Questions for the ladies...

[Jisch]

I'm going to get my wife a FS bike for Mother's Day. I am considering buying one based upon her measurements versus having her test ride bikes. It looks like most of the Women's Specific Design bikes would need to be ordered, so I'm not so sure test rides of those types of bikes would even be possible. My wife is a perpetual beginner/intermediate rider. I don't mean that in a negative sense, just the reality - she's not really motivated to become a great rider, but enjoys getting out in the woods with me and the family. She's currently riding my old HT, which is too big and only has 80mm of travel on the fork.

So two questions -

Are you riding a WSD bike or a uni-sex/men's model?

Do you think giving her a bike without having had her test ride it is a mistake?

John

[AA]

My answer is it depends....

My wife is short (5'0") so the womens specific was the way to go for sure. If your wife is 5'6" or taller you most likely will be able to fit her onto a standard small or medium frame. The only thing to look out for is frames w/ longer top tubes. Women (in general) have longer legs as a proportion of height to men so the long TT can be an issue. I know some taller women (5'9" and taller) that have no fit issues on "standard" bikes.

[nhiker]

My wife's first 3 bikes were bikes that I picked for her. she pretty much fits what ever I fit. We just have to adjst the seat. The bike she is riding now a klien palomino is a medium and seems to be the best fit for her yet. She did come with me and test road it when we bought it (used). But she seems to be very comfortable on it. I also put her on a road bike this year and fit it for me then fine tuned it once she got it. Yeah I think you have to be careful but maybe she has a friend or a relative who is the same size you could take along for a test ride.

[Zeena]

1. None of my current bikes are WSD, but none of them are production kits - they were all built up from framesets. But if you're wife is short like me (5'2"), you may need a WSD to find a fully that has enough standover. I find it harder to find a fully with enough standover than one with a short enough top tube.

2. Given her level of riding and that you know what the correct measurements are, I think getting her a bike without having here test ride it is fine.

[wiggum21]

My wife and I went together and she test rode 3 different bikes...all the same size. We ended up getting her a Fisher Wahoo. Personally I recommend a test ride, my wife felt all three bikes had quite a different feel although they were the same size.

[tkny69]

I ride a men's model (specialized FSR XC -- it fits me fine.) From experience, last year my boyfriend bought a new mountain bike to ride with me. We went to the LBS and he tried a few different brands (Kona, Jamis, Specialized, Cannondale, etc.) and he settled on the Specialized because he thought it fit him the best. All the bikes were the same size, etc. But he liked the way the Specialized felt while riding.

So maybe it's a good idea, if this isn't a surprise Mother's Day gift, to test ride bikes together. I know if I was getting a new bike, I would want to check out what's out there. Especially if my man was buying. ;D That's part of the fun!

Tina

[Jisch]

Yeah, I'm beginning to lean towards bringing her down there to try bikes. The problem is she'll never buy one, if I buy it and give it to her, she can't refuse. Perhaps I can get her to test a few, then buy it later on for her.

Thanks for the input, it was helpful.
John

[Quo Fan]

My girlfriend is 5'6" and rides a stock medium Jamis Dakar and the only thing she did to it was cut down the handlebar because she is primarily a roadie and likes narrow bars.

[girlygirl]

My 2 cents is to let your wife test ride the bike first. Maybe you could give her a "present" by wrapping up a picture of a FS bike and telling her it is already paid for but she has "choices". I am 5'3'' and was basically told the only difference between a women's specific and the men's is the tube size so I went with a men's small 2006 Stumpjumper FS - which I LOVE!

I would hate for you to put a lot of money into a bike that doesn't "fit" her so my suggestion really would be to have her try it out. When buying my hardtail there were just some bikes that weren't comfortable for me.

If you are looking for a great bike shop check out www.seriouscycles.com that is where I got both of my bikes.

Good luck!

[heckler]

Having purchased a few bikes for the wife, some as a surprise, others with her input. The only ones she liked were the ones she test rode first. I guess that shows I suck at chosing bikes but it is a data point. ;D

[dmack]

My wife just replaced a year old small Gary Fisher Cake 3 DLX with an extra small Santa Cruz Blur and could not be happier. She is not very tall and the SC is MUCH lighter than the Cake was. If your wife is not very tall and a beginner/intermediate rider, I would suggest going for light weight over longer travel. You might even consider getting her a higher end hard tail if she doesn't really need the rear suspension.

[Jisch]

If your wife is not very tall and a beginner/intermediate rider, I would suggest going for light weight over longer travel. You might even consider getting her a higher end hard tail if she doesn't really need the rear suspension.


Good advice. She is currently on a hardtail, and its pretty light (probably 23 lbs area). From hefting the bikes in the LBS, it seems I have to spend about $2K to get to a FS bike that won't be too heavy. Below $2K and they tend to have very heavy forks and wheels on them. I'd say a lightweight HT would be better, but the problem really comes down to how beat up she feels after we ride. But you're probably right in that she doesn't need a lot of travel...

Incidentally, the LBS says he'll order me a WSD, and if she doesn't like it she can exchange it for one of the "regular" mediums on the floor. I think I'm going to try to do as much covert measuring as I can, buy the bike that makes the most sense and exchange as necessary.

John

[jakazz]

my dakar xlt weighs 27 lbs, and thats with a crappy wheelset, i'm sure i could get it to 25 with a set of chris kings and mavic xc717's. and thats with 5" of travel.

[TrailBate]

I have a question for the ladies. (thread hijack)

Why do women need that extra air slot on their saddles? Do you really need extra air flow down there?

[Jisch]

So I did some covert and some overt measuring last night. I took the measurements and loaded them into the bike sizing wizard at Wrench Sciences (do they sell some sweeeeeeeet bikes or what? - Titus, Maverick, Turner, Intense. I was building a dream bike with their build a bike system when I remembered why I was there in the first place).

Sorry got distracted by the shiny stuff again...

In any event it appears that on paper the Medium Specialized StumpJumper FSR WSD is built just about perfectly for her. I think that's the one I'm going to order and we'll go from there. If she doesn't like that, the LBS carries the Cannondale Rush, Specialized FSR and Epic - all in a similar price range.

John

[girlygirl]

Jisch - Why medium not a small? I have a small and it is still a little on the big side (not much though) for me.

How tall is your wife? If that is her in the photo then you might want to go with the small (men's we are talking about I presume). Most men I know ride mediums...but if she is over 5'7'' then go with the med.

Just my 2 cents...fyi - she will LOVE the stumpjumper!!!

[Jisch]

She's right around 5'7".

According to the Wrench Sciences calculator, she'll need 655mm of "reach" (seat tube to handlebars) and 661mm of height (top of saddle to center of the bottom bracket).

The medium Women's Stumpjumper works out like this:

Reach - 655mm
SJ WSD Med length -560mm
----------
Left 95 mm (use a 100mm stem)


Height 661mm
SJ seattube top to bb -445mm
----------
Left 216mm (comes with a 300mm seatpost)

How tall are you?

John

In the pic, she's on a Large Cannondale (i.e. its too big for her)

[tkny69]

The Stumpjumper is a solid pick! I ride the FSR XC and love it! I think your wife will be real happy with the full suspension (no matter what you really decide on).

I went out this morning with my riding buddy, and on the way back we switched bikes. He fell in love with my ride. I rode his hardtail and was so thankful that my ride has rear suspension! I will probably never ride hardtail again.

Good Luck, your pick sounds nice!

Tina

[girlygirl]

I am 5'3'' on a good day!