lsberrios1 

Hey guys,

Recently i upgraded to a new bicycle and ive either cosidered selling my felt or passing it on to my gf. Thing is that i dont know if the fit might be too big of an issue. My gf is 5'7" and the frame is a 56. She has a very long torso though so reach might not be that big of an issue. I think if i were to get her a very short stem it could work. She doesnt really ride much and i think for less than 20 mile rides at slow pace perfect fit isnt a necesity. I just dont see myself spending an extra 1200 bucks just to get her a bike that fits when i have a perfectly good bike sitting there. So, do u guys think i can get my girl to ride a 56? I am 5'11" so she is 4 inches shorter and it is a "man's" geometry frame.

Elduderino2412

why not just sell your bike on craigslist and buy her one that fits for about the same amount of money? she can ride yours temporarily until you find one.

cruiserhead

Got enough steerer to raise the stem up a bit? Stick a 90mm or 80mm stem on there and see how it goes.
What do you have to loose?

Commodus

Yea. Let her try it, if she complains get something on CL. Of course it's very unlikely to fit her. Maybe an ill-fitting bike will put her off cyling...

merlinextraligh

This is the way to guarantee that she continues to not ride much. A bike that doesn't fit and is unconfortable is not going to encourage her to ride.

My bet is the bike is going to be too big for her, even with a short stem, particularly if it's conventional geometry which will make standover an issue.

So let her try it out but don't force it to work if it doesn't fit.

cyclezen

I think your issue is not one of bike, it's of 'gf'.

I personally always think a 'try-out' period is good when starting things. And if the tryout includes equipment which is really unsuitable, then I say get something suitable. a Felt 56 can be on the edge of 'suitable' or 'not', depends... Unlike shoes a ballpark bike can be made to fit for the 'tryout period'.

That aside, it really depends on the GF. If she's game and willing to see how she likes cycling with your bike, great.
If she comes across as feeling hurt because of many other reasons, then maybe not so great...

"She doesnt really ride much and i think for less than 20 mile rides at slow pace perfect fit isnt a necesity. I just dont see myself spending an extra 1200 bucks just to get her a bike that fits when i have a perfectly good bike sitting there."
Is this an attempt to have her ride more - maybe a good fitting bike might do that?
There are some really nice machines out there for much less than $1200... which could fit her better.
Are you just trying to keep the older machine around, just in case...?

it's what you do before/during/after you give her a machine which will make the difference.
One things for sure, you'll find out how much you really know about the GF...

topflightpro

I'm going to guess that, No, the bike will not fit her.

My wife is almost as tall as I am, but she rides a 54 frame while I ride a 56. She recently has been racing on my cross bike, which is a 54, and it barely fits her. I had to go with a 90mm stem and there is maybe 3 cm of seatpost showing.

Given that your gf is 5-7, I think it will be even tougher to make the bike fit especially since you say she has a long torso. She may have trouble just with saddle height or standover.

foresthill

Well, I'm 5'7" with long torso and arms, and I've found a 56 to be really uncomfortable when I tried it (it was a Felt.)

abstractform20

no way it will work.

just get her a cheap nashbar alu frame. i have one and its solid.

then swap everything over. boom. problem solved.

lsberrios1 

Thank you for all your responses. I will try it out. Ive been looking for bikes for her as well but I want to try this first because, like cyclezen said, its always good to have a backup bike. She does have a bike of her own. She has a specialized vita in her size but I want her to ride a road bike to see if its worth going that route. I just want her to enjoy biking more so she can ride with me more often. She often complaints that I ride a 17 pound carbon frame and she has to follow me on her 30 pound hybrid up the mountains. Other options ive seen are, cannondale synapse on a 54cm with tiagra and a specialized dolce with tiagra as well. The Cannondale is in clearance at REI for less than a grand but the specialized is a bit more expensive. I am also getting her Spd pedals for the first time. I know she will benefit greatly even though she is refusing it because she is scared. Gonna put her on the trainer to ride them out for a little before hitting the road. I want her to try out road bikes for a while. If she likes it then I'll get her something that suits her perfect

antimonysarah

Do not make her try all those things at once, unless your goal is to have her never ride with you again. New geometry, clipless, AND a trainer? Bad. And on a potentially ill-fitting bike! Don't make her switch pedals if she's scared -- let her get to the point of wanting to try them herself. She is going to be slower than you on any bike, most likely, and the slight boost from clipless won't change that.

I suggest two options: one, pick up a cheap-ass mtb and ride w/her on a bike matching hers. Two, take her to a friendly bike store to try road bikes and see what she thinks (and you will probably be able to determine if the 56 could be made to fit). If her reaction is lukewarm or worse, see option one. If she's excited, you'll know more about how she fits on a road bike for modification or CL shopping. Buy something at the store, too, to thank them for their time. Maybe some good stiff-soled uncleated shoes for her tat will be useful on any bike.

tanguy frame

"I want her to try out road bikes for a while."
But what does she want?

pdedes

My wife doesn't allow me to ride with my girlfriend.

grimwig

i feel her pain ... do you at least wait for her at the top?

cyclezen

don't mis-read me, I wasn't supportin the idea of using the excuse of 'bike for GF' as a way to have a backup.
Backups are great, but if the GF gets even a light wind of this reason for her to have the old bike, you'll be looking for a new GF...

I like the idea of getting a bike to match hers - she'll be impressed by your effort to 'share her experience'. You might even find a new way to enjoy cycling.
Cycling is such a positive experience, try not to turn it into a negative in any aspect; or you'll risk losing her enthusiasm for any part of cycling. Thinking about her, only, will start freeing you from 'it's all about me'. Really, that's the only way anyone gets beyond the 'gf' stage of life.

lsberrios1 

I put clipless on her bike instead of the felt and put her on a trainer to let her get used to it. She actually liked them. Her shoes are those "regular" stiff soles shoes with SPD cleats. It makes it quite simple. I just want her to ride more so she can go with me more often and do something together. I know.. tacky.

She wants to ride me!
Ha! good one. She is technically my fiancee though.

I do.. she still doesnt like .8 mile 8% average hills... Neither does she like going down them.

oldbobcat

Felt F frames are long and low.

Dean V

If she has adequate stand over clearance and you can set it up with the reach and drop fairly close to right I don't see why not.

StanSeven

Try it. It might be a fun challenge for her - two people on bikes with one bullet

jon c. 

I'm a hair under 5'8" and found my brother's 56 Felt quite comfortable in size. He's a over 2" taller than me, so I had to lower the seat a bit, but the frame itself was fine.

antimonysarah

No, I totally understand wanting her to do stuff with you -- my husband and I drag each other on our respective athletic pastimes on a regular basis. But it's really demoralizing to get taken out on some activity, especially one you'd previously enjoyed, and feel completely incompetent, and possibly that your SO was laughing at you. (Not saying you would, or that my husband does when I'm being slightly scared of heights while hiking up mountains, but when someone's already tense it can seem that way.) That's why I suggested not trying them all at once, since it seems like it went OK, but if she'd been more wigged out by clipless, it could have exactly the opposite response.

Note: if she doesn't like climbing 8% grades and there are a lot around, finding her a triple and not just a compact crankset may be important.

androidtt

5'7.5" and a 56 Felt F5 was way too big for me. Seat had to be slammed in order for me to ride it. Got a Felt FC1 in 50 and it fits alright. With the exception of a wayyy too long stem. Fit, fit, fit~ Maybe the 56 is good for her?

lsberrios1 

Well here is a vid and a pic of my girl riding the felt. Let me know what you guys think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT5BQgL7toQ

She is riding size 12.5 s works shoes! (mine) she forgot hers. I'm sure it could be made a more comfortable experience but its a beginning.

cyclezen

should be able to make it work ...
work on getting saddle in a good position to start and then get the bars ballpark close and then tweak as you go.
and if you can get/keep her riding with that bend in her elbows, youll be ahead of the game.
bike does not seem to big, to me...

lsberrios1 

That is great news. She actually liked it. She thought the seat was too hard (spech Toupe Expert) and the reach a little bit far but she thought it was comfortable otherwise. She even likes my shoes better than hers (she has SPDs). I know she will eventually be a roadie

Had her do intervals in the trainer today. Even though she suffered, she said she felt awesome afterwards. Her heartrate went all the way up to 197bpms. After every 10 minutes at 135bpm she had to do 1 minute of intense pedaling reaching bpm of 180+. She came back down quickly after each sprint. I was doing `10 minutes at 135bpm and 5 minute 170+ intervals for an hour. Great work out with high cadence. I am glad to see that my resting heartbeat has gone from low 80s to mid 60s and I can even carry a conversation at my threshold level.

She is getting into it and I am loving it