Peter Jon White wrote:
>
> I'd be wary of buying a frame sight unseen. Over the years I've had
> far too many customers bring in a frame they just bought, all happy
> and excited because it's a "frame they've always wanted" or "it was
> such a great deal", etc. And then on close inspection I find that the
> bike was crashed and the fork is bent or the head tube is more
> vertical than it should be since the top and down tubes are bent right
> behind the head tube from running into something. Some people sell a
> bike because they can't get rid of a mysterious creaking sound. They
> sell it piecemeal and the frame buyer then discovers the crack at the
> BB shell that was causing the sound.
>
> Be careful.
Adding to this thought, I would also say that the poster is looking for
a 48-50cm frame, apparently for a small woman. They also want to put
fenders on it. This brings up the issue of wheel size and toe overlap,
etc. A frame of that size would probably have to have wheels smaller
than 700c, especially if fenders were wanted.
Aside from this issue, I personally feel that a smallish woman really
should test ride a bike before buying it. Most stock bikes are made to
men's proportions (even the small ones) and many of them have geometry
that makes women feel poorly balanced. Reach/balance problems are an
ongoing issue for many (not all) women who buy stock bikes. It's a very
common problem for women riders.
I believe that it's not the best scenario for a man to buy a stock frame
for a woman without the women test riding it. Even if she has limited
riding experience, if she rides ten various bikes on test rides, she
will still get a feeling for which ones feel good to her body and which
don't. There will be some that are the "right size" frame for her
height but are uncomfortable because their geometry is poorly suited to
her body proportions, and in some cases no amount of fitting/tweaking
will ever make them comfortable for her. Elbow pain, numb hands, aching
shoulders, etc. can eventually make someone just not want to ride bike
anymore. But once one finds a bike that has the geometry that fits
them beautifully, they can then use those same frame geometry numbers
when shopping for other bikes in the future.
Even though I can truly appreciate the thoughtful sentiment of building
a bike for your partner/girlfriend/wife, when it comes to women riders I
think it's especially important to test ride a stock bike before
buying. It becomes even more critical if she is petite.
Just my own two cent opinion. :)
Lisa
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