Nitroboy

I'm in the market for a first bike for my fiancee' - she's done some miles on a loaner rigid bike and need something a little more serious for this season. It's been a while since I've been in the market for a new bike, so I'm not quite up to speed on the who, what and how much. I need some recommendations before hitting the shops, but hope to scoop up a deal on an '06. Help!

Luky

Try Kona Lisa HT, or Kona Kula Lisa.

ashleywood.ash

no such thing as a womans bike they all unisex i would look specialized

jm01

NONONONONO

never buy a bike for someone without having them check it out for fit and they really need a test ride

The women specific frames are great for women that are built like women...most have longer legs and shorter arms than men and these frames work great for them (no more sore backs, my daughter tells me).

My wife has shorter legs than average so she rides a small men's frame but with a riser stem and bar. The most critical measurement on a bike is the top tube length, not the seat tube that everyone seems to quote. A 1" difference in the top tube is HUGE and the wrong size can cause incredible pain (tennis elbow in my case)

For example, I ride a medium (17") Ellsworth and the seat comes up to my wife's shoulder, she rides a small Santa Cruz (also 17") and its tiny, my daughter rides a 17" Stumpjumper FSR WSD, and its way to big for my wife, too small (except in the leg) for me...also a 17" Nomad that I have on hold until next week at my LBS

see...four 17" bikes:

EDIT: forgot that you want a HT...for example, I ride a 19" Marin Bobcat Trail, my wife has a 15" Kona Fire Mountain, and the kid has a 17" Trek 7600zx that we use on the home trails...oops, forgot the wife's small Fuji Panic Pro for when she wants to do some jumping (she's 54)

Siu Blue Wind

You mean THEY LIED???

Nitroboy

Thanks all.... one possibly related concern is that she gets sore in the right (?) shoulder on longer rides; all bets are off on the previous rigid bike's geometry - as I said, it was a loaner. Putting a riser bar on it seemed to help a bit. I'm not sure if this is a fatigue issue, a geometry issue, or a chiropractic issue, since she gets the same problem from a few other activities (long hikes with a pack, etc).

I probably don't need to look for a WSD if I can find a small frame... she's about 5'3" and doesn't have overly long legs. I guess the first step is to hit some LBSs this weekend and try to find one with well-educated staff. I'll root around for some fitting guides too... she hasn't had tons of saddle time and has never had a properly fit bike, so I'm not sure if she'll know what feels right, so anything that might help determine a proper size and setup would be a good thing.

There's also a good chance I could pick up a used FS for a decent price from one of my parent's riding buddies, but I think for a first bike I'd rather go new and HT and fitting perfectly.

never

Bow Cycle has a huge inventory and they likely still have some left-overs from their year-end sale. Spend some time there with her just sitting/riding bikes to see what fits.

Nitroboy

Bow Cycle good. I rebuilt my drivetrain on my poor ol' 97 Nitro a couple of years back on goodies from one of their big sales. Any other shops in town worth checking out (that know their stuff)? I'll be doing the mandatory buzzing around to compare prices anyways, I'm sure... just need a chinook so I can do it by bike instead of car (hmmm... it was nice at lunch today... ).

probable556

Price range?

Nitroboy

Heh, I read the FAQ's... so no.

Just kidding... likely the infamous 'around $500', though I had about $600 CDN in mind. The budget's flexible enough that if I can get a significantly better bike for a little extra money, I will.... probably about $800 CDN max. I'm hoping that going for an '06 model will help shave a couple of bucks.

BTW, what models of forks can I expect around this price point? Anything to stay away from? I'm seriously out of the suspension loop. Have a bit of a handle on the drivetrain etc.

probable556

My general pricing advice is to spend 20% more than your budget. You (she) will be happier with the bike and will not need to spend as much upgrading/ replacing later.

If you want a new bike that's cool- but I would buy a used one. Look in the LBS for something you like (size & brand) and then keep an eye for a one or two year old one with the same specs.

KrisA

I love The Bike Shop, I've never been anywhere with so much bike porn in one place. Check out the Rockies there, they are shorter in the top tube than most other makes so usually fit women quite well. My wife is in love with the new Vertex Ladies Only, which is just a regular Vertex with a womens seat a shorter stem and a pastel paint job, which is why my wife loves it. If I had any money I'd buy her one, unfortunately I don't so she will have to soldier on this year on her Kona Lana'i which has has been fully decked with lots of my sweet hand me down parts.

Pamestique 

My thoughts are with the others - she should be along to check out and size the bikes - but if you can find an 06 model right now - look at the Specialized M4 hardtail - sold full retail for $1000 - 1200 should be able to find now for $800 or less. Great bike with a good fork. Although I generally ride a Santa Cruz Superlight, I still love my M4 and ride it almost as much. It's a quick, responsive fun bike. Perfect for climbing and doing singletrack.

Nitroboy

BCIpam - Am I right in thinking the M4 the same as/similar to the Stumpjumper? I've tried (unsuccessfully) to beg my sister to sell me hers, but no dice. Too bad... it's in great shape since she'd rather twist throttle than pedal these days.

KrisA - Will check with the Bike Shop; I was checking the Rockies out there last time I was considering a new bike for myself a couple of years ago ($1900 for last year's Hammer? Steel is so steep these days! I kept and rebuilt my Nitro). I don't know if I can get her a Rocky... I want one too! This could get expensive.

Pamestique 

The M4 is a Stumpjumper but the hardtail version. It's a great bike. I also had a 2006 Stumpjumper FSR which I just sold for $1250. Both great bikes. Just keep looking around - there most likely is a bike shop out there trying to sell off it's 06 models. Both bikes also come in WSD if that's what she needs.

mlh122

my wife is 5'4" and rode a 16" trek 3700 for a while. size wise she liked it a lot but the components were not up to what we put it through. then she tried a trek fuel ex wsd and just had to have it. with FS as far as i've seen you can get good deals on used ones, but the newer they are the better the technology, used ones are more likely to bob a lot, robbing efficiency.
the one my wife got has front and rear lockouts, so it can be FS, HT, or rigid. our budget was $500 and we ended up spending $1400 so that stung. but now we can go on long road rides, or she can take rougher trails that she used to be too scared of. the hydraulic brakes also give her a lot more confidence.

Nitroboy

Ah, see... when I was last in the market, Stumpjumpers only came in HT.

Mom and Dad are both on (higher-end?) FSR's... Dad's had about 5 or 6 of them, including that short-lived carbon fibre model, which got recalled. I'm the only one in the immediate family not on a Specialized

Nitroboy

Did some tire kicking on the weekend, and it looks like she feels most comfortable on a 15" Norco Charger. There's a few shops in town with 2006s on sale; the best price I've seen so far is $869. The Charger we're looking at has Deore front & rear deraileurs and shifters, Hayes Sole disc brakes and a Marzocchi AM4 fork.

I've seen mixed reviews on the brakes and can't find a review on the forks... has anyone used either before?

born2bahick

Tried a set of those brakes once, they would stop a bike. For a hydro, they are sad. There are much better brakes out there. If she get's good enough to need more braking, don't hesitate to upgrade!

Nitroboy

Hmmm.... I don't think she's good enough (yet) for it to be an issue, and she's also quite light - it'd be more of an issue of proper modulation rather than absolute stopping power. It'd probably be more painless to upgrade at time of purchase than later, but that'd make this a less attractive purchase, and might push me into the Nitro price range (I think Bow's got one of those babies in a 15" - but then we'd have matching bikes). I've heard that these brakes can be a pain to keep in adjustment, too.

Nitroboy

A couple of other options I tracked down:
Trek 6500 disc - $879
Rocky Fusion - $719

Going to go look at the Rocky today and see if that works as well as the Charger. There seems to be quite a few 15" Chargers kicking around town, so we probably don't need to make a snap decision (have the original Charger on hold at Bow until tomorrow).

snowy

Can I ask why you want rigid?? Why not full susp?? If your going to buy her a 2006 I think its worth you spending your money on full-susp. I have a Giant Anthem. Its a very nice bike. Also the reason I suggest full-susp is cause she is somewhat new to riding.
For noobies I would always suggest this. The riding will be smoother for her and she won't bounce around as much.
This just comes from first hand experience with myself and a girlfriend of mine. She didn't realize hardtail until someone pointed out to her. We ride alot together now and she really would like to have a full-susp.

Just my 2cents.

mcoine

For one, in that price range there arent any new fs bikes worth buying.

snowy

Can you (or he) bend your price range some??

I mean do you really think she is going to love riding mountain bikes?? If so I would spend a few extra hundred to get full susp.

Nitroboy

Money's the main issue; we are saving for the wedding, houses, etc. I'd also rather go for an adequate hardtail now and not sweat the upgrade to a GOOD full suspension in a couple of years when and if she's finding the hardtail limiting, instead of buying an entry level FS bike and still likely needing an upgrade in a couple of years. I'm definitely trying to stay under $1000 CDN, but my starting point was $600. We're talking about shared money here, so if she wants to spend a little extra I'm fine with it, but we are really watching our budget. Just to be clear, snowy, I'm definitely not looking for a rigid bike (she started on one and has done very well on it; time for some front suspension at least).

I also want to make sure she's totally sold on mountain biking before jumping right in, and a hardtail will always be a decent general-purpose bike if she ends up only riding occasionally (she's done well on a rigid, but hasn't really gotten into the sport). The terrain we'll likely be riding in the forseeable future is also pretty tame (around Calgary); there are plenty of good agressive trails out-of-town around K-country and Canmore etc, but the idea of having to drive 1 1/2 hours each way to get a ride in kind of bothers me (yeah.. I'm a spoiled BC boy who likes pedalling to the trailhead). I have a feeling that weight will be a significant factor as well (which is why I don't think she'll get the Norco - 32 lbs!); maybe I'm wrong, but won't a entry-level FS be significantly heavier in general?

The last bit, and I do realize this is kind of a weak excuse, is that I've always been on a hardtail (or rigid) bike and I'm not that comfortable about buying, maintaining, or teaching her to ride a FS bike yet... plus, I'm still on a needs-to-be-replaced '97 Norco Nitro that I love and am trying to milk another couple of seasons out of. If money were no object I'd probably be shopping for two FS bikes instead of one hardtail, but that's not possible at this point.

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All this being said, I'm not opposed to the idea of getting her a FS bike, if the bike and the price were right. Any recommendations? My dad tracked down a used Giant Pistol 1 for me (in BC - a former rental bike at Silver Star) about the right size, and he's been pushing the full suspension angle. It's a possibility, but I'm not really confident buying used and would like her to have something new from a local shop in case she's having any mechanical issues.