The View from 58-inches High

I have always been incredibly short. This may seem obvious but some people start out fine and just stop growing early. Not me, I always looked like I was two years younger than everybody my age. Still, I never wanted my height to limit me in any way. I worked to make sure I could do everything the other kids could do; sometimes even better. In fact, I’m pretty sure “no, I can do it” were among my first words.

The first limitation I ran into was in middle school when all the other girls stopped buying clothes from the kids department and started shopping in juniors. I just couldn’t make the clothes fit. This was around the time that alternative music was making it big so for a few years I got away with wearing oversized everything and not looking too strange. There were a few daunting years that followed while I was in college. Then, as if my prayers were answered, petite stores of the major brands started popping up everywhere. Even though it was a huge step in the right direction, I had to be a little disappointed that petite clothing was designed for women 5’3” and smaller. Really? The average height of women in the US is 5’4” and based on those same statistics 40% of the US population of women are 5’3″ or shorter. I suppose that we should all just aspire to be taller? Although my options are still limited, this is one battle I no longer have to contend with.

Then I started cycling. My first bike was a total cheap beginner road bike with women specific geometry. It was great for a first bike but I out grew it (* small chuckle at my short joke *) in one year. My second bike was the smallest women specific geometry bike that I could find in 700c wheels. At the time, I felt it was very important that I have the same wheels as everybody else. No limitations, right? It was a great bike for the first year or so but then I started to notice limitation with my fit. There were whole muscle groups that were never engaged when I was riding and my handlebars were much higher compared to my seat than everybody else. I felt like I did trying to fit into the latest fashions that just didn’t fit. In September, my bike frame was crashed hard and I needed to get a new bike. I was excited about the opportunity to upgrade. It never occurred to me that selections would be limited. After all, 40% of women are 5’3” or less.

It’s difficult to explain how frustrating this time was for me without recounting every step I took in my bike search. If you find this lengthy reading frustrating then you understand a fraction of what I felt. Early on, I had my eye on one bike. I really hadn’t lined up a plan B because I remembered riding an XS Madone 3 years earlier and assumed that would be my plan B. My first mistake was not taking the measurements of my old bike before I got rid of it. We based everything off of the measurements listed on the website… which were completely wrong. My plan A bike didn’t fit at all. Second, the Madone isn’t even made in an XS frame anymore. This theme carried over to almost every manufacturer I looked at. I started to realize that the XS frames weren’t made for racing because the geometry just didn’t work. I would *have* to go to 650c wheels to get the geometry I wanted. This realization was hard enough. I hated the idea of being different but research told me that it was the only way to go. Most information pointed to 5’2” being the point at which one should consider 650c wheels and I’m 4” shorter than that.

So my search for a 650c race bike started. I first checked out the tri stores because the rumor was that they love 650 wheels. I found a Felt frame that looked perfect. It looked like everything was going to work out. However, even though the frame was listed in the catalog, they hadn’t actually made any of them and didn’t have an expected date when they would. What!! Their closeout list indicated that every 650c frame from the previous year had sold so what’s the hold up? I started to panic.

A friend tipped me off that another bike shop in the area had 650c frames in stock in the store. These Orbea bikes were not race bikes but it turned out they could order a race frame no problem. Hope! The down side; Orbea also decided not to continue the 650c line. We would be ordering 2009 or 2010 frames! Still, it was the best option I’d found for getting a new bike. We started the fit process on the frame they had in house and early on in the process they tell me I need smaller cranks because the 165 cranks are too long. 165mm is the smallest size that any of the major crankset manufacturers offer so I was looking at replacing the 165mm crank arms with BMX crank arms. I have an inseam of just over 27in and according to most sites; this means I should be using either 150mm or 155mm cranks. I really struggled with the idea of modifying my setup, though changing crank arms seemed innocuous enough, I did have a little “brand name” breakdown. That was until I found out the largest gear I could use with it was a 52-tooth chainring. With the smaller wheels, this would seriously reduce my low-gear rollout; from 101cm/rev to 92cm/rev to be exact. Even though I knew I didn’t use the 53/11 combo often, I had needed it at times and the thought of giving it up was extremely upsetting. I started researching and every table I found regarding crank arm length indicated that 30″ inseam was the starting point for 165mm crank arms.

At this point I had a serious breakdown about my height unlike anything since buying clothing in high school. I found myself rehashing the same arguments that I had for clothing lines. How can companies ignore such a large part of the population? I wonder if other shorties out there are as frustrated as I am. I’ve heard arguments that shorter crank arms haven’t caught on because “size matters” or because there aren’t enough women in cycling to make it worth it. I think both of these arguments are insane. While I’m very upset about having to compromise, I’m equally as thrilled that there are still people who know the shorties need some attention. Maybe there will be a huge shift in the industry in the next few years as people realize their bikes don’t fit. I can only hope.