Mountain Biking - What's a "cute" mountain bike?

My girlfriend has enjoyed mountain biking the few times we've gone (she's always rented one) and she wants her own now. I'd like to get her something with disc brakes and (if possible) a suspension fork. She likes vintage-style bikes that look simple without all the graphics and aggressive lines you see on most mountain bikes today. She's 5'1" so I'm thinking a 26" or 650b would be easier for her to handle than a 29". She wasn't digging the Surly Troll I showed her and I've also been looking at the Civilian mtbs as well as Soma's line. Anybody know of other similarly-styled mountain bikes that I should take a look at? Around $1k would be best but I'm willing to build up a frameset too so anything goes! Thanks everyone.

I havent plugged them in a while but $1000 goes a long way at bikes direct. the motobecanes are not real flashy but a decent ride.

Try looking for a women's specific model like these below. They tend to have more fem/tamer colors and graphics. I think some actually alter the geom to fit women better too.

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/collections/womens/mountain/models/

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/mountain#womens

Try looking for a women's specific model like these below.

I looked at those and couldn't tell why there were "women specific".. is there anything besides marketing?

I looked at those and couldn't tell why there were "women specific".. is there anything besides marketing? I don't know what makes them women specific--I didn't have a personal need to look into it very far. You can compare angles and tube/stem lengths to "mens" models I guess. Maybe the frame sizes are smaller? Maybe they have women-specific seats only--I don't know. Maybe it's just marketing as you said. The OP was looking for tamer graphics only so they'd suffice in that regard.

WSD , like from Trek is a bit less reach for a given frame size[height] than a mens frame design of same 'size"

as females are usually shorter arms and torso , longer legs..


I looked at those and couldn't tell why there were "women specific"
by "look" did that take place in person, and include test rides?

i did look into it a lil.. it seemed specialized offers different seats, smaller frames and brake levers with smaller reach. still the only thing i could tell that was specific to women's anatomy was the seats though


If she likes vintage looks, I'd suggest you go vintage.. though of course then you don't get suspension or disc brakes..

You could find an older(2000 or so), simpler looking MTB/frame with an 80mm fork. That should be cheap enough to get, and if you get something higher end, 9sp xt/xtr components are great stuff. Then just replace the fork with something more modern. That will give you a nice front disk option at least, and depending on the bike, something from that era might take disk brakes anyway. You could probably even through a 100mm fork on it and not mess with the geometry much.

As for women specific frames, my g/f has one. The top tube is definitely shorter than a comparably sized men's model. She says it fits her better. To me it feels kind cramped. Makes sense that they'd have women specific frames for those who need them with shorter torso/arms/whatever. I say get your girlfriend on a couple and see if she likes the difference. The only problem is they're hard to find for test rides(at least in my area). My girlfriend's is a Novara Amiga frame with the original shorter cranks(165s), but everything else on the bike is changed/upgraded. For comparison, my girlfriend is 5'2".