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mrs t has a nice little surly troll. it is a lump, which for me would not be a problem, but a 5ft granny thinks it is too heavy.
so, ideas for a nice small touring bike for a little lady.
Nice, top of the line hybrid?
Loads of people seem to use them for touring these days.
Something like the spa cycles ti-tourer https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s21p2554/SPA-CYCLES-Ti-Tourer
They do a 48cm frame with 26" wheels which should be about right.
her troll in a 16''. 48cm will be too big.
her troll in a 16”. 48cm will be too big.
er.... Like-A-Bike?
or
I think the Specialized Diverge takes a rack and goes down to a 44cm frame.
I'd be looking at something like an Islabikes Beinn 26 or a Hoy Bonaly 26 and adjusting the build to suit. (Pretty sure the Hoy will take a front mech, not sure about the Isla; both will take rack and guards) Or building something around an old 14" Kona if you can find one.
Same height as my Mrs. We bought her a Shand Stoater steel frame in late 2016 which has become her favourite road bike as well as tourer. Built up with nice wheels, 3x10, flat bars & Hope brakes, it rides pleasantly but not super-light.
A 5 day 'tour de Mont Blanc' has been an early highlight, travelling relatively light and she reckons it's the comfiest road bike she's ever been on.
Shand sell the Stoater as a complete bike, as a stock frame and also custom fitted.
I have my wife’s 5ft 1” Liv Avail 2 2015 for sale, it’s lights and has mudguard eyelets so could make a nice light tourer.
Get her a tagalong or a trailgater 😉
We found that an e-Bike (Giant Dirt-e) was a fantastic purchase. On Cannock Chase she can get up hills and (not) wait for me at the top and it's very capable down the ruff stuff too. On road there's just one hill on a regular route that's about 2 miles long and I can manage 17mph up it. It's the only hill I beat her on as the assist tops out at 16mph.
The bike makes it possible for us both to ride together at the speed and distance I'm happy with.
MrsT is also a Granny x 4. We/She would like an ebike but at the moment they are too big(tall front end)and too heavy, getting on/off proved difficult on the only one tried so far(she dropped a £3k Spesh demo bike!!!!!)
Biketreks are in the process of building a dedicated showroom(may be done)
Interesting to note on Sat at Whinlatter the number of ebikes available for hire......
Nice one bigjohn, you were obviously typing as I was doing so. Will take a look at the Giants next time I’m in Carlisle if they have any in.
My wife has done all her cycle touring since 2009, including from Germany to Slovakia and a lap of the Hebrides, on a Giant/Liv Avail. It's very light but has taken all the abuse of being loaded up just fine. I can't recommend it enough. Anything with proper touring pretensions will not be much less weighty than the Troll, my wife's bike is about 21lbs but has rack mounts.
What will constitute a nice light touring bike for her will probably necessitate a choice of geometry and frame tubes chosen specifically for someone of her size and corresponding (likely) low relative weight.
Nice light touring bikes are a fairly niche market even in common sizes, unless you widen the choice to include even lighter racier options or (potentially less relaxed) gravel bikes.
For someone of 5", I think the best answer is the obvious traditional one: go to a custom steel framebuilder with a reputation for building that type of bike for small women. My first choice would be Dave Yates.
Ton - my wife tours with a couple of panniers and a bar bag on her Specialized Vita. Even though it’s a few years old she LOVES it and I didn’t have to change anything from standard spec. Just fitted a seat collar rack mount as the standard one was too low and some mudguards and bar ends.
Its light and fast and seems to handle really well even loaded up for B and B touring.
She is 4’11” and has a XS. If you could make it to Hudds I am sure your good lady could try it out.
here it is:
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"5ft lady?"
You don't normally call her a lady. *winks*