Zephyr11

I'm assuming we're talking a road commuter since you're talking about road slicks, drop bars, and weight. I have 650c on my tribike, which might be an option too (keep in mind that 26" with skinny slicks will have a smaller diameter than 26" with knobby mountain bike tires). 650b is the 27.5" wheel that's been gaining traction in the mountain bike world, for comparison's sake, and 650c is just the svelte version of 650b. So an XS road bike or cx bike (a lot of companies make them as small as 42-43cm) with 650c wheels may be an option too (or a hybrid, but meh, I have no love for hybrids). I don't have my tribike at school to compare, but I *think* that with the skinny tires, the overall diameter is actually smaller than my 26" mountain bike wheels + tires. I love mountain bikes, but it sounds like you're trying to take a mountain bike and make it into a road bike for short people. Rather than whittling away at a square peg to make it fit in a round hole...just buy a round peg.