getting a bike size for Mrs FW

[ferrit worrier]

Good evening Ladies and Gentleman.

Mrs FW has decided that she would like to try a bit of cycling. in our shed we have a bike that our youngest Sarah bought while in Uni, Dadums rebuilt it and resprayed it and its languished in the shed now for a few years. so Mrs FW wanted to have a go.
Firstly she can ride a bike, but because of her arthritis finds it difficult to get on one, certainly our Sarah's old one.

Getting her foot over the cross bar is a no no the joint to t he seat tube is 22in off the floor the bike is an old Raleigh. 700 28 tyres so I'm thinking along the lines of 24in wheels and a smaller frame. Sarah is 6ft but Mrs FW a mere 5ft 5in.

Any ideas guys.

PS she has stated that if all goes well she will NOT be doing E2E

[thirdcrank]

If you think that bike would be OK if mounting was not a problem, how about some sort of step up? Even just standing on a kerb with the bike in the gutter knocks around six inches off the height to be stepped over.

[ferrit worrier]

If you think that bike would be OK if mounting was not a problem, how about some sort of step up? Even just standing on a kerb with the bike in the gutter knocks around six inches off the height to be stepped over.

Hi TC We had thought of that but, if she has to dismount away from home she'd have a lot of dificulty getting of the bike. The hight of the lug needs to be about 4in lower.

Cheers Malc

[thirdcrank]

My concern would be that you might shell out for another bike small enough for a reasonably easy mount and then discover that Mrs FW had pain or discomfort whatever the bike.

[Cyril Haearn]

A small bike with long seat-tube and stem might be good

I once saw a bike with a stepover height of zero
The front and back wheels were in the usual places and were joined by a thick tube describing an elongated U
Heavy and expensive maybe but practical

Have seen some bikes where the BB is the stepover height, maybe 14"

No E2E? Maybe you could interest her in JoGLE instead

[ferrit worrier]

My concern would be that you might shell out for another bike small enough for a reasonably easy mount and then discover that Mrs FW had pain or discomfort whatever the bike.

Thats a good point , we're thinking along the lines of something cheap to prove the ability then upgrade the bits n bobs. She wont be doing any serious miles, the road we live on is basicaly a circuit about 1/3 mile. If she can get once round it'll good. Then hopfullly we can build on that.
Thanks TC

Malc

[RJS]

Secondhand Bike Friday ? But they're not cheap
Cheers. Rob.

[Brucey]

frames like this are a bit weird to look at but offer the lowest step through possible.

cheers

[Cunobelin]

If you think that bike would be OK if mounting was not a problem, how about some sort of step up? Even just standing on a kerb with the bike in the gutter knocks around six inches off the height to be stepped over.

With my hip I had the issue of mounting, and this solution works ... some of the time.

It is not always easy to find a correct size mounting / dismounting "block" at the right point on the road.

My answer was the recumbents, but that is not to everyone's taste.

The other option is a low step frame.

Some are achieved with a lower double tube:



Some replace the second tube with a reinforcement near the bottom bracket:


Others do away with the conventional frame and simpl have a very low step through design (As in Brucey's post):



Obviously there are differences in frame strength, but from teh OP, I don't think the type of riding will be such that it pushes any of teh designs to the limit. It will also be whether the owner is happy with a less traditional frame

(Note: these are just random images to illustrate the frame design, I am not recommending any of the actual makes or models used)

[Xilter]

Have you tried tipping the bike over so the step through isn’t as high.. at least for now while you want to try it before committing to a more permanent solution.

I do it all the time after a long ride and my legs are beat and I can’t be bothered to step over it.

[RickH]

If you wanted it to be a shared experience, you could try a Circe Helios tandem! That's got a pretty low rear step over (~11" rear seat tube IIRC) plus you can stand up on the pedals as long as the pilot has a firm grip

Mine's not being used much now I'm mostly piloting the Cannondale that used to belong to R2. You're welcome to have a try out on mine as I don't think you are too far away.

[ferrit worrier]

Have you tried tipping the bike over so the step through isn’t as high.. at least for now while you want to try it before committing to a more permanent solution.

I do it all the time after a long ride and my legs are beat and I can’t be bothered to step over it.

tried the tilting over even to the extent of putting the chain ring on the down side to gain a slight advantage . No joy unfortunatly.

[Xilter]

Have you tried tipping the bike over so the step through isn’t as high.. at least for now while you want to try it before committing to a more permanent solution.

I do it all the time after a long ride and my legs are beat and I can’t be bothered to step over it.

tried the tilting over even to the extent of putting the chain ring on the down side to gain a slight advantage . No joy unfortunatly.

N/m was worth a try

[slowster]

Would a Brompton be low enough? I appreciate that they are costly bikes, but if you think it might be a good solution maybe you could borrow or hire one (https://www.bromptonbikehire.com/) to try.

A side benefit is that although the handling might not be as good as a non-folding bike with large wheels, the ability to fold the bike and take it on public transport or in a car might make it possible for your wife not only to get to different places where the roads/scenery are nicest which might otherwise be too far from home, but also to ride for as long or short a distance as she feels like, knowing that she can cut short the ride if she needs and get on a train or bus to get home.

[hoogerbooger]

I had also thought Brompton ..... I've just measured mine and it looks like this may still be too high a step over . It's 20" at lowest point at seat tube joint, but nearly 22" at highest point on top tube.

(My missus has had the same problem after being splatted and rearranged by a car. Shes has now progressed to a bit over 22" step over being comfortable !, so I'm throwing together a 700c mixte bike on a old road 19" mixte frame - it will be 22" step over at the lowest lug end of the top tubes.

( My missus advises against a tandem. She's got rather used to staying out of earshot and shudders at the thought of relinquishing her liberty )

I think you need to consider what's on the market for step through bikes. (Can't just change the wheel size on the bike you show to 24" due to brakes boss locations + will have problems with pedal clearance to ground)

Good luck