Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - frame for miniature girl....

so i want to buy my girlfried a bike, not necessarily a complete bike, id be willing to build it up.....
i want it to be a singlespeed, only problem is that im gonna need a small, small frame.......she's about
5foot 4inches tall....which is rather small.

anybody got any ideas where i might get a little frame??

what's your price range? The IRO Heidi is a mini version of the mark v, that'd be a good frame for a smaller person.

hmm....price isnt really a part of the equation at the moment, ill decide once i see a few options...
and see how she treats me between now and her birthday!!

At 5'4" tall there are lots of frame sizes that will probably fit. From the bikeisland kilo TT to the IRO to Pake. Just get some measurements (which can be fun) and have fun building! My wife is 5'1" and loves the used 48cm Langster frame I built up for her. Super light, stable, and fast.

cool.i didnt realise the langster came in that size.....
im still not sure what the best option is....
maybe a conversion

Question.. does she like to ride? I ask because I see ads on CL from guys with 48 to 52 cm bikes that say, I built it for my GF and she doesn't ride it.

my girl rides a 54 and she's like 5'5-5'6


don't forget, girls have longer legs than guys that are the same height (generally)

A cheap option is the Motobecane Messenger, it comes in 45cm. Won't find a smaller frame without jumping through hoops. Find out what in her inseam is and go from there to find sizing.

http://bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/messenger.htm

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/images/msg_pink_gallery/images/2msg_pink_3q.jpg

I tried to build my girl up a nice and light little single speed bike that'd be easy to carry up the 4 floors to her apartment.. but nooooo she likes her 50lb schwinn women's cruiser that I need to carry up the stairs for her. life just isn't fair. But yea 5'4" you've got your options pretty open.. Not until you get down to 5'1" and below is it a major pain in the ass. I'd think the heidi would be too small but the standard IRO mark V comes small enough as someone said and you can customize it which is good for making it more "girly"

But I'd definitely recommend testing the waters.. having her borrow a friends bike and going on a ride or two with her see how she likes it.. Hey, even see how YOU like riding with her.. Because that'll be sure to be a messy situation if you drop a few hundred on a bike for her and she rides it once.

my girl rides a 54 and she's like 5'5-5'6


don't forget, girls have longer legs than guys that are the same height (generally)

My daughter is 5'6" and I'm 5'10" and we both ride a 56CM.

I know a girl who's about that height and rides a Kilo 47 and loves it.

The IRO Heidi would be a good choice, as it is 650c and won't have as bad toeoverlap as you see on tiny frames with 700c wheels.

if it's not a surprise for her, get a dressmaker's tape and take some measurements of her, and plug them into competitive cyclist's online fit calculator. it won't be as accurate as a pro-fit at a bike shop, but it gets you in the ballpark without costing $100. keep in mind any frame sizes below 50cm or so might be served better by a 650c frame, especially for a SS/fixed specific frame.

you may get better longevity out of this project by buying a steel road frame with 126 rear spacing, horizontal dropouts, and cable guides, in case she doesn't like SS or wants gears down the line— it won't be nearly as much of a hassle that way. you can even use a set of 80s-90s road wheels with a threaded rear hub to run your SS, and just redish the rim as necessary.

Specialized Globe Centrum:
SingleSpeed, 26" wheels, stopping power of Disc brakes,
sloping toptube wont be a prob for yur GF.
'08s are prolly goin for $500.

http://mos.bikeradar.com/images/First%20impressions/centrumlandscape-480-70.jpg

my girl rides a 54 and she's like 5'5-5'6


don't forget, girls have longer legs than guys that are the same height (generally)

... and, thus, shorter torsos. My wife is 4" shorter than me, but we can usually ride the same bikes with very different saddle positions.
At some point you will at least need to fake a measurement if not get a real one.

thanks for all the help... i am going to have to have a serious think on this one

its not going to be a surprise though so she can be involved in the decisions....

only thing is that she knows jack about bikes so as long as the final product appeals to her aesthetically she'll be happy.
i want to make her a damn good bike though

Check out this ladies track frame made by Cicli Berlinetta. Probably too expensive, but would make for a super classy cruiser.

http://www.cicli-berlinetta.de/images/hotladiespista.jpg

http://www.cicli-berlinetta.de/ciclib_frames14.html

^ My wife saw the Cicli Berlinetta and said...Oooh that's the one that I want. NOT!

Small is my size and under (that would be 5' tall). Your GF is close to the average size, actually. A 48 cm up to a 52 cm could fit her, but you would want to get her on a few bikes to check.

East Hill

thanks for all the help... i am going to have to have a serious think on this one

its not going to be a surprise though so she can be involved in the decisions....

only thing is that she knows jack about bikes so as long as the final product appeals to her aesthetically she'll be happy.
i want to make her a damn good bike though

Haha, same here. My girlfriend is 5'4" as well and rides a 46 or 48, never got it measured, its a conversion bike.

I tried to build my girl up a nice and light little single speed bike that'd be easy to carry up the 4 floors to her apartment.. but nooooo she likes her 50lb schwinn women's cruiser that I need to carry up the stairs for her. life just isn't fair.
haha, that is so true -- my girlfriend is like that as well.

is 5'4" not really that short, or is it just me?

47cm kilo tt

My girlfriend is 5'2", she got the Messenger and loves it.

is 5'4" not really that short, or is it just me?

nope, not really that short.

get an inseam measurement. that's more important than height. sometimes girls have long legs compared to guys.

If I was building a bike for a girl, I'd do exactly what I did for myself - buy an old mixte and convert it. It makes a fantastic single-speed and great around town bike. I put on a rear rack after these pix, which increased the utility immensely.

I discovered mixte frames come in different sizes too, so check the virtual top tube length for fit. My neighbor had the older sister to my frame, a Peugeot also, in the same color, and it was about 5 cm shorter (both virtual top tube and actual seat tube), if I remember right.

The Peugeots may be harder to find, but a lot of mid-level Japanese mixtes, like Univega, Centurion, Nisiki, etc, were built in the 70's and maybe early 80's. I see them on craigslist. I may pick one up someday.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=503337&highlight=