Recreational & Family - Recreational bike for very short Girlfriend Help!

I'm trying to find a recreational bike for my girlfriend. The main problem is that she's short 4'11" and has short arms and legs. I bought a 12" frame 26" wheel mountain bike at a garage sale thinking that it would work. It didn't. I've been trying to get her in to a bike shop to be fitted but she's embarrassed to do it. I've suggested that a 24" kids bike might be more comfortable for her. Any suggestions?

Take a look at some 650 wheel size road bikes. Theyre a couple of little ladies in my club who ride them. I think one of them was a motobecane.

My fiancee is 4'10.5" She currently has 2 bikes. a '69 Schwinn Breeze and a 26" wheeled ladies MTB. I got her a boys Y frame 24" wheeled front suspension MTB before her current one and she rode it for a year without too many complaints but when she got the 26" rigid she liked it much more and was more comfortable on it. It helped a lot more when I changed the flat bar for North Road bars from an old Suburban. She likes them and they are identical to the ones on her Breeze. Total investment on the "new" bike, $8. $10 if you count the donor suburban, but I don't because I've already gotten more than my $2 out of that parts pile.

Terry Bicycles (http://www.terrybicycles.com/cycling_savvy/index.html) makes bicycles, clothing, accessories, etc. for female cyclists. Their hybrid is called the Susan B. It will fit your girlfriend. The two smaller sizes use 24" wheels while the 3 larger sizes use 26" ones.

http://www.terrybicycles.com/product_images/bike_site/hybrid/susanb.jpg

What does not fit well for her? Seat height? handlebar reach? If that really was a 12" frame size MTB 26" wheels you bought, your 4'11" girlfriend should do fine. Remember that, properly adjusted on the bike, she should barely be able to tiptoe toreach the ground when sitting on the saddle. I see far too many people riding with too low a seat height and no where near reaching full leg extension on downstroke.

My wife is 5'1" and rides a 14" frame size MTB, Motobecane 700HT, with 26" wheels. The bike fits her quite well and she has enough clearance over the toptube to be comfotable and safe. At first, she complained that the handlebar seems a little too far out front. I explained to her that even though an MTB sits more upright than a road bike, you still have to lean over a bit and place some body weight over the bars. After a while, she got used to it and now like the way it rides.

You may want to help her look at "comfort bikes" which has an even more relaxed riding position than MTBs, with higher handlbars. I really don't think she needs to be looking at kid bikes.

I sell 13" MTBs for kids under 5 feet all the time. At 4' 11" your girlfriend should have no problem fitting on one, but if she's uncomfortable, both Trek and Gary Fisher make full-out mountain bikes with 24" wheels this year. The question is, do you want to spend $400 for a recreational rider?

The Trek Navigator line has a 13" women's specific frame that also fits small riders well.

My wife is 4'10" and she picked up a Trek Navigator 200, 14.5" womans frame and it has been working quite well for her. She can stand flat footed while straddling the bike and the foot/hand controls are all within reach.

my wife is 3 feet tall





i'm nuts over her.

my wife is 3 feet tall





i'm nuts over her.
You must have pretty long legs....:)

Toe to toe the nose is in it / nose to nose the toes are in it:D