Surly 42 is basically anyone elses’ 52 with a few degrees more slack HTA and even less degrees steeper STA
Well she was approximately 75% legs. If I recall correctly, women tend to have longer legs for their height than men, and hence tend to ride a larger bike than a man of an equivalent height. On average of course.
Also I was referring to seat tube if that makes a difference. I’m no geo expert but it was definitely a 52 and she had no problem riding it
Anyway I don’t want to shit up Marley’s thread for a bike that I don’t have any more anyway 
I’ll believe you, just this once.
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Most get down to about a 370mm reach and then just keep steepening the STA and slacking the HTA to make a shorter top tube which leads to screwy handling. To make legitimately smaller bikes, wheels need to be smaller than 700c. Canyon, Jamis, and Norco make a few bikes that get smaller in their smallest size by using 650b wheels. Of course, anything’s possible with custom.
My wife (also 5’2") has had bikes built by IF and Tony Pereira in order to get something small enough. Talking with @Eric_Estlund, it’s clear he knows how to design a small bike. A couple years ago when Ben Serotta was setting up his “fit studio” he was at either NAHBS or New England Builder Ball and had a road bike built around 26"(?) wheels and his booth was surrounded by this gaggle of short women ranging from 25 to 60 years old. It was an amazing sight, particularly given the normal demographics at bike expos.
She’s talked to various other builders and walked away shaking her head over the combination of mansplaining and lack of experience building small bikes. If a builder is not putting photos of small bikes in their photo gallery, there’s probably a reason.
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I didn’t read all the way back, so I’m not sure where this started, but I’d love to make more small bikes when I’m back at it. If you need a bike with less than a 53cm top tube, going custom from someone who has made them (well) is probably a safe bet. With common wheel sizes and CPSC import guidelines, small bikes from big shops have to get funky.
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do you have a waitlist for when you get back to it, or will you be starting wide open?
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Let’s chat - I’d love to support you! I don’t know what your timeline looks like, but I’ve got a bit of wiggle room in my calendar.
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I knew with the move I would be open ended, and worked my list down to zero. When I open, Ill be open.
If youd like to chat, lets give it a talk. If you have a deadline, lets figure that out so I can be very up front in advance if Im not going to be ready.
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I would say this doesn’t make any sense at all. If your legs are long, your torso is short, so a larger size bike is not gonna fit. I’m 5’10 and I ride a 54cm because most 56s are too long.
Women also don’t have longer legs on average. Many short women have long torsos and short legs. Just like men, there is no consistent ratio of torso to legs for women. They’re all across the map.
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ERIC IM GONNA NEED A FORK PLZ
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I make forks and knives, and my dad makes spoons.
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What if i have a long torso and long legs?
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Then you have a short neck
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