noglider 

@awfulwaffle, that depends on the cost of your tinkering. I'd give much higher odds of her satisfaction with smaller bars in all dimensions. (I wasn't going to measure width since you didn't depict it, but being so big in the first two dimensions, I inferred it was also a wide bar.) So consider carefully putting on the bar that she is more likely to be happy with than the bar that's easier for you to offer. Remember, being her size, she's probably been uncomfortable for too much time in her short time on bikes. You need to impress her with a breakthrough in comfort, or else she'll also neglect this bike. This is your big chance. You got something she can work with.

I build bikes for my wife, and sometimes she tries it and says no without being able to put her finger on it. She can't tell me whether the handlebar reach is too long or the handling of the bike is too quick. She just says no. Since she's not a bike fitting expert, use our collective expertise.

For that matter, there is a fitting section of bikeforums. Hurry up and ask some setup questions there.

linnefaulk

That must have been a popular color combo. It look a lot like my 1995 Trek 1220.

bradtx

The handle bars maybe fine, a small frame can exaggerate the size of items tacked onto it in a photo. Leave the bars untaped and let her decide if they're right or not, along with the other fitment items.

Brad

Steve Whitlatch 

Thanks. I am going to do that for her. Right now she has to flip them over. She is used to it but platform would be better.

awfulwaffle 

@linnefaulk Well, it DOES look pretty darn cool

@noglider I do have a 37cm bar floating around somewhere in my garage that may work, but I don't have a shoulder width measurement of the missus on hand so no way to be sure. I don't really know what I would ask the fitting forum, I've only turned that route after a problem popped up for me, never preemptively. I'm familiar with the fitting basics and have gotten to the point where I'm fully comfortable on all of my bikes, but all of that is likely moot when it comes to helping someone else find their position. The plan was to take some body proportion measurements and use the WrenchScience calculator as a starting point, and adjust as necessary based on her input. However, I think you're right and it's time to think of some good questions for those wiser than myself.

noglider 

I think you're already on the right path, at least where I can't help you further. One thing I do know is that fitting a short woman can be tricky.

I suggest starting with the smallest handlebar you can find in all three dimensions. Also, be sure to use short reach brake levers.

gearheadgeek

Nice bike! A couple of years ago I bought the same bike (colors and all) in a 49cm for my daughter. Even had the same shifter problem due to dried up old grease. She loves it and does not complain about it being harsh. Only change I made was to add auxiliary brake levers to the tops of the bars. She originally felt scared braking with the brifters. Hers has 23c tires.

Incidentally, I have an old Cannondale Delta V 500 in the same color scheme.

I picked up a similar (1996 I think) R500 in dark green for my son. 43 cm, also with 650c tires. Again, no complaints about harshness.

I hope she enjoys the bike!

- John

jyl

Beautiful bike! Paint looks very fine.

Platform pedals to start with. Don't make her ride clipless, or even with toe clips, at first.

650C 28mm tires are out there. Here is one, a search turns up several others. Amazon.com : Terry Tellus Tire 650C x 28mm Black : Bike Tires : Sports & Outdoors

Be prepared to change the saddle, possibly to a women's model e.g. Terry.

As an alternative to changing the bar right away, you could install interrupter brake levers on the bar tops. That would give her higher and narrower hand placement until she becomes a speed demon in the drops.

Remember that bike is geared much higher than her mountain bike. You'll go on flat rides at first, I hope. Eventually when you ride hills, you might be looking for a wider-range freewheel or a different crankset. That's okay. That bike is definitely worth spending some money on.

awfulwaffle 

@noglider The 37cm bars I mentioned were the ones that came with my ST400: .

Narrow, but not what I'd call short reach/drop. These look like a good candidate Dimension Flat Top Shallow Road Bar > Components > Handlebars and Stems > Drop Handlebars | Jenson USA, though a threadless stem adapter would be in order to use any of the stems I have that would fit that bar. I wonder if I should go ahead and order them, or let her try the ones that are on the bike currently to see how she likes them. I've got a couple of mighty short stems that I could use with the current bar as well. I'm thinking that after we do the initial measurements and baseline fit like I had mentioned before, we'll spend a bit of time with the bike on my trainer to dial everything in. Unfortunately, I don't think shorter reach levers are an option as this bike is STI equipped.

@gearheadgeek The thought of adding some levers on top had crossed my mind. I'll give her the option and see how she feels. Thanks for the kind wishes!

@jyl Agreed, I've got a set of Cannondale marked platform pedals with cages sitting in my parts box, was going to pull off the cages for the time being with the intent of getting her to use them later on. As far as tires go, Serfas Urbana 650c x 28mm tire these look like a good bet given the reviews I've seen on them.

Conveniently enough, I've got a few wider ranged 7 speed HG cassettes (this bike has the first 7 speed freehub I've personally encountered) that we could try out, though I'm not sure that the RD has the capacity for all of them (will have to look into that). Either way, the intent is definitely to take it pretty easy at first. I am somewhat encouraged, however, by the fact that on our last ride we came to a pretty nasty local hill and when I gave her the option to go around, she put on the steeliest face I've ever seen her make and defiantly pedaled all the way up the sucker.



I'm cutting it close, but the bike's almost done, got every bearing save the freehub cleaned up and regreased, retensioned the wheels yesterday. Today's plan is to maybe see about getting the LBS to help me remove the rear seal on the freehub without damaging it so I can lube it up, and then it'll be time to run the cables and dial everything in. Hopefully, it'll all be done by the time she gets home on Saturday!

awfulwaffle 

@Steve Whitlatch I'm sorry, I somehow completely missed your post! That's a nice looking bike you've built for your daughter! The flat bar option is always in the back of my mind, but I hope I won't have to go that route.

awfulwaffle 

Well, I think it's about time for an update. We spent 2 days getting everything dialed in. It took us a day to confirm that she didn't like the bars and saddle that came on the bike, and another day for me to source all the necessary parts. Ended up finding a 38cm Specialized Expert Women's short/shallow bar, and even managed to track down a shop across town that stocked quill to threadless steerer adapters (didn't think that it would be this hard to find one around here). Then, following the suggestion of fellow forum members, we found an LBS with a very generous saddle return policy, and went out together and picked her up a saddle that matched her sit bone width. Got the bars and saddle installed and everything dialed in the way she liked it. Surprisingly, she requested toe cages on her pedals when I tried to give her regular ole platforms. She chose a more upright position than I'm personally used to. We talked about it and both agreed that it's a good place to start for now, and we can play around with some longer stems once she's more comfortable on the bike if she starts feeling like she wants to stretch out on the bike a bit more.

Yesterday, we went for our first ride. Again adhering to the collective wisdom of the forum, I let her set the pace and distance . We covered about 5 miles, but our average speed almost doubled. She didn't complain about discomfort at all, but more time and miles will tell if any further adjustments need to be made. We did hit a pretty rough patch of the trail we were on, and boy did she not like that. We talked about the options to make sections like that more tolerable, and she decided that she wanted to try cycling shorts! I've also finally tracked down an LBS that can get 650x25c and 650x28c tires for us, so that will likely happen at some point as well.

And now, for a couple of pictures :

Action shot from when she was riding up and down an empty street, getting used to the feel of the brakes:



Happy but tired after our ride. In our 10 years together, this is the first time she's ever let me take a picture of her with something resembling a smile. Methinks that's a good sign:



Hopefully we'll get another ride in tomorrow!

jyl

Good job!

Random thoughts
- The best way to absorb bumps is with the legs, so riding in the standing position is a good thing to learn. (I call that "posting" but a quick search suggests I am alone.)
- Alternatively, use a big gear so the pedaling action lifts her partly off the saddle
- If she feels too much pressure on the hands on longer rides, you could try moving the saddle rearward. It looks like she might tolerate an additional inch of reach from saddle to bar.

noglider 

Good work, and you're a very lucky man. Will she let you ride behind her? It's a good way to set the pace. Don't ride too close, or she might feel pressure to speed up. Also, don't call out tips. Most women hate that. Instead, wait for her to offer a question or complaint. You're at a delicate stage, and you're doing great.

The fit on the bike looks fantastic. She may elect to ride more aggressively, and she may not. Doesn't matter. My wife finally has a road bike with brifters, and she brakes and shifts from the hoods. That she can do so comfortably is a triumph. A short top tube and a shallow handlebar are wonderful things.

awfulwaffle 

@jyl : Thanks! All valid points, though I think that the pushing a bigger gear and lifting off of the saddle will have to come when she builds up a bit more strength and stamina. She did mention that her palms were a little bit sore when we got home, but said that it wasn't bad at all and was probably due to the fact that she's not used to carrying weight on them . There is more than ample padding on the bars (the originals had gel pads which I transferred over), but we had discussed getting her a pair of gloves as well. We also talked about the fact that she shouldn't be supporting a whole lot of weight on her hands, but I'm not sure if the core strength is there yet to start supporting more with the torso. I used KOPS as a starting point for the front to back saddle adjustment, but I know that it may work for some and not others. I think I'll propose the idea of scooting it back a little bit more next ride to see how she likes it.


@noglider Thank you, I appreciate that. She will let me ride behind her, though this time I was rolling along in the dirt to the side of the MUP so I could keep the speed down and we could talk. I am guilty of calling out tips now and again, though she didn't seem to mind. Then again, maybe I just didn't catch on, so it may be prudent to refrain in the future. Oh, and kudos on the short reach bar suggestion. If you hadn't mentioned it, I probably would have gone the route of getting a very short stem on a pair of regular bars.


I am grateful to all that have offered their sage wisdom and helped make this process as easy as possible!

awfulwaffle 

Whoops, double post.

noglider 

I'm glad my advice helped! I have experience with this, not just with my wife. I've helped a lot of women on their bikes.

Here's another tip. I get uncomfortable riding slowly enough for my wife, probably because pedaling so gently puts more weight on my hands and less on my legs. I'm better off riding a bike with upright handlebars when I ride with her. Not sure if that applies to you, but consider it if the slow speed is hard for you.

ksryder

If following, don't follow too closely when crossing railroad tracks and she's too tired to navigate them properly because she didn't listen to you and pushed herself too hard because then you might run over her and she'll never, ever, ever let you forget it.

Or at least that's what I've heard.

ThermionicScott 

Very promising report, @awfulwaffle. A lot of good advice has been shared in this thread, and about the only thing I'm good for contributing is +1 to not pressuring her (about anything) and +1 on getting some 25 or 28mm tires on that bike. (VeloBase shows the RSX brakes as medium-reach, so either should work assuming Cannondale didn't bozo the brake caliper placement.)

sleutho

Hello, I will be following this thread because I just bought my lady a 650c Cannondale as well. I have been eyeing them for a while because they are one of the only decent used bikes that would fit her at 5'0" and I am a big fan of the older cannnondales (on my second now).

I also was looking at the Serfas, but I cannot tell if they will fit or not. It looks like it will be pretty close because the caliper clearance is a little tight.

Also, is there any place in the US that sells 650x28 tubes? Or can I use some size of 26" tube? The 28c size seems to be popular in the UK, but not so much here.

ThermionicScott 

Welcome to the forums. If you have a selection of allen wrenches, you can use those to gauge how much clearance your current tires have to the brake calipers and various parts of the frame. The Terry 650x28C tire is reputed to measure closer to 26mm wide, so your basic 650x23C tube should work fine. They stretch.

ksryder

Some outfit in seattle has 650c x 28 tires custom made, it appears:

Serfas Urbana 650c x 28mm tire

Edited: my mistake, you were asking for tubes not tires.

Velocivixen

@awfulwaffle-when I started riding again in my middle years, I swore I wouldn't wear any "bikey" stuff like gloves or helmet mirrors.....but now I've got gloves & a helmet mirror. I realized that, even though gloves make my hands warm, in the event I ever fall my hands could get really scratched up without them. Not suggesting she'll fall, but just something to think about. I see she has glasses so she won't need any but really great to keep bugs, dust, flying rocks out of your eyes.

Also, may I suggest not riding too close while turning corners. Side by side riding around corners take a lot of attention & concentration. Ask me how I know.

BentLink

I'm disoriented, my Amazon wife is 6'2"...but she rides a C'dale, too.

awfulwaffle 

@ksryder Yikes, sounds like you're speaking from experience. Duly noted

@noglider I'm hoping it won't be an issue, but I'll keep that in mind!

@Velocivixen Yesterday, the bugs seemed to be aiming exclusively for our mouths so the glasses were wasted in that regard. I'm guessing you and your significant other had an accidental bike hug on a turn. We barely avoided the same situation yesterday

Jeff Wills

Like! My wife is 5-foot-10, which fits my 6-foot-4 just fine. Our inseams are identical, though... people are weird, y'know?