Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Fixie for short rider?

Hello all,

This is my first time posting on these forums after many years of lurking around.

I've recently moved to Sherwood, OR, and am about to lose my car. I'm taking that opportunity to start a car-free lifestyle. I will soon be purchasing my first "real" bicycle—and I want it to be a fixie!

I have read up on everything that I need to know, but I have a problem. I am only 5'5", and with a long torso, I only have 28" (!) of standover height. By my calculations I would have to ride a 46cm-or-so bike. Oh, and I do not have enough know-how to build my own, so I had been hoping to purchase a pre-built fixie, and that makes it even harder to find something I can fit. (Yes, I could try and figure out how to build one, but unfortunately I need to get this together in about a week.)

I would go to my LBS... yet there is no LBS. I could drive up to Portland, yet even if I found a good shop, they would have to order my size anyway. And then once I no longer have a car, going all the way to Portland by bike for some adjustments at my "local" bike shop will be more pain that it's possibly worth.

So my question is: does anyone know of any pre-built fixies that can be had over the internet for a reasonable price that would (a) fit me, (b) be of decent quality and (c) have clearance for fenders for mucky Oregon weather?

I hope someone here can help me with their infinite knowledge of fixiness and bikeness in general.

Thank you!

46 is a tough size as far as "affordable" and "prebuilt" go... the fuji's come in 43 (for the se model) or 49 as the smallest for the regular track model. I think bareknuckles also come in 49..

FWIW, 5'5" isn't really that short (my ladypal is 4'10" and rides a 43cm with 650 wheels), so you actually have a good number of options. Several of the off-the-peg, complete, entry-level FG bikes come in a small enough size to fit your needs. I'm 5'9"/5'10"-ish, don't have much longer legs than you, and I ride a 53cm or 54cm frame - at 5'5", you could probably get away with a 48-50cm frame. Try some different bikes out and see how they fit before you get stuck on the idea of riding a 46cm.

If you have a long torso DO NOT use standover height as a metric. It is much more important that you get a bike with a top tube proportioned to keep your weight distribution decent and merely make sure you can get the saddle low enough to reach the pedals properly. You never need stand flat footed with any bicycle meant for road use anyway. If you are too uncomfortable with this you probably should be looking at an mtb frame.

I highly recommend you go to a actual store since you seem relatively inexperienced. If they seem to be worried about stand over height however run away as fast as you can. There are lots of stores staffed by incompent asses.

I also recommend something like a surly crosscheck or bianchi volpe/castro valley that you can put gears of if it turns out fg riding isn't for you. If you plan on relying on one bike for everything versatility is your friend.

IRO (www.irocycle.com) is making a Mark V (perhaps an Angus, too, I don't know) in 46cm with 650c wheels.

I am 5'5" and ride a 50cm Mark V. The 52cm toptube is a tiny bit long for me, and the seattube is a little bit big for me (not enough clearance), but that matters less since i don't spend much time with my feet on the ground.

Thanks for the quick replies, everyone!

So I see that standover height isn't everything—or even that important at all.

Does anyone know of any bike shops in the Portland area that might carry smaller (say, 50cm) frames that they could build into a fixie for me? I've heard a lot about Veloshop—are they the go-to place for fixie variety here?

Also, last question: is there an alternative to real fenders? Do those snap-on deals work nearly as well, or are they just a bad imitation?

Thanks again!

Also, last question: is there an alternative to real fenders? Do those snap-on deals work nearly as well, or are they just a bad imitation?

You live in oregon... accept it and get real fenders.

Also, last question: is there an alternative to real fenders? Do those snap-on deals work nearly as well, or are they just a bad imitation?
Thanks again!

Bad imitation. They deflect grime and spray away from your upper body, but direct it on to your feet and drive train. In a big downpour you can literally watch a big stream of water roll off your front fender and into your shoes. After long widnter rides you can observe a dirt and salt "tan line" starting a few inches up your downtube. Snap ons are definitely better than nothing but full fenders + perhaps a big ugly mudflap in front are far better.

Fenders it is, then!

i ride a 49cm cause im 4ft tall.

5'6" riding a 51cm pista, fits me perfectly. 49 and you should be fine.

Thanks again, everyone! I was thinking 46cm was amazingly small... I will try and find a bike shop for my first fix. Can anyone suggest a track-bike / fixie shop in the greater Portland area that would carry enough variety of fixed gear bicycles that I could possibly find one in my size and enough clearance for fenders? All suggestions are welcome. I am on a real budget, but I can't build my own out of an old frame due to lack of mechanical knowledge. I hope to remedy that lack of knowledge, but not on this kind of time constraint! :)

i'm 5'3" on a size 49 and its pretty much ok. the top tube length would be more important.

You live in oregon... accept it and get real fenders.
god, dutret does it again. so funny

You live in oregon... accept it and get real fenders.
fyi

not all oregon is portland

fyi

not all oregon is portland
ohh good point, what will dutret say, dum dum dum

I haven't taken my fixy to Bike Gallery, but I'd be willing to bet that any of the multiple locations would be willing to help you with your first, or at the very least point you to the bike shop that would help. I also wouldn't rule out doing it yourself, because all you need are the tools. The rest is pretty easy for a fixy: Take old rear wheel off, put new rear wheel on. Remove dérailleur and extra chain links. Tighten chainline. Fixed gear!

So I see that standover height isn't everything—or even that important at all.

It's good that you comprehended this early. It took me a long time to believe it but these guys helped me to... and it is true... Top Tube length.

I would have just recently spent a LOT of money on 2 bikes that would not have fit me.

Did I ever thank you guys for that? Well, Thank You! :)

fyi

not all oregon is portland

no but all of portland is oregon. Do you want a venn diagram?

I suppose I should have said you live in oregon west of the cascades... accept it and get fenders.

I'm in the same boat as you. I've done some research. Here you go:

Fuji Track SE (uses 650c) (43cm)
Fuji Track (49cm)
Debernardi (46cm)
Bianchi Pista (49cm)
Cannondale Capo (48 cm)
Bareknuckle (48cm)
IRO Mark V (uses 650c) (46 cm)

Good luck.

No one who is 5'5" needs to go down to a 650 frame -
there are plenty of frames of all makes, from old Keirin
frames to a Windsor, that will fit you just fit. You just
need to get your correct measurement and you shouldn't
have any trouble finding a frame.

BlindBoar: just to make sure you are measuring inseam from bone to floor right? You're not trying to use your pants inseam.

I can't rember where it was but someone posted a really good link toa page with a java script program which you entered a load of body mesuements and it gave you what length top tube / reach e.t.c you needed. If anyone could help out with the link it would be good to use this then find out what size frames fall into your a range of top tubes.

No one who is 5'5" needs to go down to a 650 frame -
there are plenty of frames of all makes, from old Keirin
frames to a Windsor, that will fit you just fit. You just
need to get your correct measurement and you shouldn't
have any trouble finding a frame.

how tall are you? i wonder if you are speaking from experience.

i am. i'm 5'5" and it is very, very hard to find frames that fit. there just are not a lot of frames out there that have less than a 52cm top tube. there's nothing more frustrating than a bike that almost fits but doesn't - except, perhaps, trying to find good, affordable bikes on the edges of the bell curve of frame size. i've got a great bike that fits very well: i got lucky.

quite frankly, it seems like most smaller sizes that companies make just squeek in a barely altered design so that they can say they have another size: drop the top tube 1.5 cms down at the seat tube and call it a 50cm bike.

it would be nice to see some non-pursuit frames that are built around other front wheel sizes (Terry had some frames built with a 24" front wheel, elongated head tube, level top tube - to shorten the top tube past 52cm without getting severe toe overlap, which many people find undesirable).

unfortunately i don't see that happening any time soon.

how tall are you? i wonder if you are speaking from experience.

i am. i'm 5'5" and it is very, very hard to find frames that fit. there just are not a lot of frames out there that have less than a 52cm top tube. there's nothing more frustrating than a bike that almost fits but doesn't - except, perhaps, trying to find good, affordable bikes on the edges of the bell curve of frame size. i've got a great bike that fits very well: i got lucky.

quite frankly, it seems like most smaller sizes that companies make just squeek in a barely altered design so that they can say they have another size: drop the top tube 1.5 cms down at the seat tube and call it a 50cm bike.

it would be nice to see some non-pursuit frames that are built around other front wheel sizes (Terry had some frames built with a 24" front wheel, elongated head tube, level top tube - to shorten the top tube past 52cm without getting severe toe overlap, which many people find undesirable).

unfortunately i don't see that happening any time soon.

I am just barely pushing 5'4", but I've always found that a 52cm top
tube is too short. My bike right now is 50.5cm CC and 53 TT and it
fits me just fine. I was in contact with Keirin Culture a few months
ago about a new frame and he had five or six bikes coming in in the
48cm-51cm range, all of which would persumably fit someone my
(our) size with a few tweakings here and there. Similarly, I've rode
the 50cm Bianchi Pista and found it to be pretty accommodating,
and not cheating on the geometry, although it was just a quick turn
around the block.

I think this probably says more about the wide variance of body
types, even among two people who would stand eye-to-eye, then it
does about bike makers not building to suite shorter riders. After all,
I figure that we are about the same height as some Keirin riders, and
those bikes seems to be pretty well designed.

Hey everyone,

Molly at Veloshop in Portland set me up with everything I need--definitely recommended! He had a 50cm Raleigh One Way in stock that seemed to fit fine; I could just straddle the bar flat-footed with short-soled shoes on. I don't have a lot of experience with what feeling one would get when the fit is "correct", so we shall see as far as top tube length goes, but I think it's close enough for now anyway.

Thanks for all your input; I read every reply and appreciate them all!

If the top tube feels short, just put a longer stem on. I have the same problem: long torso, shorter legs. Just put a 20mm longer stem on my road bike and I'm loving life.