JBar

My wife has come to the decision that she needs a full suspension mountain bike. My "buddy" at the LBS at which my credit card is on file has her excited a bout a great deal on a frame.......which will cost 4000.00 to build up. I'm a road guy, so I understand the fever for a good bike, but think that she can get plenty of bike for less money.

I'm looking for suggestions in the sub-2000.00 range in a bike for a woman 5'6", 120 who's interested in riding trails and timber roads. Light weight and full-suspension are musts on her list.

scr1be

wow, 4000?

i hear the santa cruz juliana is pretty nice...

sorry, i don't know much about women's bikes, but i do like the juliana.

wheelhot

Hmm, ok is she a XC/Trail rider or a Trail/All Mountain? is XC/Trail for her maybe a Giant Trance 2, Trek Fuel EX 7, Gary Fisher Cake 2 DLX and so on https://www.mtbr.com/reviews/xc_full_..._byprice.shtml
check the link above, it will show you the price of all the bikes.
Anyway if your wife is a Trail/All Mountain
https://www.mtbr.com/reviews/allmtn_f..._byprice.shtml
thats for all mountain but since you said a lightweight full sus, assuming shes not a weight weenie, a Trail bike will suit her just fine ^^ I suffered a lot in finding my true calling XD

concernicus

the dark side? i dont know about that...

the trek fuel ex 7 wsd is specced at 1800 dollars. check that out. also check out the juliana too. look at some websites, every bike manufacturer has wsd designs

JBar

Thanks for the feedback. That gives me some great resouces. I'm fairly knowledgeable about road gear, but am lost when it comes to MTB. My bride can have whatever she wants (I ride a Litespeed Ghisallo, so I can't complain about her wanting a nice bike), but I think that she can get a better value buying a complete bike rather than building up a Racer-X frame. She's a smart gal, but not interested at all in components, etc., and she's making comparisons to her 10 year old, 300.00 40lb steel Trek.

skiahh

We should all have such problems.

Seriously, I agree with the posters above that a complete bike is probably the best value route to go. I'm a big fan of Specialized and you can get a pretty well decked out Stumpy or Epic for around $2K.

While either are great bikes (I ride an Epic and don't really worry what I ride over, though I don't "huck"), for fire roads and basic trails, the Epic may be the better choice since it's a hardtail on smooth terrain and becomes a FS when the going gets rough. Got my wife one and she absolutely loves it.

Meh... just looked them up on the S website. They raised the prices quite a bit so you'd probably be looking at closer to $3 grand than 2. Sorry.

Siu Blue Wind

I'm 5'5" and I found the WSD bikes are a little short in the cockpit for me. Made me feel cramped. Are you sure a 16" men's frame wouldn't suit her better? I have a 16 inch Kona which is perfect. My FS Gary is 17" and the genesis geometry (longer top tube) feels good for XC but the only problem for me is the standover on it. A little too tall. I was told it was due to the higher BB clearence but with the sag, it's just right. It handles really well.

greenbreezer

Wait a minute..... if you guys can afford the $4000 custom bike, then why not? It'll save you from upgrading later. I have a Santa Cruz Blur that my LBS built from the frame up (with full support from my hubby) and I love it, especially since I know I won't be craving for an upgrade.

I agree with Siu that the WSD bikes are too cramped. I'm 5'5" and don't find them comfortable at all. I'm built more like an athlete, not a leggy supermodel, so I fit the small men's bikes much better. I had lightweight, FS and a good climbing bike as the most important features and that's why I got the Blur.

FLBandit

I just got a new GF Cake for a fraction of that. Not female specific, but a great deal.

Siu Blue Wind

Cakes are cool. Great choice.

Michigander

Ebay has all sorts of great deals on frames. You could build a decent full suspension for a couple grand using ebay if you didn't mind having a used frame.

JBar

You're right about WSD bikes. She is fairly long in the torso, so a standard small frame will probably fit her well.

pinkrobe

You're on a Ghisallo? Not to put too fine a point on it, but get her what she wants. I put together a Racer-X for my wife over the winter for ~$3600 CAD [Race Face. Thomson, XT, custom wheels, etc.] and it's hovering around the 25 pound mark. You should be able to do the same for $3k. If your LBS is charging $4k, I hope they are outfitting that thing with XTR [mtn version of Dura-Ace] and lots of Ti. We looked at all kinds of FS bikes for her, and all of the WSD bikes or anything around $3500 in the local shops were 28 pounds, with the Blur XC an exception at 27. For $2000 you may be hard pressed to find a FS under 28. I care so much about the weight because my wife isn't as strong as I am, but she needs to be able to keep up with me on the trail. One way to do that is by getting her the lightest, fastest bike I can find, which I did...

a2psyklnut

Hey JBar.

If you are both used to top-end stuff, then $4,000 isn't out of the ballpark.

It's like saying you could get by with a steel LeMond instead of your Litespeed.

Sure, but WHY?

Don't get me wrong. I ride top-end stuff too. I can afford it, it's what I enjoy doing, so I spend the cha-ching on my toys.

I don't want to know how much I've spent on bikes over the years. Probably close to $50,000 including clothing, travel, and misc. parts.

If you guys enjoy the "Best" then figure about $1,500 to $2,000 on a top-end frame. Another $500 to $650 on a lightweight race fork and another $1,000 on a build kit. If you decide you want a custom wheelset too, tac on another $650.

The Titus, Santa Cruz and Specialized are all good recommendations.

If you want a complete bike, you can build one on Santa Cruz's website.

MudSplattered

I have a Santa Cruz Juliana which I had built frame-up specifically for me and it was the BEST spent $, I don't regret it for a second. I'm just under 5'6", shorter torso, longer legs, frame size medium, full XR, FSA carbon fiber seatpost and bars, Sid Race fork (perfect for a 120 lb rider unless she's going off drops), Terry Ti Butterfly seat. It weighs about 23 lbs. I agree that you should buy it with the best components now rather than upgrading, why make her wait for them? Better components WILL make a difference in her enjoyment of the riding experience as well as the lighter weight. I can handle this bike soo much better then my Cannondale, which weighs about 33 lbs. Get as light as you can, a 30 lb bike may be nothing for a 160 lb guy (it's only 18% of his body weight), a 30 lb bike will be 25% of her body weight.
I think you can get an awesome Juliana set up for less than $4000, there is no need to go full XTR, you can get full XT with LX hydro brakes. My bike cost about $3400, my bike guy gave me a deal at $3000. I live in Alaska where everything costs more.

iamthetas

if you want a whole bike then Id suggest Devinci. the MOST bike for the buck
or the Mongoose NON walmart Teocali super
https://www.devinci.com/english/velo_frame.html

https://www.mongoose.com/bikes/detail..._US&brandID=66

they are both way less than $4k

blue_neon

A $4000 walmart bike...i'd like to see that!

bsyptak

Take a look at the Specialized Stumpjumper FSR (base) & Expert in women's specific. Base is $2k msrp and the Expert is $2800. Figure $200-300 off those prices at retail. The Expert is really nice. It has the Fox Talus fork, which allows you to adjust the travel from 90-130mm. When you put it back down to 90mm, it puts you in a slightly more agressive position. So, you kinda get 2 bikes in 1. XC & All mountain. Also Santa Cruz Blur is $3k with full XT & it weighs in at 25 lbs. Nice bike.