SO is 5ft 3 (though claims to be 5ft 4 - work with it) - she currently rides a Orange 29er 150 front and 140 rear travel and wants a second bike - she tried 27.5 and was not overly impressed as she feels she gets on with 29er better ( she holds a few QoM if that makes any difference or indication) owned Turners, Pivots, Orange, brand of choice, - so with she would like
a frame with between 100 and 130 mm rear travel
modern seat angle -
ideally frame only
something different to Orange
NOT a hardtail or rigid
Not fussed if it is carbon or not
Any STW suggestions? Ideally something in stock
Few to look at:
Scott Spark
Trek Top Fuel
Yeti SB115
Epic Evo
Transition Spur
What's the second bike for? A 140mm 29er Orange is a pretty versatile bike!
Indeed but she would like a second bike....who doesn't?😀
I was going to recommend you ask Emily Batty but she apparently knows nothing about bike fit. Great for makeup tips though.
"N+1, dont get in the way of it! More bikes better."
More confused about which one to ride, more to keep maintained and more to fill up the garage! I suffer the same problem with bass guitars but they're having to multiply for work reasons...
I'm 5ft 4" and ride a Transition Smuggler in small.
Under the recommend what you have, Cotic Flaremax.
Bird Aether9/9C? Do they do a small?
I was going to recommend you ask Emily Batty but she apparently knows nothing about bike fit. Great for makeup tips though.
Canyon's bike fit app would be my recommendation
Trek topfuel/supercaliber
There is a FB group called MTBChix and Trails. I hate the name, but huge group of woman and as a result good place to get recommendations for smaller bikes!
As a 5’9” female I don’t have that challenge but loads of ladies on there ask similar questions. Very varied skill range, so answers are variable!
Juliana?
Cheers re mtbc, and she goes in there and has a intense dislike for the name...as do my daughter's...Juliana seems to be leading the way
Bird seems to be large but will revisit same with transition.
Yeti is probably more than she want to pay but a brand I have owned a few of.
Let's leave the canyons out of this on the grounds that the suspension is more xc racer then xc fells and moors.
Taller than your wife but I do prefer a low front end for XC/Trail and also prefer 29er which are two preferences that dont necessarily go hand in hand looking at the stack height on many 29ers. Spark and Top Fuel are on my list as previously mentioned but also had Intense Sniper XC/T and Norco Revolver 100/120 (although they seemed to have lost their UK dist at the moment) plus the good old Giant Anthem 29er (although that is a little more XC focus geometry)
I'm interested in this too, my wife is 5'1"; she's looking for a light-ish XC full Suss and definitely not interested in a 29er. I'll look at MTBChix and Trails, holding my nose and washing may hands carefully afterwards while I go onto Facebook for the first time in over a year.
canyons out of this on the grounds that the suspension is more xc racer then xc fells and moors.
- sounds a good option, in the extra small XS2 sizing when it eventually becomes available.
Cheers re mtbc, and she goes in there and has a intense dislike for the name…as do my daughter’s
100% with them. Loads of them love having MTBCT jerseys which are pink with Chix splashed all over them...! Arghh.
However the ladies who set it up have done a lot for women’s mtb in the UK, including getting proper womans only events set up, longer timing gaps at enduro starts etc, all to try and get more woman into the sport. And the space for woman to ask questions away from blokey forums like this (woman’s saddles are a hot topic) ;-P So I’m prepared to let it go.
Missus has just gone from a small Marin B13-3 to a Juliana Joplin (small).
She's 5'2" and it fits her perfectly. She tried 29ers on the Marin as it comes with both when it was available, but went back to 27.5+.
Even with 29er wheels, the Joplin fits her miles better! She's really made up with it and can't wait to take it for some proper riding when restrictions start to ease.
That's only a 100mm dropper, eventually going to be changed for a larger drop.
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I came from a 26er Orange to a Bird Aeris 27.5 and very impressed.
For a similar transition how about a Bird Aether 29er? Allegedly you need to be 5’4” for a medium (there is no small) but give them a ring.
https://www.bird.bike/aether9/
Edit - OK I missed the earlier references to these guys.
Thanks for the replies all.
ahsat - just been discussing the name of the forum over dinner with SO and the distraction it lends to the space for women to discuss things and share knowledge, and totally it has been a has been a advocate for change and inclusion in MTB. SO has been riding since the early 1990's and daughters through the late 90's onwards and it shall we say, has been, and remains a interesting journey for them as women in mountain biking.
John 1984 - thanks for the picture - helpful.