Hi Ive been riding for a few years and im after some ideas for a bike for the mrs. I tend to ride mainly xc/trails so a bike that would be comfortable for her to come along with me. She has a bike that she complained was too heavy as it is steel. So fair comment i said id buy her a new lighter bike. Plus were doing a bike ride for compton hospice soon which looks after cancer patients. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Lots of options out there, but you need to decide if she needs a women specific or a just STD bike. My partner stole a donor bike I bought, but eventually didn't get on with it due to the TT length (body length and old injury issues), had a look round and tried her on a specialised Myka HT (neighbour has one we could test). Only just got it (off here) but it's a nice looking bike, seem to hold there value pretty well too. Did discover though that my m8's oldish Cannondale has a very short TT and might have been an option to go for if we hadn't gone the Myka route.
Other options I looked at included a frame/fork only Pinnacle Aura from evans.

How tall is she ? Women spec not really that big a deal after about 5 ft 6 or so. If she is midget size like me can be good for small cranks, narrower bars etc as spec. Cannondale do the best smaller sizes IME.

GT do a fair range of lower to mid range women specific hardtails at reasonable prices,worth a look at the Orange G3 diva if you're willing to spend a tad more, we've sold a couple in the last few days and they seem quite a nice bike.

I think shes 5 ft 3. Im sure i remember her saying she didnt like the myka. She had her eye on a gary fisher hardtail it was silver and green cost about £600 which was out of stock. That orange diva looks alright.