Why Bike Shopping Is So Challenging For Short People
Why Bike Shopping Is So Challenging For Short People If you’re under 5’4” or so, you probably know the struggle of finding a bike that fits your body and your riding needs. There’s no way around it: the bike industry favors taller riders. The good news is that as the world of cycling becomes more inclusive, so does bike design. In this post we’ll break down why short riders are so underserved and what we do here at Sidesaddle to make sure everyone gets to pedal away on a bike that’s a fabulous fit in both form and function. Why It’s Hard Market Capitalism Simply scaling a bike up and down for riders of all heights doesn’t work for a few reasons. Resizing a frame without tweaking geometry and design elements introduces problems with strength and handling. Wheels are also an issue. Bike wheels only come in a few standard diameters, and a mismatch between wheel diameter and frame size becomes unworkable pretty quickly (more on this later). There are limits to how much you can change...