[Closed] Women's hardails? Is there one that...

Oh, sorry, complete bike £1000 MAXIMUM (Bike to work) Frame £550 MAXIMUM (Sale of old bike(s))

Orange? Trek?

Trek WSDs all have 100mm forks. Orange Divas are silly prices (And poorly specced IMO)

Believe me, I've had a good look already......

A little blokes one.

When you say womens geo, shorter reach? more stand over? Pretty baby blue colour ways?

Why WSD? It's not always necessary as you know.

Compared to a men's frame, what changes in the geometry make a frame a women's frame?

Last year or so I compared the geometry on one of the Specialized bikes bewteen the men and womens and could see no difference. The changes were in the colour and a few components

WSD is good if you're less than around 5'4" but Mrs Poddy is not.

What about Kona they do sizes from 14 inch up .My wife is 5ft 4 and has inherited my Handjob thats an 18 bit pricey though .Could do worse than a 456 at £135 for frame .Thats what Mrs OF had before .

Orange Divas are silly prices (And poorly specced IMO)

I'll take that back actually, they are actually well specced, but again, 100mm fork......

I'm sure you've heard it before but womens geometry pretty much a myth, saddles yes, different sized stem etc yes but...

My wife, who is 5'1" on a good day rides a Cotic Soul/Soda running 130mm revolutions, at least she did till it got nicked.

70mm stem, low rise bars, straight s/post, enough standover she has 690mm inside leg, 170mm pedals, although she could stand 165 really. New small Soul is £490 I think.

Previously she had a 'womens' Scott which fitted much worse.

AS Brant used to say when at On One, there is more adjustment in the stem and saddle than small changes in top tube dimension, obviously you don't want to be at the extremes i.e. 130mm stem on a mtb.

The Cotic has a moderately long TT but a short seat tube so nicely compact with plenty of flexibility, and running a smaller frame makes it stiffer and with more compliance if running a 400mm s/post.

Hope this helps..there are other frames out there of course...similarly dimensioned. I know quite a few ladies riding Souls all with good fit.

WSD is good if you're less than around 5'4" but Mrs Poddy is not

Nothing to do with height at all. Her Lobster doesn't fit her well at all, and never will do. But it's still on the short side for a HT these days, so there's no point changing it if we can't get soemthing that's an improvement.

Note to all - My OP states - [i](Don't bother suggesting "Just get a mens" because that's what she already has!) [/i] so that's that subject closed now. 🙂

I thought the Diva took a 130mm fork? They are not pretty though.

PP - Does Mrs P's Kona FS fit her well?

I thought the Diva took a 130mm fork? They are not pretty though.

CG - I was just about to say something along the lines of "I've just looked and you're wrong" but I went and checked the geometry, (rather than just the spec page like I did before) on the Orange site and it does indeed say "Fork 100mm min, 130mm max"

Well done! 🙂 😳

It was reviewed in a mag recently.

PP - Does Mrs P's Kona FS fit her well?

Yes, lots better then the Lobster, but Konas are known for fitting ladies well, which is one reason I bought it for her

(Back soon, dinner time now)

The small Soul has has almost the same key geometry and dimensions as the Diva 17", 30mm longer TT than the 15"? £470 with clamp and delivery when I checked. My wife has used it on the big stuff in the peaks to twiddly singletrack at trail centres, loved it. She has the Soda now just because one cropped up s/h at almost the same price as a new Soul after the Soul got robbed.

Chainline, yes I've had a quick look at Souls, but MrsPP is 5'8" with a 32in inside leg. A small soul would be waaaay to small for her (She made her Ducati Monster look like a BMX!)
Her Lobster is a 17in and she needs a 400mm seatpost as a 330mm is right on the maximum mark. But having the seat so high pushes her weight too far back. Even with the inline seatpost we just bought for her, it's still not quite right. You see it just looking at her ride that it's not a good fit. It's OK, yes, but I really reckon a women's frame would fit even better. 🙂

As you know, I've had a few frames over the years and only one feels perfect, guess which? 🙄

I do miss my Lobster but that top tube was far too short, am also finding the same problem with the Juliana which will definitely get put up for sale.

Demo bikes are the way to go for Mrs Poddy 8)

CG - Remember you have loooooong arms! Longer than MrsPPs even though you're about 3 inches shorter in height IIRC!!!!! 🙂

I'm weird 🙄

So ... is there anything on the short list for Mrs P?

PP - I'm very similarly proportioned to your good lady at 5'7" with a 32" inside leg. I had a small Soul and a small Soda, fitted me with a 400mm seatpost probably about 15mm under max height, and a 90mm stem.

Hey PP, are you the guy that bought my scooter?

If she's 5'8 she doesn't need a women's specific frame, just a frame that fits her.

Hey PP, are you the guy that bought my scooter?

I did buy a scooter off a chap in Camberley, yes.......Hope you don't want to know how it's going.... 😕

If she's 5'8 she doesn't need a women's specific frame, just a frame that fits her.

Stop telling me what she needs, and stick to the question please. 🙂

We've found the Orange Diva so far. Are there any more [u][b][i]WOMENS HARDTAILS[/i][/b][/u] that take a 130mm fork out there please? 🙂

PP - I'm very similarly proportioned to your good lady at 5'7" with a 32" inside leg. I had a small Soul and a small Soda, fitted me with a 400mm seatpost probably about 15mm under max height, and a 90mm stem.

I'm sorry, but from that description, it sounds to small for YOU never mind someone taller! 🙂

Why a 130mm fork?

Uh oh. That doesnt sound good 😐 Unfortunately I have to ask...you can pm me if its not going to be pretty 😯

Because what's the point of getting a new bike unless it's better, a step up, or different than the one she already has? She doesn't want a sucession of near identical bikes like you've recently had! 🙂
The Lobster is a nice bike, but it's old skool geometry - Short, high front, short fork.
And knowing the difference between a short travel bike and a well set up bike with a longer fork we've talked it over and if what SHE needs/wants isn't available, she sticks with what she has. No hardship there.... 🙂

Hi PP, Kirsty is welcome to a crack on the P7 whenever. I can paint some flowers on it 😉

So what are the key geometry features that you think will suit her? Is it a shortish top tube relative to the seat tube length? Steeper seat tube angle too?

Uh oh. That doesnt sound good Unfortunately I have to ask...you can pm me if its not going to be pretty

Well...... One of the rear shocks was siezed and then spat it's damping oil out.
Then due to the fact it had been run with no coolant in it for so long (I put about a litre of water in after I got it home. The total capacity is 1200cc...) the head gasket went, big time. I couldn't be bothered to fix that so I've sold it on with the gasket problem noted......
Luckily the money I did spend on it I got from selling some old bits and bobs I found lyiong around at work, before they were binned.

No hard feelings, I was willing to take a chance at that price. I've done it before and made a profit, just not this time.... 🙂

Logging off now. TTFN

 

Cheers for that. That makes me sad. I owe you a big drink.