I wouldn't be afraid of 27.5 wheels as they do make sense for someone shorter like her and there are many tire options now in that rim size due to their popularity with gravel bikes. I think the biggest thing I don't like about that bike is the fork, 120 mm of heavy not well dampened travel isn't going to do her any good on the hills or bike paths that I think you mainly ride. I wish there were more options with rigid forks for bikes like these.
There is always the Tandem option as well and I'm actually serious on this. For the right pair of riders it's a fun way to ride together, neither of you will ever be left behind and one rider can take up the slack for the other if they are tired or just not in as great of shape. If you want to pound on the pedals you can, she'll be right there behind you. Communication is easy as she is just over your shoulder so having a conversation while riding isn't a problem. Other people also react to a tandem in a totally different way to other bikes, drivers that would normally honk and curse you off the road (hopefully not a problem where you are) are more likely to wave and smile, random people will want to talk to you and generally reactions are positive.
The downsides, some people just don't want to be on the back and give up control, there's no brakes or steering back there and that can be a deal breaker. It also tends to be a rougher ride on the back as they can't see things coming, a courteous captain will call out bumps or avoid them if at all possible. Tandems go up hills slowly and you can't really jump out of the saddle to pedal, however they make up for it on the way back down where they are ridiculously fast. If you fart while riding the stoker pays the price lol.
If this sounds like an option I would recommend trying to rent or borrow one so you can try it out for yourself and see if it works. Bikes online does have this option which doesn't look too bad other than the brakes. Used can be a good option too if something comes up.
https://www.bikesonline.com/polygon-impression-ax-tandem-bike-with-disc-brakes
In reply to adam525i (Forum Supporter) :
Tandem? That's not happening, no way. She's not a very experienced rider, and she wants control over her bike, not to mention she would HATE it. Also, I have the feeling she would try to dump me off at the first chance, you know, for "fun". 
Then, there's the problem of transporting a tandem to a path. That won't fit on a regular bike rack or even in the car. An interesting idea, but not for us.
This Polygon is the only bike I've seen that's actually available that's sized for her smaller frame. 120mm forks are not ideal, I know. I can always swap tires for something more pavement friendly, but I was hoping to get something turnkey that she can just ride easily out of the box.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
Sounds like you know her well enough to know it wouldn't work. If you ever get the chance on vacation or something you should give it a try though.
Giant/Liv tends to have well built bikes for the money for a brand that is sold in a local store with support. At here size she'll be limited to the Liv brand which is fine. The Alight Disc lineup looks pretty nice and it seems like Giant is stocked up so a local shop should be able to get them in within a week. MSRP on the 2 is $680 but I'd bet it would be a bit closer to $600 at the store.
https://www.liv-cycling.com/us/bikes-alight-disc-2021
At 5.0 she's sized for XS which you know is hard to find in the lower end bikes. She is close though to a size small so I wouldn't completely right those off provided you can get her on a bike for a test ride. It really depends on how her body is proportioned that will determine whether she goes up or down, a knowledgeable shop should be able to help with that and be willing to even if you aren't buying that day. If you can manage it I'd do some in person shopping during the week when the stores aren't as packed with spring shoppers and they will have more time to spend with you. I know it can be a bit intimidating walking into a bike shop but any worth spending money at will make it a good experience.
In reply to adam525i (Forum Supporter) :
Checked out the Liv Alight 3 DD Disc which is closest to our budget, but there aren't any shops remotely near me that have one. That would be a nice bike.
Having a suspension fork isn't the end of the world, but I wish I could find one with a lockout for her. I switch all the time while riding the aggro-crag roads here, but climbing is easier when locked.
Eh, I'll keep looking.
After looking around the area, and talking to the wife, we pulled the trigger on the Polygon. It's a 24-speed, so I'm sure she'll be able to find a ratio that will help her climb comfortably. I still love my Polygon bike, and they have a 14 day return policy, so if it doesn't work out, we can send it back. She's excited, and I'm excited to have a riding partner!
In reply to Tony Sestito :
my wife has a liv alight.. She loves it. Solid ride.
Trying to get a previously used tubeless tire seated on a new wheel and I think my tire is actually deformed? New wheel is arrow-straight, tire has about 5mm of side-wobble. Debeaded the tire, sprayed silicone lube into both beads and re-beaded with a pump-up to maximum pressure, wobble was flawlessly unchanged. Bead line to rim edge distance looks consistent all the way around.
I had also tried letting the air out and persuading the tire into position before the debead, but this rim has a freakish deathgrip on the beads, which I thought was a good thing...
Every time I've experienced that it was because the bead wasn't seated properly in one spot. It was also fairly obvious when looking at the bead to rim distance, so...not sure that's what you ve got.
Also, I know you probably already know this, but...
An easy way to check if it is actually on the bead is to set the bead and then let all the air back out. If the tire is actually snapped on the bead, it will stay there, If there's anywhere it falls into the tire, that wasn't set.
Tough-to-seat beads give you two gunshots, one for each bead, when you get enough pressure in them.
Bead lube (like dish soap) helps seat them (Not sure I'd be ok with silicone, but YMMV)
I've cranked stuff to stupid, 3 digit pressures to get them to pop on. High enough I was hiding behind something at the end. I don't recommend it, but it worked for me.
EDIT: one other thing..I had one that was just impossible to get the bead to seat. I lubed the beads, blew it up to 100PSI or so, and left it over night. It was seated the next day. I think the tire stretches from the pressure and gives you the last little bit. I also think it must have scared the mice badly when it popped in the wee hours.
Yeah I'm going to try rotating the tire on the rim and rebeading with above-maximum pressure, apparently about 30% over maximum is safe for non-riding use. I'm thinking that as little as 1mm of bead movement on each side might be enough to produce 5mm of wobble, so it might be that it's not beaded correctly and I just can't see it. I'm also running a homemade insert with valve standoff on this tire now but the wobble is far from the valve/join point.
So, after pulling the trigger on my wife's bike, we waited.
And waited.
And waited some more.
And it finally showed up a couple days ago!
When I bought my bike from Bikes Online, it got here about a week quicker, but I guess they were having issues with warehouse staffing due to COVID and issues with FedEx on top of that. Either way, I assembled it. It's an Extra Small, and my wife fits on it well. Only issue I had was that the front derailleur position was slightly tweaked from shipping, so I had to rotate it a little. That's understandable. It's a good looking bike, and the components are decent. It's on par with something like a Trek Marlin 6.
After it was set up and sorted, we took a little ride.
Aside from proper frame sizing, the biggest issue she had with her old Walmart Schwinn Sidewinder was climbing. The bike was so heavy and the shifters/gear ratios were so terrible that it became a chore to ride. So, we put the new bike to the test. There's a school up the road that's up a long, curvy, and hilly road. This was my testing grounds for my bike's climbing abilities, so we started up the hill. She used to get frustrated and toss the bike halfway up. This time, she made it all the way up easily without stopping. We even found a gravel path near the school, which ended up here:
This was a much steeper climb to the top, but we both made it. It was also a test for me, because I've only stuck to pavement since I got my bike. This thing ate up the gravel and loved it. The descent was fun, and my wife flew down the hill pretty quick. I went down a little slower since my tires aren't as off-road friendly as hers, but it did very well. Now I want to find more gravel trails!
listed for $150, offered $85, brought it home. Pretty good ride
When you see the firetower, you know you're at the top. They only build those at the highest local point LOL!
In reply to ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) :
Yup, right next to a water tower! Definitely the highest point in town. And I climbed it! 
So I got a good deal on a set of Alexrims QR wheels with a freehub in the rear and a 12-32t cassette from a local bike shop, it's pushing the rear derailleur close to its limits but it works. Climbing in the lowest gear feels a lot closer to wheelie-limited now. I've ordered an 8-speed shifter to get access to the last gear, and I'm going to try to jam in an 11-34t cassette, I've heard of people doing it and the Shimano TZ50 is apparently rated for it. I should have a pretty significant set of upgrades on the bike by the end of May.
As for the tires, haven't had any luck getting them to sit better, I think they really may be deformed, maybe from running them on not-perfectly-straight rims in the past? The bead lines really do look perfectly consistent...the wobble isn't noticeable while riding so I'm going to live with it for now. Next winter I may re-tape the rims with a narrower strip of tape and see if that makes any difference - although the tires will likely need to be replaced at that point.
barefootskater (Shaun) said:
Just finished a job and the guy pays, then asks, "You know anyone who wants a bike?" And points to a red bike hanging from hooks.
So I pulled it down and made sure my short legs will work. "How much do you want? I don't have any cash on me."
"You don't need any."
Free road bike! I'm very unfamiliar with brands, models and values, but it says Japanese made and it's got frame mounted shifting. Ten speed. 80s? Idk. Needs a good cleaning and tires, but that's easy. Now I can ride with my boy (who doesn't know he's getting a new bike for Christmas)
Stoked!
Well I finally got around to replacing the rubber. I've never seen tires as rotten as the ones I took off. They pretty much just crumbled to dust, aside from the belting. New tubes too. Took it up The road and back as the sky went dark and it seems like it'll be a good commuter. Still needs a deep cleaning and service. Possibly a new chain. And my physical therapist said cycling is ok. Progress...
I flipped a Bridgestone Kabuki 3-speed some years ago. It was well-made and rode nicely, if a bit heavy. On top of service, a decent saddle and new tape will go a long way to improving your comfort. What tires did you put on?
In reply to 02Pilot :
The finest I could find at Walmart. The box said "30% more tread life!" House brand tubes too.
Think I'm gonna figure the best gear for my mostly level commute and just leave it there. The shifters are a bit low and hard to fiddle while riding.
Went for a ride in Durham Forest trails yesterday, and that's when I learned that I don't like low-speed technical trail riding. I think the most fun I had was bombing down the fire roads that connected the trails. The trails themselves also gave me a good appreciation of what modern high-end MTBs are for - I barely made it through with all of the upgrades on mine, the dropper post and new extra-low bottom gear were both very necessary.
I used to fantasize that if I ever spent 4 digits on a bicycle, I might get a trail bike, but now I'm thinking I'd get an enduro bike.
Didn't take any pics, the trees have all dropped their leaves and it just looks like Blair Witch Project out there. Here's a helmet-cam screenshot:
In reply to GameboyRMH :
A modern trail bike is more than enough for anything in Ontario now and overkill for a lot of it. If your plans involve lots of time riding on the West coast or Quebec then the bigger bike will come in handy. It's all a compromise though, a big travel modern bike can make a lot of trails really boring as you just ride through them rather than having to pick lines and use technique.
Coming from the road side of things and not growing up on a bike (I rode a bike, but I wasn't the kid doing BMX or setting up jumps) I definitely prefer the faster flowier trails like we have around here (Hydrocut, Puslinch, Turkey Point, Woodstock Pines) with technical bits sprinkled in to challenge you. Spending an hour though picking your way over rocks/roots at slow speed just doesn't do it for me at this point. Fatbiking this winter was kind of fun though as the rocky trails at HAFTA became flowy trails as all the bumping stuff was buried under 10 cm of packed snow with only the big stuff still showing but the lines fairly obvious over them.
I'd been thinking about finding a new(used) full-suspension mtb frame. When I built my bike about a decade ago I got a combination of great deals on new parts from a friend who owned a bike shop at the time, used parts from eBay, and some older free stuff from a couple other friends.
I ended up with a new Mongoose frame off eBay(a dealer model, not department store...not that it matters) & it's been ok, but I'd like something a little shorter(22" TT would be perfect), so I've been browsing eBay again. Holy crap though - 20-year old used frames seem to be selling for $300-$400 now!
In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :
The used market is insane right now, thanks to a limited new bike stock.
I dusted off the enduro bike yesterday for a team ride in Frederick, MD. I was again reminded of how I did not set up this bike for climbing. So much fun on the descents, but I suffered on the climbs...
I have two custom frames being built by Marino in Peru. Hopefully I have find all the parts to build them up. One is going to be a rigid/100mm hardtail for XC/mixed terrain rides/bikepacking (27.5/27.5+, 66deg headangle, 480mm reach, 480mm seat tube, 425mm chainstay with sliding dropout). The other is going to be a coaster braked mtb (65deg headangle, 410mm chainstays, 26in wheels, 470mm reach 465mm seat tube). Hopefully I can find parts.
I've actually been out on trail the last two nights after work. Dry, sunny, and warm (90*F).
Great to be out again, but DAMN I'm out of shape. Gotta keep my wheels under me this time.
The last few times I've ridden to work (on the gravel bike) I got a puncture each time from all the glass and trash in the break-down lanes around town. I've plugged them and made it home all 4 times, but I've had to pull the tires, remove the plugs, and patch the holes to actually stop the leak. I've gotten really tired of this so I ordered the new, aramid-lined versions of the Panaracers I've been running - the Gravel King SK +. I really like the non-plus Gravel Kings except for the punctures. I'm hoping the aramid layer will give me enough puncture resistance to shrug off a few more hits.
In reply to 93EXCivic :
Parts are definitely tough to get right now. Parts availability is one of the reasons for the bike shortage at shops.
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
Yeah.
Fortunately I have a thing for weird parts and I seem to still be able to find those. Shimano and SRAM seem to be hardest hit and except for the coaster brake (and a couple parts I already have) I am not planning on using anything from them. Already have hubs, cranks, BB, chain rings, brakes, saddle for the rigid and dropper post lever, pedals, rear tire, coaster cooler, saddle, stem for the coaster braked one. I was able to find all the parts to build a gravel bike during all this so fingers crossed. Also not in a massive hurry so that helps.
