The issue, of course, is that not only are women shorter on average, but women also typically have a shorter torso in proportion to their leg length. So most women need a shorter top tube for the some seat tube size than a man would. With a 700C front wheel, it is difficult to get the top tube short enough without toe clip overlap. And on really small frames it's hard to even make the wheel clear the downtube. Some framebuilders have used a really slack headtube angle to address this, but perhaps Terry thought this compromised handling. So she went to a smaller front wheel. As I believe someone mentioned, today modern 650 wheels front and rear would seem a better solution, but at the time Terry began building the frames in question, these were not widely available. She could have used 24" wheels ala junior road bikes of course, and this might have been fine for really small women, but probably seemed to great a compromised for women say 5' 2" to 5' 6". Also, she may have judged that some women would find it demeaning to have to ride a "child's frame".
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, TX
Don Wilson <dcwilson3@yahoo.com> wrote:
"If this is a troll it's in very bad taste but I'll
> bite."-- Phil Brown
I don't see why my question would render me a troll. I've never seen a road bike with a smaller front wheel than back wheel (except recumbents). I'm genuinely curious. Thanks for your explanation, Phil. Best,
>
> In a message dated 6/16/06 5:16:56 PM,
> dcwilson3@yahoo.com writes:
>
> >Someone knowledgeable of bicycle sizing's
> contribution
> >to riding dynamics explain to me what Georgena
> Terry
> >was trying to accomplish with what appears to be a
> >front rim smaller than the back rim.
>
> If this is a troll it's in very bad taste but I'll
> bite. The small front
> wheel is to allow a short top tube for smaller
> riders without pedal overlap.
> Phil Brown
> I do it differently in san rafale, Calif.
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