Smaller rider set up

[Veloo]

I've got some good friends that ride smaller size frames. All currently on MTBs. All under $1000

A gravel bike is now on the radar. I know that budget limits what you can get but still curious what others that are around 5 ft tall and under have as their setup for gravel.

Did you find a 48 cm frame or something even smaller?

Uber sloped top tube?

What wheels are you using? 26, 27.5, 700? A bit more choice now than in the 90s.

Do you find 38 cm bars OK or did you find something even smaller?

Stem length?

Store shelves are empty, especially at that price point and local used stuff is a lot of crap.

Wondering what could possibly be pieced together.

===============

Edit - focus now shifted to a road bike

[seanile]

my 5'1 friend likes her xs diamondbak haanjo 2 quite a lot.
will be hard to find like everything else, but it's something to look for

[Hilltopperny]

I just bought a used custom Indy Fab for my leggier 5'1 wife. Not a gravel bike, but fits at least a 28mm tire and has 48cm vtt and a taller headtube 700c wheels.

I am not sure where to find a good gravel bike for a reasonable price these days, but if they can find an aluminum Cannondale Topstone in a comfortable size I would suggest something like that. It is my understanding that most if not all manufacturers are increasing prices, so aside from a Bikesdirect I am not sure who is producing a descent gravel bike for that price range.

[Wattvagen]

drop bar conversion on the current mtb's and tubeless wheels setup with good gravel tires could be the trick

[Dave]

Look at the cannondale topstone. The xs size has a 41cm seat tube. Still uses 700c wheels. The hta is 70, with 55mm of fork offset for a trail of 72mm.

[Veloo]

Bumping this so it's all on the one thread.

Specifically for brifters (most likely mech, maybe hydro) at this moment, what are those with smaller hands preferring - Shimano, SRAM or Campy?

I know the 11 speed Shimano has that adjustment screw now to bring the levers in closer to the bar and 10 speed used to have shims available.

For Campy I'd think droopy thumb lever would be preferred.

Not much experience with SRAM.

[Dave]

SRAM hydraulic levers have lever reach adjustment, but it's possible to have the levers hit the bars, even with the contact adjuster set with pads as close as possible. That's how I run mine. SRAM rim brake electronic levers have three positions. I ran mine in all the way.

Campy 12 mechanical has a single position that moves the lever a little closer. Before that, I applied epoxy putty to the pin rest area on the shifter body to bring the lever in closer.

[roguedog]

Veloo

1st off - kudos to you for even asking this question re: brifters.

For me, Campy over Shimano for mechanical. The Campy hoods just fit better and the throw is just easier. Note that my Shimano exp stopped at 10speed and my Campy exp stopped at 11sp. I still have a bike with this which I just use for around town and commutes. It's not used for longer distances. The hoods are bulky and just don't feel as good as the Campy.

Not sure it's in the budget but switching to Sram AXS HRD has been awesome, despite the $$$ <blink blink>. I literally sat in a shop and compared Shim vs Sram just on hood and brake throw.

[Alistair]

SRAM rival AXS hydro is smaller than SRAM force and red. I think because the extra pad clearance adjuster in the two higher end groups. My wife seems happy enough with the Rival AXS on her gravel bike (coming from Ultegra Di2 cable brakes on her road bike).

[owly]

Originally Posted by Veloo

...Specifically for brifters (most likely mech...

Microshift: https://kidsracing.co.uk/collections...on-short-reach

[Veloo]

And onto the topic of crank arm length.

Anyone swap between 170 and 165?
Did you feel much of a difference?
Like, dislike?

I'm wondering for someone who is about 5 ft tall but I don't have leg length.

[Mark McM]

I'm 169cm tall, and I've got road bikes with 165mm and 170mm cranks, and my MTB has 172.5mm cranks. Previously I had 170mm on road bikes and 175mm on my MTB.

The differences in overall geometry and fit, plus riding environments, means that the MTB also feel different from the road bikes, so I don't know that I can easily separate how much of the difference in feel is down to the crank length.

On the road bikes, I notice only a small difference. If I were to try to characterize it, the 170mm cranks feel like they have a little more leverage when grinding up steep hills at low rpm, while on flatter roads/higher speeds the 165mm cranks feel like it is easier to bend lower and attain a lower profile. When cruising on moderate terrain, I feel little difference between the 165mm and 170mm cranks.

I would think that a 5' (152cm) rider tend to prefer 165mm cranks over 170mm, but it really comes down to personal preference, which itself often depends on what a person has become accustomed to.

[PurpleBikeChick]

5ft 1&1/2 inches tall

Having short (femurs) legs made it hard/impossible to find any bike meeting my requirements without a cut seat post.

650B wheels- important no longer feel too "high" on a bike.
165 cranks - feel great, but I don't know if this would feel different if 170 as my other bike is very different.

[Jere]

Hi
Yes shorter cranks do you make a difference !
On somebody that’s 5 foot tall or less.
Set up a world, national , state champion.
She is a world-class athlete, but shorter cranks made her power position and comfort right for her.


https://www.bikesmithdesign.com/Short_Cranks/

https://www.bigandtallbike.com/Andel...bcd_p_373.html

[weiwentg]

Originally Posted by PurpleBikeChick

5ft 1&1/2 inches tall

Having short (femurs) legs made it hard/impossible to find any bike meeting my requirements without a cut seat post.

650B wheels- important no longer feel too "high" on a bike.
165 cranks - feel great, but I don't know if this would feel different if 170 as my other bike is very different.

I'm 5' 5", so I don't have direct experience. But I have a notion that at around 5', most riders may be a lot better off on 650Bs. The issue is that I don't know how many bike companies make 650B wheeled bikes in general.

For gravel bikes, though, a lot of times you put on bigger rubber for 650B mode, so I don't know if the overall circumference is a lot different than in 700c mode. Can I ask what tire you run with 650B?