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Any ideas here would be great. Im trying to find a new bike for my wife, for her birthday, something more suitable for towing a kiddie trailer, than her road bike.
She is 5'2"ish and i can stretch to 500 quid, so was looking for second hand or discounted bikes.
I have since come across the verenti substance sora which is a great deal but out of stock and possibly too big. CDF now in xs size would be great but cant find and older discounted ones.
Bit of a stretch at 600 for the charge plug 2 but again, probably too big.
Any ideas what else to look at, that i can get in 47-49cm frames.
Im struggling to find anything ):
cheers
Once you try and build a 700c/29er frame with a horizontal TT dimension of less than 52cm it gets really tricky to keep the wheels close-enough together, have low standover, avoid overlap or have really odd geometry - fatter CX/gravel tyres don't help either. XS CDF XS might be on the limit. Islabikes could be suitable and are in your budget. Also check out your local CX League web / facebook pages or place a wanted add.
For towing a trailer I would get an mtb.
My reasoning is that I would want to be able to use off road at trail centres/forest parks etc. Stability is also more important than aero dynamics and speed.
To be honest though I really wouldn't get her a bike blind. Let her choose what feels best to her, much more chance of her wanting to use it
Graham Weigh Cycles do some small CX frames, check out the website & eBay store.
Not a drop bar bike; but I did a build for my 5'1 wife based around a £75 [url= https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-lithium-4-2012-women-s-hybrid-bike-frame-m-EV175303 ]Pinnacle Lithium frame (black)[/url] about 2 years ago. The frame weighs 1,600g!
The frame and parts are still available today. I added a pair of matching forks, ID44 headset, Deore / Zee 1x10 drivetrain, Conti Cyclocross 35c tyres and Truvativ finishing for a further £340. The XT / Mavic TN719 wheels and BB5s were "free" by cannibalising another bike of mine.
It's a really nice bike - and shows how you can build a very decent urban / all-road bike for less than the spec would cost for an OEM build.
cheers, some good advice all round
Mtb is no good as she is a roadie and has never been into mtbs, she likes drops too much. The idea behind a cx or similar is with the aim to be able to ride forest trails etc, plus some longer alps jaunts in the summer (as long as the nippers patience holds up!)
Women's Pinnacle Arkose is worth a shot. Think they have one near that price bracket.
2nd hand or steeply discounted Giant Liv 2 ? small WSD and looks like a road bike
£700 RRP but last years appeared at Rutland Cycles for £500
considering one for mrs antigee to lure her from skinny wheeled darkside monogomy and so i can answer the question "how would you get to...." without saying "no idea without a bit of gravel" - alternative for small is building a monster cross but would probably suffer the same unloved fate as her built up flat bar commuter and small frames with suitable geometry don't readily spring to mind
What about a tourer?
Fuji Touring https://www.evanscycles.com/fuji-touring-2016-touring-bike-EV241592 for £600
Dawes Galaxy AL https://www.evanscycles.com/dawes-galaxy-al-2015-touring-bike-EV238297 for £400
If you're going to make her pedal it round the alps, best get her to at least sit on it right?