New hardtail for daughter

handsome devil

Hi,

I have been researching a new mtb for my 12 year old daughter. She has really taken to mtb and rides a Giant Revel W3 at present. Its fine for light use (bridleways, Haldon blue route, canal towpaths, etc) but does have a very cheap, crude Suntour fork and is on the heavy side (but it is a £300 bike).

I am looking for something more suited to some (fairly gentle) red routes such as Haldon, Ashton Court, etc that will generally stand a bit more abuse!

I realise opinions will vary wildly but she is very much into what the bikes look like :roll: being female and I am finding this difficult to overcome :?

I do have the following in mind;

http://www.sunsetmtb.co.uk/shop/index.p ... ct_id=1836

or

http://www.primera-sports.com/products/ ... 10193.aspx

as they both feature semi decent forks (RS Recon). However, I am seeking the opinions of the masses as to viable alternatives. Others she likes the look of include Marin Bear Valley (£399 from Winstanleys) but features Suntour XCM fork and Ghost Miss 1200 but also has a rather crude Suntour fork.

Any views????

The Rookie

If you're considering the Marin, then the Carrera Vulcan is better bike for less money on the same forks, but may not look nice enough.

The Voodoo range may be good looking 'enough' and offer great value for money with a good spec at the price.

cooldad

I would widen your search from womens bikes to all, just find one that fits and maybe change the saddle. Gives far more options.

Chunkers1980

Smaller frame, than if a boy. And make sure the 'length' is tweakable. Man bikes will give much better vfm, only downside is they're not as cute.

miss notax

What size frame does she need? Being a bit of a short-@rse myself and a girl (although about three times older than your daughter....), I have been here before looking for smaller frames that look nice. I'll have a hunt and see what I can find 8)

handsome devil

Thanks for the feedback. I think I will include any bike in a smaller frame size as that will broaden the options. The Carrera does look good value - I'll check out our local Halfords tomorrow.

She is 5' 3" so I was considering either 15" or 17" frames.

All feedback appreciated.

The Rookie

At 5'3" a 17" is far to big.....

Depending on the balance of leg length to torso/arm length she'll want somewhere between 13 an 15", maybe a 16" at a push. My daughter is 5'4" and rides a 13" although you may want to go up a little to allow for future growth.

benpinnick

The Beginner wrote:

At 5'3" a 17" is far to big.....

Depending on the balance of leg length to torso/arm length she'll want somewhere between 13 an 15", maybe a 16" at a push. My daughter is 5'4" and rides a 13" although you may want to go up a little to allow for future growth.

This. 17 inch frames are good up to about 5'11, so unless you think your daughter will grow that tall soon (or infact anytime) you should be avoiding such big frames. I would say a 14 or 15 is as big as you should be thinking,

Fred0527

Thanks for the feedback. I think I will include any bike in a smaller frame size as that will broaden the options. The Carrera does look good value - I'll check out our local Halfords tomorrow.

handsome devil

Thanks for all the input guys, much appreciated.

As The Beginner advised, I popped into our local Halfords and checked out the Boardman Fi HT Comp. Normally £749.99, discounted to £649.99 at present and I found a further 10% voucher so now £584.99

In addition to this a futher £19 via Quidco so the bottom line is £566. Great spec for the cash. My daughter really liked it. She tried a medium (17") which was too big so I will probably go for the Small (15").

Spec as follows;

Approximate Weight (KG): 13.3
Brake Type: Hydraulic Disc
Chainset: FSA Alpha Drive
Fork Lock-out : Yes
Forks: 100mm Suntour Epicon air suspension fork with adjustable rebound damping and lockout
Forks - Adjustable damping : Yes
Frame Colour: White
Frame Material: Alloy
Frame-: Lightweight 6061 triple butted aluminium frame
Front Brake: Avid Juicy 3 hydraulic disc brakes 160mm rotor
Front Mech: SRAM X5
Gear Shifters: SRAM X5
Gender: Womens
Handle Bars: Boardman 31.8mm alloy low-rise
Headset: FSA 1 1/8 Aheadset
Hubs: Formula 32 hole Q/R disc hub
Number of Gears: 27
Pedals: Wellgo alloy body
Rear Brake: Avid Juicy 3 hydraulic disc brakes 160mm rotor
Rear Mech: SRAM X5
Rims: Alex double wall black 32 hole disc rim with CNC braking surface
Saddle: Boardman womens white with cro-moly rails
Seatpost: Boardman 350mm x 31.6mm black alloy
Stem: Boardman black alloy 90mm x 31.8mm
Suspension: Front
Tyre size: 2.20"
Tyres: Continental Mountain King 26x2.2
Wheel size: 26"
Frame Size: 15-16
Exact Frame Size: 15"

Can anyone suggest anything that beats this for the same money 8) ?

Bit hesitant regarding Halfords putting it together but hope for the best should I take the plunge :roll:

felix.london

This?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2011-Specialized-Rockhopper-Mountain-Bike-15-frame-/150791614487?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item231be17017#ht_840wt_1185

...if only for the red rims

cooldad

Nice bike. Don't worry about Halfords, just give it a check over before riding - which I would do with a bike from anywhere anyway.

benpinnick

Thats a good bike for the money. Buy it, she'll love you forever. You however will regret it for ever as MTBing is even more expensive than a shoe habit (as you are probably aware).

miss notax

Only just seen the replies to this - totally agree about the sizing, I ride a 14" / 15" frame (and i'm 5ft 4"). A small frame will be fine and then you can tweak as necessary

For what it's worth I think the Boardmans sound like a great buy - I have heard nothing but good reviews.

And also agree with benpinnick - if only I had a shoe habit instead, it would save me a bloody fortune :oops:

cooldad

benpinnick wrote:

Thats a good bike for the money. Buy it, she'll love you forever. You however will regret it for ever as MTBing is even more expensive than a shoe habit (as you are probably aware).

On the other hand, and one of the reasons I encourage thel33ter, is that it's cheaper than a crack habit.

felix.london

or what about this Small Stumpy FSR 8) ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Specialized-Stumpjumper-D4W-/220999306076?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item337495cb5c#ht_500wt_1202

handsome devil

Thanks to everyone for their opinions, views, etc. We visited a local Halfords and my daughter had a ride on a small size Boardman Fi HT Comp and loved it. Sizing seems to be right. Spec is great and with some slight alterations (lever positioning, saddle height, etc) it seems perfect for our needs.

Here is a pic outside Halfords (check out the big grin);



Felix - Nice find but too late as we bought the Boardman yesterday.
Benpinnick - I can already see me becoming poorer as time goes on and the addiction takes hold
Coodad - The build seems okay, some of the bolts appeared to be over-tightened but I have re-torqued so all appears to be well now.

Here`s to many great rides up at the Quantocks, Ashton Court, Haldon, etc, etc.....

Chunkers1980

Nice the bike looks good.

Did you change the front brake cable routing after the pic? In the pic it's not right.

handsome devil

Not sure what you mean Chunkers :?

I have checked and it`s routed down the rear left side lower fork leg and appears to look correct. In fact all the cable routing looks neater than both my Stumpy FSR and my Whyte 905 :shock: