Cycling Gift for the Lady - Added Bonus for Me!

[TheSandwichMonster]

So, I was chatting with MrsSandwichMonster over the weekend and as the conversation moved on to cycling (as it's prone to do from time to time!), I asked her if she'd ever consider riding a road bike (her current steed is an under-used BSO MTB type thing). She said that she'd be more than happy to give it a go. I think she's seen my weight loss and bike-related happiness and realises that it's pretty much a "good thing"!. I followed up by asking if she'd have any arguements if I procured said bike for her, piece by piece, and built it up as a "gift". Again, she seemed fairly happy with the idea.

What a result. I get the experience of building a bike from scratch (never done that before), plus a riding companion (whom I happen to fancy!) and she gets a new bike (eventually). Is it me, or is this pretty much win-win?

With that in mind, does anyone have any advice on the build? I know it's a fairly generic question, but all is appreciated. What size frame will I need for a ~5'2" person? Are any of the female-specific geometry bikes worth looking at? Also, I'll be looking to buy second-hand to get the most out of my money - anyone have any ideas for a middle-of-the-road frameset - nothing massive expensive, but similarly something future-proof so it won't need upgrading immediately if she's bitten by the bug.

 

[jdtate101]

I'd call that a definite win....

 

[Cal]

A bespoke bike, hand-built with love? Yes, I'd call that a win!

 

[petenats]

Nice job SandwichMonster!

My other half has been commuting for a year or two on her Ridgback Panorama, great bike but we've struggled to get it's frame to fit her 5'2" frame!

She recently decided she wanted to get more involved in road riding as a leisure hobby and maybe join a club so I looked into bikes for her. The most important thing I've discovered (apart from price of course) is that comfort is paramount. If she's not comfortable she won't use it. There are lots of bike with "unisex" geometry but it seems the bikes that are raved about are the Specialized female specific ranges.

They not only have a female specific compact geometry but all the contact points are female specific. I managed to get hold of a sale Ruby for my other half, not cheap but money well spent in my book as she's on it every opportunity with or without me and is much more comfortable than on her tourer. The ally frame version of the same bike is the Dolce so if you can pick up a Ruby or Dolce frame it may be a good start. At 5'2"-5'3" my Mrs came up between sizes. Despite what the Spesh frame sizing says:

The sizes guide below is for the Specialized Ruby bikes

Bike SizeRider HeightRider Height (cm)44cm4' 8" - 5' 0"143 - 15248cm5' 0" - 5' 3"155 - 16051cm5' 3" - 5' 6"160 - 16854cm5' 6" - 5' 8"168 - 17357cm5' 8" - 5' 10"173 - 178She actually came up as on the cusp between 51 and 54, and opted for the 51 with a slight riser stem as the best fit. Apparently she has long legs and a short torso hence the difference from standard. As many people say, it's possible to get a smaller frame to work for a bigger rider but not so easy to get a too large from to work for a shorter rider.

As for the other components. You can get a wide range of narrow bars (measure the distance across her shoulders in cm and try to get bars of a similar or very slightly larger width). Shimano shifters can have shims put in to make the reach smaller for smaller female hands, saddles are a completely personal thing but my Mrs settled (literally) on a Fizik one as being the most comfy/sporty. Crank lengths can be changed depending on femur length, generally the shorter the femur the shorter the crank, my other half seems happy on 165's. I hope it helps a bit. So much is dependent on budget and availability but I'm sure you'll find the bits that will get the the bike that she'll enjoy.

Pete