Bike for the ever so slightly better half.

nobby2607

Ola!

Im after a bike for the missus on a bit of a budget. We went cycling a few weeks ago in the lakes with my son and she loved it. So aha I thought! I could buy her a bike :idea: ! So been looking to spend around the 400 500 notes mark, as not to spend too much, make sure she's really into it then got for the all singing and dancing full suss steed.

I have seen a cannondale trail sl 5 for £400, and also looking at the specialised myka sport disc for around £450, anyone got any experience with these bikes?



Cheers,

Nobby.

miss notax

Never ridden one myself, but the Boardmans always get a good review in the not-so-expensive-hardtail bracket

Worth thinking about a second hand bike? Some good deals on Ebay etc (expecially for female-specific bikes as proportionally less people are after them!). That way your wife can see if she likes cycling without a huge inital outlay, and if she does and upgrades to a full susser you can probably sell it for what you bought it for 8) Or just keep it - you can never have too many bikes

Twelly

http://www.hargrovescycles.co.uk/produc ... ain%20Bike

All I seem to do on this forum is plug Cube bikes.... Maybe I should ask them for some kind of salary..

Anyhoo.. My mum asked me to pick her a bike on the same budget and I picked this.

EDIT: There were a couple I looked at which were slightly better spec'd but she thought this was the 'prettiest' :roll:

nobby2607

Thanks so much for the help!

Or just keep it - you can never have too many bikes

Thats what I keep telling the missus when Im trying to cionvince her to let me buy the Orange Five pro and the Scott Genius and the..... (dream on)

Had a good look through ebay and there's not much about at the minute especially seeing as though she is 5ft and thats limiting the frame size to the smallest available. :roll:

Checking out the cube and the boardman, For my budget she wont get disc brakes on the cube,(can on the Specialised and cannondale), which I think would be better, still a good looking (if very girly :P ) bike. Boardman has got a great spec, just a bit over my budget, although I know I would probably get most of it back if I was to sell it on. Just think for the price of the boardman would rather go to Canyon (http://www.canyon.com/_uk/mountainbikes ... tml?b=2536 ) and get her an even better spec for £50 extra. Also just noticed that the smallest boardman is a 15" frame, which is a bit on the big side for little miss! :roll:

Thinking that I might have o dig a little deeper.

Much easier looking for a bike for myself! :shock:

supersonic

If you can stretch to this:

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... n_-_Womens

Superb machine.

supersonic

Here's something different:

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... Suspension

Put a Reba on and you'd have a cracking full susser for the money.

ksovich

How tall is she? I am 5 feet and I ride a 15 in specialized. I liked the Myka a lot and that is what I was planning on getting but when I went to order my bike, they did not have any in stock, so I ended up with the Jett Comp 29. Can't wait for it to come in to really test it out. But like I said, I really liked the Myka in both the 26 and the 29er.

miss notax

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ladies-Orange ... 41655195f2

Nice bike, ladies spec, 15" frame so should fit and (currently!) a nice price 8) Should hold it's value too if you sell it on....

nobby2607

Thanks alot for that.

Plenty of food for thought. The Orange Diva is on the wath list, so see how that goes. Think if not the Specialised Myka is still going to be the best bet. Hydraulic brakes and seems like a good quality steed that I havent seen a bad word about anywhere. Also good to see that a 15" could fit the missus, with her being 5ft short.

Really appreciate the replies.
Thanks for the help.

supersonic

Depends on which Myka - some are not too hot.

nobby2607

It was the Myka sport disc I was looking at. There are two models below this one, but this one got the hydraulic brakes instead of, mech disc or rims. :?



I checked out the bikes you posted, can't really stretch the budget at the minute whch is a shame. The Full suss looked the dogs twitcher, just unsure as she won't be riding many trails where she'll need that much bike, for now any how. I'll get her there tho, and when I do thats when Ill be looking for a top of the range full suss for her!

supersonic

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/myka-sport-disc-2012-womens-mountain-bike-ec030681?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=froogle

This one? It is not a good bike I am afraid. Well, it has a nice frame and some decent parts, but the ride is totally ruined by that undamped, clanking fork. So many better bikes for the money than this.

supersonic

Take a look at this, recently won our best budget bike test witha full 5 stars:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499

nobby2607

Yeah that was the one I was looking at, gonna order it through evans too! Suppose I was waiting for that. :?

Checked out the voodoo, looks like a nice bike, only problem is me missus is 5 foot nowt and that bike only starts in a 16" inch frame! So reckon that could be a little big for her. :? Might pop down to halfords with her when I get back from offshore and give it a try just the same.

Hope I can find something suitable!

supersonic

Certainly worth popping down and having a look.

I'd try and find a bike with a damped fork - units such as the Suntour XCM HLO (or V3), XCR LO, Raidon/Epicon, Dart 2/3, Rockshox Tora, Recon, XC series.

nobby2607

AHA! Just thought, I have an old carrera sitting in the garage that I never use with Rockshox tora TK forks, might be worth getting the Myka and seeing if I can get them to fit??? Worth a thought. If not I will be having a look closer at bikes with dampened forks.

Thanks alot for the advice, sure we'll get there in the end!

mobilekat

Would really try to get her to try a few bikes, as no matter what reviews say the best bike for someone is the one they feel happy on!
As I am sure most people will agree!

nobby2607

Thanks all for the help, from offshore so let the fun and games begin with the bike shopping.

Would be much more fun if it was for me tho!