Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Don’t let a shop put you on a bike that is too big. If they try to get you on a 49cm bike, they are putting you on a bike that is far to large for your size. You should be riding a road bike around 42 cm± 2 cm. Anything over 44 cm is too large. Unfortunately you are likely not going to find anything under 44 cm.
If you can, avoid anything with 700C wheels. A bike with 26” wheels will fit your much better because of the smaller wheel size. It will give you more standover space and the angles on the head tube won’t be as relaxed. Unfortunately finding bikes with 26” wheels is difficult now.
Yep. As I mentioned above, I bought my 5’ ex a 42cm LHT with 26” wheels. It was the only touring bike I could find that might fit her. Fortunately, a LBS had one in stock. I tricked her into going to the shop with me when I needed to pick up my road bike after service. Said “Hey! Look at that! You should try it out.” The shop owner was in on it. She liked it, so I called the shop the next day and asked them to hold it for me. Picked it up a few days later on her birthday, brought it home and hung it on the wall rack. Took her a couple of minutes to find her present.
BTW...Ignore the perennial troll.