It all started when my husband said, “With the new compact bicycle geometries, I bet you can get a bike that fits and has two standard 700c wheels.”
For the previous seventeen years I’d been riding a 17.5 inch Terry with a 24” front wheel and a standard 700c rear wheel. It was the first bike I’d owned that wasn’t a 19” men’s frame. The bike handled horribly; it was so squirrely, I could never take my hands off the handlebars. But, it fit better than any of my other bikes, and when I purchased it at half price for $600, I swore I’d never need to buy another bike again. That is, until my husband suggested compact frame geometry might offer me a new option.
After hundreds of hours of research, I have come to the conclusion that this simple assumption about compact geometry has been the basis of many bike manufacturers attempts to produce women specific bicycles particularly in smaller sizes. They’ve made tremendous progress in addressing the needs of women cyclists and for that, I must give them credit.
Buyer beware: Just because a bike is called a women’s bike, doesn’t mean it will fit, or that you’ll be comfortable riding it for more than a few miles at a time.
I found out the hard way even though the owner of an elite bike shop told me I’d be better off with a custom frame. Perhaps it was his arrogance that turned me off, but his attitude also made my husband skeptical.
I thought I was in good hands at a different bike shop, when a blonde saleswoman assured me, “I would never sell you the wrong-sized bike.” Unfortunately she was about 5’8 and didn’t know about the special needs of petite women. She sold me a 47 cm Cannondale Optimo for $1900 and I rode away delighted, thinking I’d gotten a great deal especially because of its higher end components.
A month later, I hobbled into the bike store to see if a new, shorter stem would ease the nearly crippling case of sciatica I’d developed. When the stem didn’t work, I returned to the bike store and insisted they fit me again to my Cannondale.
When the senior fitter kept telling me to sit on the back end of the seat-- and I couldn’t while still holding the handlebars--I knew there was big problem. That’s when he told me I was a perfect candidate for a custom bike. “But you folks just sold me this bike!” Needless to say, I was enraged. I kept asking these experts, “What size would a custom bike be?”
I couldn’t get a straight answer until I met an angel via email at R&E Bicycles in Seattle, Washington.
Bicycle fitting is not a mystery, it’s a skill that involves observation, communication, and measurements. Dan Towle at R&E Bicycles encouraged me to complete his online fit form so he could tell me what size bike I should be riding. I didn’t need a bike shop to do this--I needed a friend. In the process, I learned how millimeters matter when it comes to bike fitting. The Cannondale I’d been riding had a 50.5 cm top tube whereas the recommended size of the bike I’d buy from Rodriguez would have a 47cm top tube (and 650 wheels). Later, I learned how head tube and seat tube angles also affect top tube length and how the replacement for the Cannondale I'd been riding was more like a triathlon bike than a road bike.
The new buzzwords in bicycling are fit and comfort and you’ll be hearing a lot about them in the future.
The resources available on this page should help guide you to a selection of bikes that fit. Lengthy and often silly discussions about how 700 cm wheels are “faster” than 650 cm wheels can be found all over the internet. This site will give you a different opinion. This site will encourage you to find the best fitting bicycle so you can enjoy riding comfortably, confidently and safely.