Frameset for the taller lady

[tabmaster]

Hello all,
Mrs Tabmaster is currently riding a Guerciotti branded deda frame which she does not get on with, as the reach is just a bit too long. I appreciate that this could be adjusted with a shorter stem but I feel that this would quicken the steering on already quick handling frame (74 degree head angle) to a point where it would be too twitchy for her. Saddle top to bb centre is 760mm.
Can anyone chime in with a recommendation for a seperately available road frameset with a shorter than average top tube & longer than average head tube? Stable handling is preferable to twitchy. The Cannondale supersix women's frame looks ideal but I don't think it's available as a frame only. Other than that, we are looking at an Enigma Elite HSS but with custom geometry.

Thanks in advance,


Paul.

[CamW]

Any chance of the specific model and geometry? Would make naming alternatives a bunch easier.

[tabmaster]

Ooh, sorry - yes it's a deda Scuro SC. size medium. Here, a previous thread: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=123261

[CamW]

Assuming the Deda has a stack and reach of 544mm and 384mm then the following frames will give a bit less reach with similar stack.

Cannondale Synapse Sz 51
BMC GF Sz 51
Parlee Altum Sz S
Scott Solace Sz 52
Trek Silque Womens Sz 50 (or Madone Sz 50)

That was some from the bigger manufactures with a quick google. Generally with the stack to reach ratio you are after you'll need to be looking at manufacturers "endurance" offerings.

[tabmaster]

Thank you. Those are good suggestions, but do they do any sizes larger than those?

[cyclenutnz]

Could you take some measurements of her setup:
Saddle height
Saddle setback
Reach to bars (saddle tip to centre of bar)
Drop to bars (saddle top to bar top)
Bar width
If you're familiar with handlebar XY those numbers would be even better.

My wifes SH is a little over 760, but she has a long torso so a Cervelo R3 54 fits. Though her long femurs still make reach a little bit of a problem

[wingguy]

Thank you. Those are good suggestions, but do they do any sizes larger than those?

Of course they do, but why do you need a larger size? You said you wanted the bike to be shorter, not taller.

I think if you need more help you will need to be more precise with your requirements

[tabmaster]

Could you take some measurements of her setup:
Saddle height
Saddle setback
Reach to bars (saddle tip to centre of bar)
Drop to bars (saddle top to bar top)
Bar width
If you're familiar with handlebar XY those numbers would be even better.

My wifes SH is a little over 760, but she has a long torso so a Cervelo R3 54 fits. Though her long femurs still make reach a little bit of a problem

Mrs bike 'fits' or has been fudged to fit. She does have long femurs but a correspondingly short torso, My point is that most womens frames only come in a size that is good for a girl up to about 5'6" tall where as Mrs Tabamster is 5'10". The reach is the problem I guess.
Measurements:
SH 760mm
Setback 67mm
Reach 505mm
Drop 60 to 70mm, It was 46mm with the stem upsidedown but that looked awful.
Bar width 420mm

I did think long & hard about frame choice when we were looking for one & I'll admist I probably made a mistake.

[CamW]

I'm getting mixed messages here.

Cyclenutz is a bike measurement guru, if he can't help you there is no hope.

[mattr]

My missus is 175cm (5 foot 9) and just rides a normal frame with a 9cm stem (instead of the 12cm i use on an almost identically sized frame)

[mattr]

And are you sure its a 74 head angle?
Most of the deda frames of that type in size M are either 72 or 72.5 from what i can see.

[tabmaster]

And are you sure its a 74 head angle?
Most of the deda frames of that type in size M are either 72 or 72.5 from what i can see.

Oops, sorry. I rechecked the geometry sheet & it is indeed 72 degrees. I thought that'd be slow handling enough.

My missus is 175cm (5 foot 9) and just rides a normal frame with a 9cm stem (instead of the 12cm i use on an almost identically sized frame)

Does that not make the handling too quick? What frame does she ride, out of interest?

[mattr]

It's a Specialized Tarmac SL2. She's raced it all over the UK (with some success) and now Sweden (less success ) with no complaints.

TBH, have you actually tried just popping a shorter stem on there and see if she even notices? Looking at the build thread it looks like a 11-12cm, so you've got several cm to play with before you are going to get into twitchy handling.

[wingguy]

Does that not make the handling too quick? What frame does she ride, out of interest?

90mm is totally normal, you only need to worry about 120+ stems for handling if you descend at warp speed, IMO.

BTW, why are you only looking at womens frames? There's absolutely no good reason why she'd need one.

[cyclenutnz]

Mrs bike 'fits' or has been fudged to fit. She does have long femurs but a correspondingly short torso, My point is that most womens frames only come in a size that is good for a girl up to about 5'6" tall where as Mrs Tabamster is 5'10". The reach is the problem I guess.
.

If you only want to look at 'womens' frames (which are a con so I'd suggest not doing that) here are a couple of options

If you expand the search to any flavour

Could go for a 10mm longer stem if the Ergonova (77mm reach) bars are swapped for something like Profile DRiVE 105 (70mm reach)