sunsurfer

Hey there,

I'm a female, new to the forum and to mountain bikes. I've recently lost quite a bit of weight but have some more to go. Im looking to get into biking for some fun but also fitness. Im honestly not sure how deep ill get into it though, so I'm buying used. I've done a bit of research and found that the old trek 9xx had solid frames and because of my weight (5'4 220#), I'm interested in a sturdy frame. Aside from that, I'd like something that that can grow with me a bit if need be.

I havent really seen any female treks of the models im looking for... did they even make them?!? I do see alot of 8xx models, but the price often averages $140. I'd rather pay the same or less for a better model. Soooo I'm now looking at mens frames.

My question is this... Can anyone give me advice on what trek frame sizes i may need ased on my height? Oh, my inseam (I think its called) is 28.5". On the old schwinn frontiers I easily fit the female 13" which seems identical to the mens 15" with room to spare. I could go up to the next frame size with no problems.

The bike I'm looking at right now is a trek 950. The seller thinks its a 16" but is going to measure it tonight. The specs are as follows:

$135, hopefully negotiable
Small Frame Trek Blue
Manitou Front shock,
Tires good,
Ridden on Paved Trails only
LX rear derailer add
Avid cable Brakes
Presta Tubes
Smooth Rider
New front rim and hub
Original owner
Possibly has purchase documentations

Thanks for your help!!

jimc101

Female specific (in Trek terms WSD) is a relatively new thing, think last 10 years or so, the 930/950 were long before this, and neither has been produced since 1998/9.

For the sizing, thinking that for your height, 16" may be too large, but you would need to try this, as it may be fine.

For the specs you have listed, would take be prepared to replace the fork if you have any issues, as spares for 90's Answer Manitou forks are hard to source, and they weren't that good BITD, wonder why it has had a new front wheel? For the basic bike, a steel trek from the 9** series from the late 90's are as good as you get for mainstream Cro-mo framed bikes from that era.

Regardless of what you get, would look at investing in a female specific saddle, would go to a good LBS, preferably with female sales staff for advice, as this will benefit any bike you were to get.

LesterOfPuppets

Pretty tough to advise. If one of these Schwinns you had fit you perfectly then i'd measure the Effective top tube length and try to find a bike with the same.

In 1990 the smallest 950, 16.5" had a pretty long top tube, about 55cm. 55cm seems like it would be a bit of a long stretch for you unless a stubby stem was deployed. They did, however offer compact versions of the 950 with a shorter TT, though.

By 1996 the 16.5" 950 had a slightly longer TT than the 1990 one but they offered a 13" which had a 54cm ETT.

Further confusing matters, sometime in the Early 1990s, Trek seems to have changed their measuring from Center-to-center to center-to-top, at least the pics in their specs charts reflect this.

bbbean 

Get thee to a bike shop! At the very least test ride the two bikes you're considering, better yet, test a variety of bikes that might be suitable so you have a better idea what works for YOUR body.

LesterOfPuppets

jim's mention of WSD made me zero in on this part and like he says the WSD stuff is newfangled, pretty sure the 950 you're looking at came out a good 10 years before WSD happened.

The 8xx series often came in ladies versions, with a step-through frame but the 9xx series was mostly more racing/enthusiast level so no step-through frames were made, just the "compact" ones I mentioned above.

roccobike

16" for a person 5' 4" seems a little large, especially if the top tube is longer than average as indicated in an earlier post. Be prepared to pass on that bike if it isn't comfortable. With mountain bikes you can make a small bike expand with seatpost changes and stem changes, but it's pretty hard to shrink a bike that's too big. Check the 950 out carefully. Also, what jimc101 said about the Manitou shocks is correct. I have two in the basement, one 80mm that I'd love to rebuild, but the parts for these shocks are difficult to find, some harder to find than others.
A new bike would be a good investment. You'll get a proper fit and everything will work correctly.

sunsurfer

Thanks for the replies! The bike ended up being 17", not 16", which was far too big for me. So I'm still looking, but I think I'm going to expand my search to other frames.