A QUESTION FOR SHORTER RIDERS.

[jsalas2]

A question for you riders with short inseams. What bikes work for you. I am 5'4" with a 28in inseam. My current bike is a 2018 Commencal MetaPower which has a 27.34in standover height, which is perfect for me. The new Commencal's are all around 30in or more standover. So they are now off my list. What are you riding that works for you. Please post standover height if known. Thank you.

 

[ddbros]

I have the same inseam (and 5' 4") I ride a small Trek Rail 9.7. It's definitely the biggest bike I own, but its totally doable. The Standover is listed at 29.6" but I'm still able to manage it. I wanted a 27.5 wheel bike but they're pretty almost nonexistent (except some mullet setups).

I did find some smaller bikes but I'd have to order them online (I live in Minnesota) without a test ride or local support and decided that wasn't the way I wanted to go. I was ultimately won over by the bike's features (travel and Bosch setup). After I did a test ride, I was sold. I now have 1,000 offroad miles and I'm very comfortable with the standover.

It's going to be hard to find a bike with 29" wheels and decent fork travel that will fit our standover needs. Do some test rides of smalls and you might be surprised what you can handle. Good luck.

 

[Zimmerframe]

There is a thread, but it's not really padded out much yet :

List of odd sized embts?

Has someone made a list of odd sized Emtb's? For example very tall riders or very short, suitable for heavy riders etc i.e. all the stuff that fall out of the average industry sizes or manufactures like trek/specialized who cater to wider markets in general? for example; Powerfly FS 4 500 - Max...

www.emtbforums.com

There's quite a few suggestions and feedback in here too :

The Womens EMTB Thread - come on in ladies!

Bikes are taking off globally with more women getting into MTB riding, now EMTBs are more populare than ever amongst women. I thought its time we tried to get some more ladies in here with me.. I'm sure there's plenty watching along side the few ladies that are also posting. We can also...

www.emtbforums.com

 

[St4nley]

Agree with @ddbros that you would be surprised at what you can handle.
My wife is 5,4 and rides a small Rail 7 with no issues at all, but what we did was put a 130mm dropper on the bike in place of the 100mm so that when she comes to stop her feet are on the ground. We find stand over is quite irrelevant nowadays.
For a small lady she never thought she could ever ride a 29er but she is totally sold on the wheel size now.
Good luck with your search.

 

[Man of Finland]

I am also 5,4 and ride a M sized Rail 7. I`m very happy with the bike. Stand over is a ”close call” but I am fine with it.

 

[Mistakencatlawyer]

My wife is 4'10" and rides a small yamaha ydx moro. Just do what motorcycle riders do, lean the bike over to one side and there you go, your foot is down.

 

[RebornRider]

Yet another 5' 4" with 28" inseam. I worried about the standover of my small Turbo Levo (29.9" - ouch?), but I do the motorcycle lean mentioned above at traffic signals. My bigger worry was how far my feet were from the ground with the dropper all the way down. Could I 'ghost ride' the bike if I had to bail off the back?

After a year and a half of regular riding, the bike still feels big (29er), but the size hasn't caused any problems.

 

[Tonytank]

Im same 5'4" i really dont worry about standover height, i have a vitus e sommet in small and a whyte e150rs in medium. Both are fine for me.

 

[alan_sh]

Try a Small Decathlon Rockrider (EST-520 or 900).