Looking for some advice on getting a bike for my girlfriend. I made a post earlier but looks like I was on the wrong track.

I want to get my girlfriend a mtb to do local xc and to start going to trail centres on. My budget is about £600. I’m not sure on what size, she’s 5″5.

First option would be to build a frame up. I’ve got a fair few parts kicking about. The main expense would be forks and cranks. Ive pretty much got everything else. So could get a 14″ inbred/scandal and build it up. Most of my spares are from a pitch, not sure how heavy the build would be due to this. Was also a bit worried the geo might be a bit long.

Second is to buy a complete. I’ve spent the evening looking, specialized’s myka seems overpriced for the kit compared to others. Cube access looks awesome, but the sl comes out at a grand which is way over budget. I also found this boardman:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_categoryId_165499_productId_746519_langId_-1?cm_mmc=Shopping-_-Google%20Product%20Search-_-Mens+%26+Womens+Bikes%2FMountain+Bikes-_-Boardman+Womens+Mountain+Bike+Small+2010&source=shopping&istCompanyId=b8708c57-7a02-4cf6-b2c0-dc36b54a327e&istItemId=wprwrwm&istBid=t#dtab

I dont know much about them.

So can anyone offer any advice? My girlfriend doesnt care what it’s like, I just dont want to put her off because the bike doesnt fit or weights a ton.

I got the Mrs a Cube Attention..
Spot on out of the box..
Got her the blokes version as she fitted a 16″ frame no dramas at all..
Also it was better specced ( disks as oppose to Vs) than the WSD..

The only drama with the Cube are the crappy forks.. They are coil sprung, and she being 8 stone piss wet through is struggling to get any decent amount of travel out of them.

Other than getting a Spesh womens saddle, and some decent flats, it’s great..

Dunno where in the world you are, but if yer anywhere near Cheshire, your mrs would be welcome to borrow it.

Merlin, kona and ghost all have decent ht’s for the kind of money you’ve got.

Second hand?

Clearly you get better value for money with building up second-hand. Mrs TJ at 5’5 has small on one and loves it. She also has a myka which is a very nicely put together bike and thats nice as well

I was looking for similar for my sister, but with a budget of £500 and the best spec for the money was the Proflex 269 in small from Pauls Cycles. Not well known but the spec was great compared to other bikes at that price point, I was also looking at Cube and Edinburgh Bike Co. Pauls also did a model up from that for about your budget which was even better spec. I’m changing the seatpost and stem to shorten the cockpit for her though. She’s 5’5″ and had good standover even though it’s a blokes bike. Not all ladies need a female specific build.

teeto – why don’t you just buy her the correct spring for her weight?

GW – Member
teeto – why don’t you just buy her the correct spring for her weight?

Not seen anywhere selling spares for the fork??

Or are all springs the same size??
😐

Was going to get my missus a cube ht but she then tried the full sus xms and fell in love with it- it has defo made her get more out of biking due to added comfort and confidence so will be worth the extra outlay in the long run I think.
She went for a 16 inch blokes frame with no problems – she’s 5ft 7in

teeto – No you need the appropriate spring for your specific fork (well.. there will may be some overlap between manufacturers models). What fork is it?

My girlfriend went for a Giant Talon 2.

If she is a beginer as my gf was, i think comfort & fit are mroe important than spec! that said, surely thats always the approach to take?

what im saying is, she is a beginer, dont get hung up on kit, make sure you get what she wants / likes, not you!

Another 5’5″ girlie here and WSD bikes are definitely not essential. As has been mentioned, the second-hand route would be better and definitely worth keeping an eye on the Classifieds. Prices are pretty low right now and I say this as someone who has recently sold a frame, forks etc.

I found my Soul to be perfect geometry wise, would also suggest Rock Lobster although my 15″ was a little too short in the top tube. I have a 14″ Inbred which is a little small but a 16″ is just too big for me.

Biggest difference I feel is a lightweight wheelset and forks. If the bike is too heavy then she may not want to ride it. Steel always makes a comfy ride too.

I built the wife a bike using a Dirty Jo Full Creme frame from ebay. Double butted, 14″, £80 brand new. With 100mm rebas and XT. She’s 5’4″.

Looks and rides better than anything I’ve got…

Are Halfords discounting at the moment? One of those Boardmans could be an easy/good value option if it fits.

I ended up buying a Decathlon bike for my gf, she loves it!
Frame is basic but 15″ fitted really well. Swapped tyres, bars, pedals, saddle and stem.
Components were cracking at the price, I’ve said I’ll buy her a nice frame if she rides enough this summer.
Fit and colour are definitely the main things, I wanted to get her a Kona (better frame) but it was the wrong colour and too long…

Tried loads of combinations for my 5’3″ GF, loads of women’s specific bikes, Small mens hardtails etc. She ended up with a medium mens 2006 Stumpy FSR frame that I had in the shed with an inline seatpost, women’s seat and a 40mm inverted stem to shorten and lower the front end. Sounds wierd but she found it the most comfortable and has come on leaps and bounds since changing to it.
I suppose the moral is, everyone is different and the best thing you can do is to get her to try out as much stuff as she can before parting with cash.

Edinburgh Bicycle have some good deals on, got a mailshot and just had a look at their site – Giant Talon, Rockhopper, own brand bikes all reduced.

My girlfriends 5.4 and I built her up a rather nice five diva. Slightly over budget mind!
What about one of the new Ragley Troof frames? They come in 14″ and not too expensive.

My advice would be to try and get down to a big bike shop that has lots of stock and try her on a few different sized frames both womens specific and mens, at 5’5 dependant on her build she may feel more comfortable on the likes of a mens 16″ frame than a womens specific frame. It will make it much eaasier to pick a frame and you will be less likely to put her off biking when you know what feels best for her.

Buy her something that you won’t mind riding when she never uses it.

my wife is 5′ 3″ and she has got a kona four (custom build) in medium. she said it is bordering on being too big for her so a small might be better but said she wouldn’t swap it for the world. comfort is the primary factor for her but she really likes the bike and is now getting more and more confident on it

I’m in the same boat…my SO wants to start cycling this year so we need to get a bike sorted. She never had one as a child though so building the initial confidence, that those of use who cycled as a child take for granted, will be first hurdle. I’m sure that the key to increasing her confidence from the off will be a bike that she feels comfortable on (short reach, low saddle etc.)…whether this is a bike that fits ‘properly’ is another matter!

bullheart – Member
I built the wife a bike using a Dirty Jo Full Creme frame from ebay. Double butted, 14″

Have you got any measurements for that; HA, SA & TT? They don’t appear to be listed on the eBay site.

Ta,

The other half is 5″2 and currently on a Ghost MISS RT in a 40cm. The key things I’ve found is stand over and fit then contact points. Nice women’s saddle, Ergon grips and big flat pedals and a pair of 5:10’s.

If you are anywhere near Shropshire we have the Miss RT and a Miss AMR ready to demo in the 40cm (might blow the budget) plus in our hire fleet we have Saracen Mantras in 14″ and 16″ and a 15″ Ridgeback MX5 if you wanted to try here on a few sizes in an off road situation?

MISS 2000 looks a nice package for a new hardtail too.

oooooh look at this…..!

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/14-kona-caldera-black-vgc-2

Have you got any measurements for that; HA, SA & TT? They don’t appear to be listed on the eBay site.
Ta,

Rusty – No afraid not. I know how lame that sounds, but very little info came with the frame. However, I do know that its the same frame as Handsome Dog market; maybe google it?

It is all good and well your missus saying she doesn’t mind or care but what level of riding/confidence doors she have? This will help with the HT v full suss. I have the Cube WLS access and love it but also got giant reign 2 and an ancient Kona fire mountain. Kona is 15″ giant xs which is 14″ and cube women’s specific and a 16″. Important for her to test ride and pick rather than you pick. Size and comfort varies hugely. Look at getting decent frame and can always upgrade components.

if anyone is after a hardtail ive one for sale..specialized myka elite (2008) ….its a small frame tho just 13 inch (im five feet small…. i upgraded parts on it a year ago, its bronze coloured with a mint colured design to it. needs alittle attention to the gear shifter, looking for 400 quid for it….

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23692229@N07/3337889696/

Got the wife a Cube Ltd Race which has 100mm rebas and xt/slx kit with Formula K24 brakes. She’s 5’6″ and we got a 16″ which is perfect. Bought it 1 year old with very light use for around 600 iirc.
Cracking bike.

I bought my missus a frame off of here a while ago after she decided she wanted to get into mountain biking, and then proudly paid some one £100 for a Full Susser with disks!!!!!!! She was well chuffed with the deal. I was less than amused.

Anyhow, the biggest problem I have is helping her get the best out of the bike. for instance on one ride we did she looked very stretched out on the bike, so I moved the saddle from it’s furthest back position to it’s furthest forward position, probably a change of about 50mm. She said she didn’t notice the difference, although I could see the difference it was making on the climbs!!!! It can be quite frustrating at times.

Forgive me for if I’ve missed the point of this thread as I’m going to jump straight in, sorry.

WSD=WOT

Complete wast of time and money for everyone, all the girlies in my tiny cycling circle(5) riding mtbs all own ‘normal’ frames… correctly sized however.

Ratification http://www.cervelo.com/en_us/bikes/women/

The boardman comes with one of the best forks in that price bracket. I ride one as a SS and I love it as much as my FS. The tubing is light enough not to feel harsh like a lot of ally bikes. Just change the dreadful tyres.

Forgive me for if I’ve missed the point of this thread as I’m going to jump straight in, sorry.

WSD=WOT

think that depends

mrs antigee always moaned about back pain before got a wsd trek and
it really works for her – same on a road bike – they just work very well for some but not all women i know plenty that ride standard geometry but they have the build that suits

i’ve got a small 2006 heckler for sale for around your budget – email in profile if you’re interested.

My daughter rides a trek fuel WSD and thinks it is great.
WSD is good if you are a woman with long legs – you can have the saddle high enough and still reach the bars comfortably.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/psa-anyone-looking-for-a-small-well-specced-bike-for-400-ish

Too big?