My novice rider(200 miles, total) girlfriend is 5'0" and has tiny hands. Her fingers are too small and slender to operate a modern STI brake/shifter combo effectively, from the drops or hoods. Luckily, her size XS, 2008 Giant OCR3 has those secondary brake levers at the center of her bars. However, she is still afraid to use her Shimano Sora shifters, fearing she will lose control of the bike, as she still not comfortable with the spin cycle rider position(her seatpost is still at the LOWEST SETTING! What should I do? Should I suggest a flat bar and trigger shifter setup....or, should I just wait until she gains more riding confidence?
Shifters for tiny female hands?
Zachariah
1 - 20 of 25 Posts
Joined
·
629 Posts
My novice rider(200 miles, total) girlfriend is 5'0" and has tiny hands. Her fingers are too small and slender to operate a modern STI brake/shifter combo effectively, from the drops or hoods. Luckily, her size XS, 2008 Giant OCR3 has those secondary brake levers at the center of her bars. However, she is still afraid to use her Shimano Sora shifters, fearing she will lose control of the bike, as she still not comfortable with the spin cycle rider position(her seatpost is still at the LOWEST SETTING! What should I do? Should I suggest a flat bar and trigger shifter setup....or, should I just wait until she gains more riding confidence?
Joined
·
6,033 Posts
I have tiny hands too, so I found that I had to keep my hands resting on the hoods and shifted from the top until I was comfortable enough with the drops so that I could move my hands when I needed to shift. The first couple of times I rode my bike, I would go for practice rides up and down my street getting used to shifting before I took it out on the highway.
If she will never shift gears with brake shifters, seems to me the flat bar with trigger shifters is the obvious solution. When you think about it, many people ride around with a drop bar purely as a fashion accessory. The never use the drops, so they might as well be on flat bars. Keep the brake shifters just in case she wants to take another run at them after a few months of riding around.
Joined
·
629 Posts
Reach is already adjusted - but I'm thinking it can be made more. I switched her to a 60mm hi-rise stem - but she still feels she is not getting enough power/leverage to grab the "brifter" levers enough to stop in time. Should I point the hoods higher up more towards her....bottom of the lever aimed forward - like on my old Schwinn Varsity 10-speed?
If it's a braking issue only and you think you can bring in the levers some more, go ahead and try that. Since she feels that she can't get enough braking power, also consider that the brakes might be coming on too early for her, with the pads contacting the rim before she can get the lever close-in enough to curl her fingers around them. The cure for that is to back the pads away from the rim so there is some free play in the levers. That way, she can pull the levers closer in with very little resistance, then apply the brakes with her fingers curled around the levers.
Unfortunately, those secondary levers often make it difficult to adjust the brake shifters for small hands. They can add mushiness, sometimes forcing you to adjust the pads much too close to the rim for the free-play-for-small-hands trick to work.
Joined
·
148 Posts
I spoke with the people at Microshift when I was at interbike this year and they have a womens spicific brifters set. You can probably find it on their website. I had to ask when since my wife is in the same boat. Started with a 48 and Sora and both were too big. Moved to a 45cm with 2300 and it works better. It has the downshift at the thumb like Campagnolo. She likes it better.
Joined
·
2,021 Posts
Try some 5700-series 105 levers. I'm not sure how far it's trickled-down yet, but at least the 7900, 6700 and 5700 series levers were designed with smaller hands in mind. Not only are they reach-adjustable, but all the dimensions are smaller. So much so, that my mitts don't fit them any more. My fingertips don't even fit on the shift paddle.
I tried 5700s to get get the shift cables out of the way of the headlights on my main commuting bike. I just couldn't get comfortable with them because they're too small. I reverted to my time-tested 5600s and deal with the shadows instead.
Not surprisingly, I have a set of 5703s (the triple version) available, in silver. Only 1500 miles on them. One scratch on the right lever.
But if it's only braking that's a problem, try Wim's idea first.
I tried 5700s to get get the shift cables out of the way of the headlights on my main commuting bike. I just couldn't get comfortable with them because they're too small. I reverted to my time-tested 5600s and deal with the shadows instead.
Not surprisingly, I have a set of 5703s (the triple version) available, in silver. Only 1500 miles on them. One scratch on the right lever.
But if it's only braking that's a problem, try Wim's idea first.
Joined
·
16,359 Posts
good to hear!:thumbsup:
and for the OP...as long as it's 'in budget', you could always try Di2. w/ the right bars, the brake levers (as w/ normal shimano) can be really close to the bars, and the shifters don't require more than 1-2mm of movement.
Shimano Sora shifters have available 2 different shims to adjust the reach of the brake lever. If you don't already have them, your local bike shop can get them for you.
See the tech doc HERE. Refer to ST-3400 Reach Adjustment.
Specialized used to market a similar shim that adhered in the same location with an adhesive backing. You could try a Specialized dealer.
See the tech doc HERE. Refer to ST-3400 Reach Adjustment.
Specialized used to market a similar shim that adhered in the same location with an adhesive backing. You could try a Specialized dealer.
Joined
·
393 Posts
Go with Sram if the budget is there. the shift levers can be "pulled" towards the bars and then shifted so they make it easier for smaller hands. The newer Sram stuff has adjustable reach built in too. Here's a video of Sram Red, but all levers operate on the same pivot so it can be pulled towards tbe bar prior to a shift.
SRAM Red Double Tap shifters at twohubs.com - YouTube
Edit to add: Skip to 1:28 for the adjustment/visual demo of the lever moving.
SRAM Red Double Tap shifters at twohubs.com - YouTube
Edit to add: Skip to 1:28 for the adjustment/visual demo of the lever moving.
1 - 20 of 25 Posts
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
