Short rider... is a custom bike my best option?

[Dift]

I am 5 3" on a good day, have short arms, have little 'mass' and I am the wrong side of 30.

After a ride last Sunday I find I now put a lot of strain now on my lower back, having reduced the wheelbase and handle bar height as much as I can to try to fit my Onza Zoot better - it probably doesn't help the Zoot has a high BB too.I am really enjoying getting out and riding my Onza Zoot, however I find I am now quite stretched out over the bike.

Is the best option for me going to involve a custom frame? I see riders leaning back on their bikes to bring the front wheel up with relative ease, I do not see this ever being possible on my current frame with my physical dimensions.

A custom Marino frame could be tailored for my needs (short wheelbase, lower bottom bracket), but is the trade off going to be a slightly heavier bike? Im not sure on the weight of a small Marino V an Onza Zoot frame. My Zoot has inspired forks and rims etc, so the parts I can transfer over to the Marino are half decent; will a custom smaller frame make a big difference I am hoping for?  Is there anything else I can try?

I would like to stay with a 24" bike, purely because I have all the parts ready to transfer over from my current bike.

Any help/advice/comments is much appreciated,

 

 

[ooo]

I think people are probably going to ask for a picture of your setup, to see bar angle stem etc.. 

Also I think high bars make pulling up much easier, high and short is pretty common for street riders.

High bbs make looping out easier too.

I would say lower back pain is almost always due to not using glutes and legs enough or not tensing abs enough and not really to do with geo, as plenty of people ride really really long bikes. You need to squat your bike up not lean it up. But that is just my opinion, and the right geo certainly does help ease pains.

[Dift]

Thanks for the reply...

 

Here is the current setup:

[ooo]

You could look at getting a 50mm or even 40mm mtb stem like they use on dirt jump/street bikes, you could probably pick one up cheap on ebay to try. The steering would still feel okay with 50mm and it would be easier to spin. But I reckon you can shorten the setup a decent amount doing that, and then maybe try running the bars a touch higher.

And just to state the obvious some of the 50mm stems only take smaller bmx diameter bars, so double check.

[Dift]

I have a 40mm stem on an old hardtail mtb, so I'll swap that over at the weekend and give it a go

Thanks 

[aener]

I know I'm biased, but have you considered an Alias? (If the dinky-stem option doesn't work, that is.)

They're basically a 20" take on an Arcade-style riding bike. I'm 5'9" but have a definite preference for smaller bikes.
People my height happily ride all sorts of 24"s and 26"s, but I just can't get on with them.

I use it with a 165mm stem and Trialtech risers with the rise perpendicular to the floor, so I'd imagine if you used a 150mm stem and had the bars at a similar angle to in your picture it'd fit you pretty well.
Jitsie even make 135mm x 35°, or even 120mm x 35° stems if the 150° is still too big.
I know changing bikes is an expensive game (not to mention hassle!) but I think you're the exact kind of person the Alias is aimed at - the smaller rider, or those with a preference for a smaller bike.

I'm riding near-ish to you on Sunday if you'd like to come along and try mine? It's got no brakes on, but you could at least get an idea if it fits you or not for your future reference.
A guy who I'm pretty sure has an old 150mm stem is coming, so we could even chuck that on if you wanted a proper try.

Unless you're attached to the "image" of the 24" bikes that is - in which case disregard all the above

[isitafox]

Personally I'd say that there's a chance you are too small, I'd take Flipps advice and look at an Alias. 

[cwtrials]

There are some really short riders around.  There is a guy maybe just an inch taller than you building up the same frame in USA who is a pretty good rider.

Is this your first bike?  How long have you been riding?  I'd give it a go for a bit of time before giving up.  (Not wanting to insult you if you're more experienced than I am interpreting from your post)  Some riders expect the front end to come up super easy, but aren't giving it a full range of motion or enough force.  As a shorter rider it's going to look different for you than a taller rider or someone with stupid long arms.

Any local riders who's bikes you can try a bit?

[ooo]

This video is good at explaining stuff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdHBldOr3pE

 

[Ross McArthur]

Marc Caisso is not much taller than a smurf and is a total weapon on a 26 comp bike. Jus say'n.

[Dift]

I've a long background in bikes, however I haven't ridden for ~15 years. 15 years ago I could do a lot of trials on my 12.5" GT hardtail. 

Ive had this bike for about 2 months and find it hard to bring the front of the bike up for manuals and jumping up obstacles. Static work is fine as long as it doesn't require 'explosive' effort/energy or twisting. 15 years ago I would preload the front suspension of the bike to help bring lift the front when moving; having a rigid fork removes this option. 

I'd rather stick with a 24" bike with a seat if possible, although the best option might be an Alias, although I would have to try one before I took the plunge. I have an old 90s monty which is easier to maneuver despite being quite long.

I do find the idea of spec'ing a Marino to very small dimensions somewhat appealing. 

[Luke Rainbird]

Try and hook up with Flipp on Sunday for a ride. 

Once you're done, have a go on the Alias and see if you feel more comfortable. If nothing else, it'll help narrow down some rough body geometry/dimensions from which to base any potential custom build down the line

[AndyT]

Have you heard of Danny macaskill? Check him out on YouTube, is 4 foot 8 inches so a bit smaller than you and rides the Skye pretty well (let's face it he did better on his echo 26" bitd), you should get one of them.

[weebryan]

I have the same problem I'm 5"4 and have tried mods, stocks, 24

im currently riding a echo pure24 mk1 shorter wb and a Marino 24 archive 

i liked mods for weight and size but hated how small the wheels are and 26 back in the day were way shorter then current ones so opted for 24  

I defo prefer short wheelbase you just have to play with bar/stem combo to suit I have short legs and long arms so makes it a tad harder to set up 

Edited November 3, 2016 by weebryan

[LEON]

A Marino Archive will be a lot shorter than your Zoot, I had an older one and it was actually a bit too small for me. You can tell just by looking at the Zoot it's got a really long top tube.