I have a friend who is only 4'9" and want to help her find a new bike. Currently she has a Walmart 24" bike that just gets the job done, but barely. I thought that a kids 24" bike may be the best bet but a 26" or 700 tire would be best. She would mostly be doing rail trails and bike paths with an occasional easy trail ride so a hybrid type would work. Is anyone in a similar boat that can recommend a bike?

My daughter is in that boat. She rides a 700c in a small frame size, but 650b or even 26er wheels would be more ideal for her.

Surly offers their Long Haul Trucker road bike with 26-inch wheels in the smaller frame sizes, but that's an expensive leap from someone accustomed to a Walmart bike.

Trek makes a model called the Shift that comes with 26-inch wheels. Specialized has the Crosstrail.

If you're willing to go 700c despite her height, then the options are all but limitless.

My GF is 5' even and has the smallest LHT made. The stem is the shortest it can be and still she reaches a bit. I think it might be too large for someone 4' 9".

Not a cheap fix, but:

https://georgenaterry.com

Or maybe look for a used one of hers (or other make) that has a smaller front wheel. I once dated a woman who was 4'10". She had a Shogun frame with a smaller from wheel built up. A LBS just happened to have the frame hanging in the basement.

Yup. Not cheap but compared to purchasing 5 to 10 bikes in an effort to find the right one, it's incredibly cheap. Having purchased 5 to 10 bikes in an effort to find one that fits, I speak from experience.

I would also suggest looking bikes that use either 26" (559mm) or 650C (571) wheels over a 650B (584mm) wheels. In fact, a 26" wheel mounted with a 1.00" or 1.25" tire is going to have the lowest profile and lowest standover height of just about any wheel in a "normal" size range. Trust me when I say that every millimeter counts when a person is smaller than 5' tall.

Look at Terry Bikes.
Terry - Women's Cycling Clothing, Women's Bikes, Saddles, Bicycling Apparel, Jerseys, Shorts & Skorts

I think Terry has some smaller sizes of bicycles including 650c based bikes. I have seen used ones show up periodically with a 700c rear tire, and either 24" or 650c front tire.

I'm not sure about "hybrids". There are narrow/smooth 26" tires which would be about 1" shorter than standard 26" tires, and one might be able to convert nicer 26" MTB into a small hybrid-like bike.

Although, I have some friends that are about that height, and they are very happy with 24" MTBs (not needing high quality bikes).

There are better quality bikes with 24" wheels and premium quality bikes with 20" wheels ..

One of my friends got a couple Felt brand Bikes with 24" Wheels

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