Bike for the wife

merc-blue

merc-blue

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Hi Ladies,
Im trying to slowly get my wife into riding some trails with me, and am working on building her a bike. I have a few women specific questions and as you all know most bike shops dont cater that well for women.
Firstly should I ensure a low stand over, i know kmart ladies bike have slanted top tubes and it originally was a modesty thing for riding in a skirt. all her previous bike (got her last one when she was 12) have had the slanted top tube, have any ladies made the transition to a flat top tube and had issues?
Secondly when you first got on the bike what did you struggle with? Im hoping to help her by keeping the build light but was hoping to put a 10x2 on it, I know most me with a naturally larger body and weight would probably not struggle but for comfort should i keep a granny ring for her?
Also any suggestions for seats, My understanding a MTB seat that works for ladies is not the easiest to come across
any other suggestions?

I know that if I make it all a pleasant experience that she would be more willing to do more of it, and we have no real mutual activities after i was banned from our mixed soccer comp.
 
roxy12

roxy12

Fat Tyre Flyers
keep the granny ring to start with, better to have the option then to not and have her struggle and be turned off.

as far as seats go Ive had great success with specialized running both the ruby sl and jett models, I now prefer the ruby and run it on both road and xc bikes. She may however prefer a wider saddle, even if just for the mental sake of her mind as i know alot of female friends who have been put off at a glance of a skinny saddle! Some of the lower end specialized look more meaty, such as the alias :)

Ive also used a Fizik vivente womens saddle, was comfortable but didnt have the look nor the long ride feel the specialized gave.

This is however a very personal thing and may take some trial and error, just make sure she gives the chosen saddle some time to break in! :)

as far as womens frames, i have had a womens specific specialized xc dualy and giant womens road frame, the tubes wern't slanted in anyway but the overall size of the frame was just more compact, honestly feeling no differnent to the "mens" frames i ride just more compact!

My 55 year old mother recently got her first flat top tube bike and hasnt had any issues what so ever.

Im sure as long as it is the correct size she will be fine with some support, encouragement and practice!
 
skwiz05

skwiz05

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Would that Specialized be the Myka? Ive had friends with girlfriends who have had that bike and liked it.
 
roxy12

roxy12

Fat Tyre Flyers
yep thats the one, low stand over, felt rather like a few of my early dj bikes. Was a rather fun thrash around bike.
 
indica

indica

Serial flasher
Get a decent bike for her.
My wife rides a Kona Dawg and a Stinky ( I have a GT Force and Fury) and has no issues at all, but be sure to get her one with suspension as good as yours, it is only fair really.
Any reasonable bike these days - I guess I'm talking dually here - has good stand-over height so that should not be an issue.
 
S

Slowpoke

Likes Dirt
Good on you.

Wit respect to 2x10, I have a friend who doesn't ride off-road much (but did many moons ago). her partner just left the granny cog off after converting from single speed back to gears. She is quite happy with it. I am curious why you would do it for a recreational rider? I am sure you are aware that the big weight gains (losses) come from other items. In my view, having a good range is of more value when you are staring out. On the other hand, a friend of mine started out recently on single speed and hasn't looked back (cheaper, lighter, funner).

I appreciate the light bike, easier to ride argument but I think it may have its limits. I always encourage people to buy the lightest bike they can afford so they actually want to ride it. I recently unloaded 3kg in an upgrade and found myself with a bike that took me quite some time to feel like I could control it. I know a few women who have done this (we all race XC/ enduro). Perhaps it was other factors (geometry etc), but a bike that is nimble to one person can be frighteningly skitty and uncontrollable to someone else.

As for the cross tube - I like dresses, but I don't tend to ride off-road in them and most girls I know tend to swing their legs over the back seat, rather than through the middle. I cant imagine why manufacturers still design them like that except to make them look more like a 'ladies bike', for a lady, because we are all ladies and we like things that look like they are for ladies. Same goes for pink. I know more men with pink bikes than women, but you cant buy them off the shelf.

Consider using second hand brakes that are well worn in as beginners tend to take a binary approach to braking (either on or off) and that is a recipe for a trip over the handlebars or a lot of confidence sapping skidding. I do it every time I upgrade. My first foray into disk brakes involved buying some second hand from a mate and they were perfect.

As for seats, they are so personal. Do you girls agree that they take some breaking in? I bought one recently that I was sure was responsible for the onset of cramping down my inner thigh, because it put pressure on a weird bit of my bum in enduro races. I didn't get around to replacing it and after a while it stopped being an issue. It seems many brands do width fittings, so perhaps get that last. Take advantage of shops that will let you exchange if it is not quite right and be willing to try a few.

Sorry to go on for so long, but once she has this magnificent bike, encourage her to ride with other women when she is learning. I ride a bit with novice women and they remark on how different (I a not saying it is better) it is to learn from other women.

Now, what sort of bike to I get for my man to encourage him to ride?
 
merc-blue

merc-blue

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Thanks for all the info guys,
Looked at a felt Q series and a Kona Lisa HT.
I really like the Lisa its a pretty basic spec and would suit her well.
now for some cute cycling gear and a helmet.
 
sawbutt

sawbutt

Cannon Fodder
bike for wife

just bort a mongoose tyax sport for my wife who is 37 yo and she loves this bike, most important for the girls i got a Giant wide glide slik 2 seat for $40..we paid $539 for the bike...see ya on the street...!:cool:
 
st.nick

st.nick

Squid
I'm getting my girl into this MTB bizzo too.

I'm picking up a Reign X0 for myself, and will probably shell out the bucks for a Giant Cypher for her... if she likes the 'look' of the bike!!

I think getting her something very capable like the Cypher or similar will give her more confidence from the outset.


Just hope she uses it!!!
 
merc-blue

merc-blue

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Hi guys (well girls really) is there any reason why i wouldn't put her straight onto a dual suspension bike?
Is it going to be hard for her to learn that way. just found a good deal on a nice dualie.
 
Cypher

Cypher

Likes Dirt
I think going to a dual sus bike is a good idea.

Most people go for hard tails cos their cheaper. But riding a hard tail is a bit more difficult - to get a good ride you really need to be smooth - skills a newb may not have.

And the cypher rocks
 
pixelpuppet

pixelpuppet

Likes Dirt
Cypher said:
..And the cypher rocks
Click to expand...
Yeah, I can also vouch for the Giant Cypher. My girlfriend isn't much of a rider but she's getting into it (and improving significantly) more since she got this new bike. She's 5'2" so the low standover was perfect and it was pretty well spec'ed for a stocker... naturally though I have upgraded all the parts for no particular reason other than i'm a guy and this is what we do...
 
Cypher

Cypher

Likes Dirt
pixelpuppet said:
naturally though I have upgraded all the parts for no particular reason other than i'm a guy and this is what we do...
Click to expand...
Well at least you are up front about it.

I mentally face palm whenever I hear people talk about upgrading bits and pieces like it will make a difference to the way they ride when it is obvious they have poor technique.

:)
 
merc-blue

merc-blue

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I just looked up the geometry of the bike was looking at and it has a 72 degree headtube.
Im concerned its going to be abit steep for someone who hasnt done much/any riding.
Or would this be fine aslong as we kept to smooth simple single track?
Sorry for the dumb questions, I have never helped a beginner into the sport and want to make sure i do it right.
 
Plankosaurus

Plankosaurus

Spongeplank Dalepantski
merc-blue said:
Hi guys (well girls really) is there any reason why i wouldn't put her straight onto a dual suspension bike?
Is it going to be hard for her to learn that way. just found a good deal on a nice dualie.
Click to expand...
i'd probably recommend it even. this is what i recently did for my wife (found a small gary fisher cake for $700) and she's having a blast on it. riding the same trails on a hardtail is rewarding, but SO much more work when all she wants to concentrate on is not dying going uphill and screaming WEEEEEE going downhill :p

also, to help out a little, show her some apparell. i started showing my wifey some fox gear and such and she's now found enough stuff on sale that she's decked out better than i am. if nothing else, she now feels she HAS to ride due to having so much bike clothing ;)
 
Cypher

Cypher

Likes Dirt
I've found the Cypher to be an excellent technical climber. It seems to bite a bit more than my hard tail.

The hard tail can go faster, but it is harder to control
 
T-Rex

T-Rex

Template denier
merc-blue said:
I just looked up the geometry of the bike was looking at and it has a 72 degree headtube.
Im concerned its going to be abit steep for someone who hasnt done much/any riding.
Or would this be fine aslong as we kept to smooth simple single track?
Sorry for the dumb questions, I have never helped a beginner into the sport and want to make sure i do it right.
Click to expand...
Firstly, +3 for getting a duallie for your wife. They are a lot more enjoyable for a newbie to ride than a hard tail. This was my plan for my wife's bike (see other "wife" thread) until the plan fell apart.....

I wouldn't be too worried about the 72 degree head angle, being a duallie it will squat a little, so it will slacken a bit when she's on the bike. Also, I suspect a beginner might appreciate quicker steering to help with balance in low speed technical stuff, and she probably won't be pinning it on decents so high speed stability in the rough shouldn't be a big deal. You could also fit some reasonably wide bars, which would help her with controlling the front end.
 
Doggy

Doggy

Inconceivable!
I would recommend trying a Jamis Parker as well if you havent already. I brought one for my wife a few years ago and she loves it. Its a very predictable bike, and so much fun to throw around. Its not the lightest bike in the world as they are more slopestyle design then anything else but such a fun bike. I had one myself for a while too and I used it for everything from XC to DH and BMX tracks and all
 
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