Ladies Specific Mountain Bikes

barcanova
barcanova Posts: 12
edited November 2011 in Women
Are ladies specific mountain bikes better generally than their male targeted counterparts for ladies....whats the general opinion.

Wife and I are thinking about getting her one.

Cheers

Grant
Yeti ASR 5
Rocky Mountain Element 50
Marin East Peak
GT Bravado LE (In a coma)
Kona Cinder Code (RIP)
Raleigh Mirage (RIP)

Comments

  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    The geometry varies so much brand to brand that the only thing you can say for certain is that the saddles are probably going to be more comfortable!
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  • Stumpjumper25
    Stumpjumper25 Posts: 156
    I brought a ladies specific mtb but wont ever again.
    Go and test if you see a couple you like take out for a day.
  • suzyb
    suzyb Posts: 3,449
    I would buy whatever I felt fitted me.
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  • Mrs Toast
    Mrs Toast Posts: 636
    I've demoed loads of bikes, and I generally find that the women's specific have too short top tubes for my tastes, especially the Specialized WSD. Cheaper 'men's' bikes with coil forks can be a bit of a pain as they're set up for heavier riders, but air forks are easily adjustable. As people have said, best thing to do is to try them out.
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  • hellsbells
    hellsbells Posts: 34
    at 5'3 i am small but i have long legs and a short body, a womens specific helps me as the reach is good and it doesnt hurt my back! I ride an Orange Five Diva (currently for sale) the geometry is almost the same in the mens small five i think!!
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  • diy
    diy Posts: 6,473
    Mrs diy rides a mans bike she is 5'9, (rockhopper Large) I did have to make some mods though. Raised up the bars, added some spacers under the stem and swapped for a shorter stem and she'd like riser bars when we find some.

    It seems ladies have long legs and short arms relative to men.

    But since the hopper has tora solo airs there is no problem with forks.
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  • Littleroadiebiker
    Littleroadiebiker Posts: 7
    I'll reiterate the opinion that a woman's bike may not be the best in terms of geometry. I am only 4ft 10" but do not have classic "women's" geometry of long legs and short body - I'm just short all over! I found the Specialised and Kona MTB's particularly short in the top tube and ended up going for a men's bike in XS instead.
    It took me over two years to find a bike that fitted me properly, and I went loads of shops to just stand over/sit on a bike to see if it fitted or not. Most manufacturers have demo events all around the country too, and they are well worth a visit.

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