on it when I can get get pictures. Over the past year I have ridden several testers and it rides beautifully. The frame is a Taiwanese branded frame called TYA (pronounced Tia).


----------

