Mountain Biking - Newbie needs help with a bike for his wife

Hi all, I'm new here and I stopped in for some help.

My wife is asking for a mountain bike for her birthday. I've been to two local bike shops and I'm having a hard timing deciding what to get her. I own a decent bike I bought used last summer (Kona Blast), but that's more bike than I figure my wife will ever need. I'd like to keep the cost in the $300 range because before this year my she hasn't shown any interest whatsoever in riding with me, and to be honest, she's kind of a "girly girl" who doesn't share my love of the outdoors. (She's also the type who can eat whatever she wants and never weighs an ounce over 105lb.)

I don't want to spend $500 or more on a bike that very likely may end up gathering dust in the garage for the next 5 years.

Help me decide on a good street and trail bike for her. I'd really like to get the best stock components available on an aluminum frame. I've narrowed it down to a few possibilities:

Kona Lana'i - http://www.konaworld.com/2k4bikes/2k4_lanai.cfm - Probably what I'm leaning towards right now. I like the price. I trust Kona because I own one, and it comes in the same blue/white color scheme as my bike. They'd look like a matched set.

Fischer Capitola - I haven't seen one of these but it's the bike a buddy suggested because his girlfriend has one. http://www.fisherbikes.com/bikes/bike_detail.asp?bike=Capitola&strAns=556,558,564,566&sttypeID=paths&stgender=551

Giant Boulder SE - One local bike shop is suggesting this bike for her. http://www.giant-bicycle.com/us/030.000.000/030.000.000.asp?bikesection=8817&range=122&model=10732&lYear=2003 I can save a few bucks because it's last year's model.

Trek 3700 - http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/mountain/3700.jsp - Seems like a good bike too, but I don't know enough...? Looked at the 3500 too. That might be a good low-cost option.

Any advice is appreciated. I ended up buying my bike used from a coworker who was on temporary US assignment from Germany. He was a mountain biker and bought it for his 6 month stay here in the US, then sold it to me for a grea deal. I really didn't have to research or learn a lot about what I was getting into because the price was right.

My wife has an 03 Lana'i, it's a fine bike for $300. Rides very nice, everything works on it, and it has a nice look. Can't go wrong there.

Does your wife need a women-specific frame, ie a shorter top tube?
If she is short as well, you may want to look for one with proportionally-sized cranks and handlebars.

Well, the Fisher Captola isn't a TRUE mountain bike. It's what is considered a "COMFORT" bike.

If your wife doesn't intend to ever ride off-road with you, this may be more appropriate for her use. It's what I like to call a good "NEIGHBORHOOD" bike. It has 26" tires with a knobby tire that has a solid center ridge. This provides traction in loose soil while turning (side knobbies) yet reduced rolling resistance in a straight line due to the raised ridge of solid rubber along the centerline of the tire. It has a suspension fork AND a suspension seatpost that will absorb most small bumps and smooth out the ride along the sidewalk. The stem "rise" is adjustable and in combination with a riser handlebar, gives you a lot of positions for the handlebars. Plus, the seat is well padded and BIG.

Now, if your wife can see herself riding with YOU off road, this is NOT the bike for her.

Any of the other three are good entry level bikes. I would also check out Specialized bikes (www.specialized.com) and even HARO (www.harobikes.com). Plus there are many other brands in this price range. Most manufacturer's are VERY competitive at the $300-$400 price point. They include, K2, Iron Horse, Fuji, Bianchi, Raleigh (my least fav), Jamis, KHS and many others.

Good Luck.
L8R

Thanks all. She's 5'5" and quite thin. I think she'd be okay with normal cranks and handlebars. I'm leaning towards the Kona even more now. I'm just a "for fun" rider myself for the most part, but every once in awhile I get the urge to ride a few aggressive trails. I should probably make sure she has a bike that can handle that too if she gets the urge.

Well, that's a tough call. When she does ride you want her to be comfortable as possible. The more comfortable she is, the more often she'll ride.

The compromise is that comfort on the road/sidewalk isn't the best for an off-road bike.

If you buy her an entry level mountain bike like the other three that can handle some off-road trails, then she won't be AS comfy on the road/sidewalk. So, you need to find an entry level mountain bike that will keep her in an upright position. You may want to consider buying a suspension seatpost for the mountain bike as well.

It's a tough call.

L8R

Color?????

I'm surprised no one has mentioned color. If she's a "girly girl" as you say, you want it to look "cute" and pretty. White contrasted with: Bright yellow, baby blue, lavender, cream-orange (a cream-cycle ;-)) or pink :p would probably fit the bill (depending on her tastes). No hard "boy" colors. The less black, the better (she's not a goth right???)

This finish in the Boulder would probably be more appropriate: http://www.giant-bicycle.com/us/catalogue_popup.asp?sPageID=popup&popuptype=zoom&modelid=10732&imagetype=alternative

Check out this Specialized HardRock Women's model: http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=5971&JServSessionIdroot=cg5rm3y9mq.j27008. It has the look of teenage nail polish ;-)

The other suggestions of low top tubes and high riser angle would probably help as well.

Finally, don't forget the saddle. There are some designs intended to complement female anatomy (wider). A comfy saddle with a suspension seatpost may be what's needed to keep her riding with you. http://www.serfas.com/comfort_saddles/comfort_saddles_10.html