Originally Posted by
Doug64
Welcome to the Forum
I'm currently looking for a touring bike for my 4'11' daughter, and will be following this thread closely.
I'm 5'1 (barely!) and I have the smallest stock size Trek 520, which I use as a commuter, and on which I've done a few fully-loaded (front and rear panniers) short (3-day) bike camping trips.
As a small person, the most vexing issue for me with any bike (I have a non-touring road bike as well as the Trek) has been my too-tiny hands. It's hard for me to easily/smoothly use STI shifters (I have to strain to "throw" them far enough.) Solved with bar-end shifters. Brakes can be problematic, too; even with shims and other tricks, with my hands on the hoods I can usually only get one full finger and maybe 2/3 of the next on the lever. Solved partially by just dealing with it (it's not like you need monster strength to engage bike brakes) and also by having cross brake levers installed.
Good luck with your search!