Earlier this year there was a small discussion about gravel bikes for women. Responders emphasized the main thing is fit, no matter if the bike is marketed specifically for women or not. I was contemplating one of the Specialized women's Diverge bikes or the Norco Search XR which doesn't have a women specific description. There were several challenges for me in choosing a bike. I am a woman on the small side being 5' 2.5" tall. I'm in my mid-60s and fairly fit for my age. For the last 20 years my main ride has been an Easy Racer Gold Rush long wheel base recumbent. I really, really love the recumbent, having used it for many years of club rides and touring. But I recently moved to a location in Arizona with lots of hills and lots of opportunities for off road mountain and gravel riding. So I thought I better get with the program and get a bike more suited for the area. When thinking about getting a good fit I wasn't quite sure how to go about it. I looked around at several bike shops and none had any kind of serious bike that was as small as I needed to go. So I couldn't really get the feel of frame size. And I was afraid I wouldn't know anyway what felt good after so many years of recumbent riding. My game plan turned out to be this. I chose to work with a local bike shop that gives excellent service, and they are Specialized and Norco dealers. I took careful measurements and determined that my size is 48. But which brand to choose? A friend in another state rides a Diverge and is very happy with it, but he's a guy and on the tall side. Then the discussion came up in this gravel forum and someone responded that his wife who sounds about my size was very happy with the Norco. I was also more interested in the Norco because that size comes with the slightly smaller 650b-42c tires which brings the overall size of the bike down just a bit. So I made the decision and purchased the Norco Search XR Carbon Ultegra, which luckily was available at the time. I've been riding this bike for 3 months now and have to say that it exceeds all my expectations and has calmed all my fears that either it wouldn't fit or I wouldn't like it. I love it! (Sorry, Gold Rush.) Here are the things that impress me. The bike is very light, around 17 pounds out of the box. The gear range is quite adequate which was one of the things I was worried about. My routes around town regularly include 8 to 12% grades and while I have to work at it this bike handles those grades just fine. The bike just wants to go and is so easy to pedal. It almost feels like it has built in forward momentum. It came with WTB Resolute tires. These tires are astounding. I can do a completely paved road ride with ease, or a gravel ride or a combination of the two and the tires handle all surfaces just fine. After riding on skinny 100 psi tires for years it still plays with my mind that such a wide tire with 25 psi pressure rides as good or better on the road. This size bike is supplied with 170mm cranks, which I was pleased with because that's what I have been used to. But was afraid there might be some toe overlap. Again, my fears on this are dissipated because there haven't been any problems in this regard either. I did change the seat out to a Terry X Elite Liberator saddle which I find comfortable, although that is individual preference. Finally, although I don't have the technical knowledge to fully appreciate this, it is nice to know that the Ultegra components are solid and I expect good performance out of them for many years. There is only one thing that is a negative for me and that is the reach to the brake levers and shifters. They are adjusted to the shortest distance possible but with my small hands it is still a stretch. But I'm getting used to it. So I thought I'd put this out there on the forum because there is not much information related to women and gravel bikes. There are so many differences in people, in strength, riding style, etc. But I truly believe that Norco has a very good design with this Search XR model and that it would be a good fit for many. Hope this helps someone.
Glad you found a bike which seems to be a good fit! Regarding the stretch to the brake hoods, has the shop looked at finding handlebars with less reach? A higher bar position will also shorten the effective reach, but it sounds like the issue is length of the bar. No?
Generally speaking, smaller sized bikes are shipped with bars that have less reach as well as shorter (165mm to 170mm) cranks. Gravel bikes also tend to get handlebars with less reach, but it would be worthwhile checking what's on the bike.
When I was looking for a gravel bike for my wife, who happens to be the same height, I used the Reach and Stack spec's of her favorite road bike to guide the selection. The Jamis Renegade was a near perfect match (almost identical reach & stack) so it was easy to setup the bike to match what we knew fit.
Congrats on the new bike and welcome to the forum! Greg
Greg- it’s not the handlebar width or stem length- it’s the reach when hands are on top of brake to squeeze brake.
Shirjohn- Thank you for sharing your experience. I am a 5’4” female and it is difficult to find gravel bikes for the smaller rider. Of note- 5’4” is the AVERAGE size for a female and many times I am fitting on an the bike companies smallest frame. This means, half the women are struggling to find a frame that can fit. For some reason, many companies now have a 48 cm frame and jump up to a 52 as a next bigger size. My road bikes are 50 cm frames. When comparing geometries, most gravel bikes have a longer reach and top tube than a road bike. I work at a bike shop and am constantly researching different bikes and frames. I know what you mean about brake reach. I believe Ultegra had a shorter reach brake hood. I actually have a pair of shorter reach brake hoods in my basement for a bike build.
I absolutely love gravel riding! Good luck to both of you on your bike adventures!
TheLabWhisperer wrote: it’s not the handlebar width or stem length- it’s the reach when hands are on top of brake to squeeze brake.
It sounds like the GRX shifters might be better for smaller hands. Once some arrive in your shop we'd love to hear your feedback.
What about reach from the drops? Campy shifters have (or had) little shims that would change the angle the hood clamps to the bar, moving the lever closer. But that wouldn't fix trying to brake from the hood unfortunately.
The handlebar width is perfect. I did change out the stem for one that is an inch shorter and this puts me in a comfortable riding position. Yes, it is the ability to reach the fingers forward to squeeze the brake that is a bit of a stretch. Thanks for the tip about the new GRX shifters. I'll check into that.
