Best women's bikepacking bike?

[BrianP]

I am guessing a small Salsa Fargo would be on the short list for a women around 5'6. What other bikes should be on the short list. Is there an equivalent to the Fargo in 26er designed for Alfine/Rohloff?

Brian

[BrianP]

Looks like a small Surly Troll with drop bars might do the trick

http://nccyclery.wordpress.com/category/surly-troll/

Brian

[jhl99]

Does the recipient want drop bars or flat bars?  Racks or not racks? 
1)  Bikes are designed for drops or flats, putting the other type of bar on makes the stem length awkward to get the same reach.... I mention this because the link above shows drops while Surly shows flats.  Not sure what the Troll is designed for.  Not saying you can't mix bar types, but if you check the geometry, you might not want to.
2)  Troll accommodates racks
3)  I thought Salsa had a 26er with Alternator dropouts (to allow single speed or single speed conversion for limp home mode)  That is a nice option, but I don't see a normal 26er ATB in the current Salsa lineup. Looks like Troll has sliders.
4)  If you want flats and are going to use seat/frame bags and no racks, you can probably make any bike work, without much difficulty.

[kato]

My wife is 5'4" and built herself up a small Fargo Ti with a Jones H-Bar.  The shorter top tube of the Fargo, designed with drop bars in mind, works well for her with the H-bar and a 90mm stem.  She was worried about the stand over height prior to getting it but it has been a non-issue.  By comparison I'm 5'7", my small Fargo has drop bars and I use a 70mm stem.  She rides the bike everywhere, fast.  Singletrack to bikepacking, she loves the ride and fit.  She also much prefers the 29er wheel size over her previous 26ers.

[BrianP]

Thanks kato so much for your interesting and very helpful reply. I have a large Fargo and love the fit. The short top tube and high front end are very comfortable for me. Since women's frames also have short top tubes and the ladies I know prefer higher handlebars, I had been wondering if that would make the small Fargo ideal as a start point.

Your post confirms that, so that's great. Also that Jones Bars, or perhaps the On One Mary Bars that I like a lot on my Moonlander, can be used to shorten the reach successfully. It was only yesterday I was discussing that a small Fargo could be a terrific do everything bike for her. Had wondered if a 26 er would be a better start point for a smaller rider, so your point mentioning preference for the 29er over the 26er helps as well.

The Fargo is a slightly unusual shape, sort of tall in height and short in length, just what a lady might order. If you wanted a Rohloff would that have to be a small Thorn or are there any alternatives in 29ers.

Brian

[kato]

Brian,  I've not looked a whole lot into the Rohloff compatibility issues but I do believe the Surly Ogre and comparable Troll will take that system in 29er and 26er sizes respectively.  Both of those bikes are designed around flat bars if I'm not mistaken but I haven't poured over their geometry and sizing specs.
To get my wife's perspective on her Fargo have look at her blog entry.  It's mostly a short review of her Jones handlebar but does give some of her impressions of the bike fit and such on the Fargo.  You can also see what her body positioning on the bike is like.
http://faroutwanderings.blogspot.com/2013/05/jones-h-bar-review.html?m=1