hi newbie here

santa cruz girl

hi my name is mel i live in the west midlands, i am the proud owner of a santa cruz heckler, i love going riding and getting muddy and love single track,freeride, xc, and will attempt downhill occasionally but scares me to be honest lol, i am 34 years young, and would like to chat to other ladies who love riding their bikes. bye for now thanx xx

supersonic

I'm not a lady lol, but welcome anyway. Plenty of them about though, they just don't seem to use this section!!!

lunaeventer

Hi! I am a lady!! Live up in Scotland & this lot aren't too bad when you get used to them!!!!!

supersonic

We don't bite. Well I don't. Well not often...

lunaeventer

See what I mean!!!!!! :roll:

leecozens

Hi Mel, I'm no Lady either but good to hear more chicks getting involved!

...unfortunately the West Mids is a little flat, do you ride Sutton Park, Cannock Chase? these can be fun for an afternoon's blast.

We tend to head a little further a field at weekends now. Mainly North Wales, have you ever hit any of the trails there? 12 of us heading to Nant-y-Aron on Sat as it happens.

djvagabon1

Hi mel. Im trying to get my girlfriend into mountain biking but shes having none of it. We live in the west midlands. Ill try and get her on here. Shed probably go out with other women. She says im to mad and she scared of falling off with me.

alphaanne

Hey girl,

Im afraid to say that it seems to me that girls into mtbs are few and far between...The good news is that I find the guys are way friendly though

Ive kinda searched about and found a few ladies out there....Im from central Scotland and 30 years old so know where your at

dentl

Hey,

I'm new to the forum too and really into MTBing infact just asked the lot in the jumping section about getting into that as I'm up for improving my confidence and skills so what better way to do it - popping about on a bike........

I'm based in the lake district so a haven for riding - would be nice to hear from more girls too.....

alphaanne

Im interested in what bikes the other girls have....Im lucky enough to be going shopping for a new hardtail in the £500 - £600 range.....any opinions would be happily received.

Do any of you have women specific bikes and do you think its made a difference? Im quite tallish at 5'7" so prob be ok on a blokes bike but am still curious

Specalized Rockhopper has caught my eye so far...... 8)

breezer

Probably best to go to a bigger shop, somewhere like Evans and try a few out as everyone is different. Typically women have longer legs and shorter upper bodies so the women specific geometry frames tend to have shorter top tubes ie with less reach.

Now is a good time of the year to buy as the 2009 models are out so 2008 ones get big reductions, 25%+ if you look around

dangermoo

owdy,

Another forum newby female rider here based between the Peaks and the Dales.

Riding bikes for 4 years now (horses a lot longer!) and have gone through a few bikes in that time! I' m tall at 5' 11" so women's bikes don't even come close to fitting me, which is good in some respects as they pressume a woman wants a pink bike normally with some sparkles on, who will only cycle to Asda and back once a week! Am i the only girl that this annoys?

At the moment i ride a Scott Scale 30 carbon hardtail and a Lapierre Spicy 516 (possibly the sexiest bike on the planet), both men's mediums due to my height.

I'm also a CyTech mechanic which bewilders the male customers who come to get their bikes serviced / fixed in my shop! "A WOMAN who can use spanners and allen keys" is normally the reaction i get!!

Regarding a new hardtail, shop around and try as many as possible, have you seen / considered owt from Lapierre? They do female specific models and they aren't pink or sprakly?!

amyabcd

I am only 5'4 but I find the top tubes too short on girls bikes, I bought Scott scale too (50) and I love it. Iand no you are not the only one who hates the pink/ flowers/ baby blue that all girls bikes are!

Go to a shop with lots of variety, don't me frighteded to try lots of bikes and don't feel pigeon holled into buying a girls bike just becaues its girls.

Something to think about though is girls bikes can come in girly colour, tend to have softer suspension, sometimes smaller reach for the brakes etc and tend to have a womes specific saddle.

Amy

dangermoo

All the female specific points are valid, but if it is a men's geometry that suits you best then the components and forks (if they're decent) can all be fine tuned so that you get the same feeling component wise that you would on a off the peg female bike.

Brake reach can easily be adjusted on the levers, as can fork dampening rate. If you get an air fork then it is easily set up for lightweight women. It is worth noting that if you get a coil fork, you can buy and fit softer dampening springs in the stachions for a softer, lighter weight ride. This made a ton of difference to a pair of MX Comps i had a few years back when i couldn't afford Fox air forks or shocks!

WTB make a good range of women specific saddles too, nicely padded for our bottoms!

And i'd agree with Amy, don't let boys pressure you into buying something just because they thinks it's ace! At the end of the day it is you who is riding it and it's an investment, so do your homework and take out as many as possible. Many trail centres have a test ride facility, as riding it round Evans car park is really naff all use!!

breezer

"woman" specific saddle is definately worth it as they are shaped to reflect the difference in female sit bones and pelvis but any decent shop will probably exchange the saddle for free if buying the bike from them so just bear that in mind if trying out a "mens" bike and dont discount the bike just due to pain down there

Nero50

Hi. another newbie here, also new to MTBing since august and am completely addicted! In North Yorkshire and can usually be found at Dalby most weekends, trying to build up my skills/stamina for the summer! I bought a mens Cannondale F5, medium frame and i adore it, fits me perfectly, although im am 5'9" i have a long body and short legs for my height, so a sparkly pink bike was way out of the question, but i do admit the matt black F5 still looks better covered in mud!

I DEFINATELY reccomend a womens specific saddle though , it was the first thing i changed, before i even went on the first ride!

miss notax

Hello

I ride a santa cruz superlight on the south coast and am pretty much the same age, so I know where you're coming from!

Also agree about the female saddles, it's a must! My bike is a small mens frame though which I find fits perfectly (i'm 5ft 4).

We do need more ladies in mountain biking....

jimih73

ignore my user name i'm a girl too!

currently have two mens bikes one a small xtc the other a small reign(but this is about to be redundant Yeti 575 coming once they've built some small frames! )

definitely true about the saddle invest in a woman specific!

ali99

Hi,
i'm a lady an i ride a bike!!

Anonymous

I'm from the west midlands but I'm still attempting to choose a bike at the moment!