Women's MTB Advice

arran77

A family member is looking to get themselves a mountain bike, my knowledge is more road based :shock:

Out of the three bikes on the link from Evans what would be the best option for an older rider doing a gentle bit of riding on forest type tracks as well as some stuff on lanes etc?

http://www.evanscycles.com/categories/bikes/mountain-bikes/f/female#!!price_from=;price_to=;on_sale=;sort=asc

rockmonkeysc

Dont limit yourself to women specific bikes. All the women I ride with find mens bikes better.

cycle monster

Crumbs, depends upon the age and ability of the relative, her level of fitness and the terrain involved. Is it possible to hire her a bike recommended by a local bike shop who know the region? Often, you will get the hire cost back if you subsequently buy.

kajjal

What sort of budget are you looking at ?

My wife had a mens mountain bike and hated it due to poor standover height and being too stretched out. After a few test rides and not wanting "big wheels" she ended up with a Trek Mynx sl womens mountain bike which she really enjoys riding. This a bit over kill for what you need but Trek have been getting good reviews for their womens mountain bikes recently. Try a few test rides

arran77

We're trying out the three bikes in the link from Evans, so it's Trek Skye SL Disc, Specialized Myka Disc SE 26 2014 or Scott Contessa 640 2013.

The relative is in their 60's and physically fit from walking.

Riding will be forest type paths, towpaths as well as a bit of on road stuff, nothing too extreme!

Budget upto about £450.

The Rookie

Kajjal wrote:

My wife had a mens mountain bike and hated it due to poor standover height and being too stretched out.

Women are longer in the leg than men so if standover was an issue the bike was just plain too big, nothing to do with the nominal gender of the bike, many women's bike use the same frames anyway, just in a 'girly colour'!

chrisw333

They will all be more than good enough for her purpose. You could probably get better value elsewhere (Decathlon / Halfords) but I'm sure you realise that and given she won't be doing anything other than very simple trails it's probably most important that she likes the look / feel of the bike so that she actually uses it.

I would just go for the lightest. I wouldn't necessarily look for disc brakes for her intended use - they can be a pain to adjust, and unless the bike is going to be used for more serious stuff not really needed. Perhaps save some of the budget for lighter, faster rolling tyres as stock tyres at this budget are likely to be pretty horrible.

arran77

I think the look / feel of the bike will be the key thing, colour seems to be important!!

Good point on the tyres, we were thinking of looking at something 'semi slick' if anyone has any recommendations?

welshkev

arran77 wrote:

Good point on the tyres, we were thinking of looking at something 'semi slick' if anyone has any recommendations?

I had some continental race kings on my old commuter. really low rolling resistance but enough grip for occasional off road on gravel paths, fire roads etc:

http://www.nextdaytyres.co.uk/details.a ... -MTB-26/37

arran77

welshkev wrote:

arran77 wrote:

Good point on the tyres, we were thinking of looking at something 'semi slick' if anyone has any recommendations?

I had some continental race kings on my old commuter. really low rolling resistance but enough grip for occasional off road on gravel paths, fire roads etc:

http://www.nextdaytyres.co.uk/details.a ... -MTB-26/37

They look pretty good, anyone got any views on these from Wiggle, they're pretty cheap.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-land-cruiser-mtb-tyre/

The Rookie

Heavy, seriously so, will make for a really dull ride!

My wife uses one of these on the rear when it's dry, just over 600g, rolls great but gives sufficient grip on gravel/grass etc.
http://www.amazon.com/Kenda-Kwick-1-95- ... B001F0BAYE

Maro

A friend of mine has a 29er hybrid from Evans, their own make. She really loves it, she does gentle rides and a little bit of forest trails and it has, what I call, semi slick tyres.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinnacle/cobalt-3-2013-womens-hybrid-bike-ec044207

blinddrew

welshkev wrote:

arran77 wrote:

Good point on the tyres, we were thinking of looking at something 'semi slick' if anyone has any recommendations?

I had some continental race kings on my old commuter. really low rolling resistance but enough grip for occasional off road on gravel paths, fire roads etc:

http://www.nextdaytyres.co.uk/details.a ... -MTB-26/37

I use conti race kings on my bike all the time, great tyres in my experience.