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New bike advice for my grrrlie's first mountain rig (x-post from lounge)

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
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So, I've been looking for a rig for my grrrlie. I've checked the used pages and been to a ton of LBS with her. She is willing to drop some cash, but doesn't want to go over $1,000. I thought I could find a solid XC HT rig for that price point, but I've been having trouble spotting something with the right combo of build spec and geo.

She's a wee lass at 5'3", and she has an appropriate body weight for that height (I don't ask such questions, and I don't wish to know such answers) so she's a feather-weight. She also has a road background, so she is bike friendly, but she is new to the dirt. I've taken her on two dirt rides, and she seems to like my taste in slack DH/FR geo bikes.

I recently found some solid prices on closeout full squish bikes that I think might make sense for her. The two I've got it narrowed down to are the Jamis Parker and the Diamondback Mission 1. They are both about the same price, so I need to find another deciding factor. Here are my thoughts so far:

1 - The Diamondback is a 6" frame vs the Jamis at 4". Is more rear travel going to be an issue for her since she is a smaller rider?

2 - The Diamondback comes with a stronger build (in my eyes) Fox Float rear shock, Tora Fork, Hayes Stroker Ride brakes, LX rear derail vs. the Jamis with a RockShox Bar, Recon fork, Tektro brakes, deore rear derail.

3 - The geo in the small size Diamondback has a 22" top tube, but she has liked bikes with 21" top tubes. However the 21" bikes she has tried had longer stems, so I think a short stem can adjust for this. The Jamis is a 21" top tube in the small, so I think she will fit that better.

4 - The Diamondback has a slightly higher BB than the Jamis. She like feeling "in" the bike and not "on" it so I think she would like the lower BB. Of course, the higher BB is probably due to the extra 2" of suspension.

5 - At 34lbs, the Diamondback is going to be heavy for her, but I don't think many of the other bikes I looked at were much lighter, and I think the Jamis may even be closer to 36lbs.

Both bikes will be mail ordered, so it will be a fingers-crossed and educated guess situation. Right now, my lean is toward the Diamondback. What do y'all think?
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
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My initial "gut" reaction is that the two you mention above will be too heavy and clunky for her to really ride (rather than just holding on). $1000 is a great budget so I am thinking that you should be able to find a used FS bike or even a left-over bike from a previous season within that range that is better sized and not quite as beefy a build. At 5'3" and a smaller frame, she won't need things to be built up to be "bombproof".

My dinner bell is beeping, but I'll chime in with some more suggestions in a little while.
 

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
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Cool. There have been a few suggestions in the Lounge thread. I'd love to get her on something under 30lbs so she can handle the bike, instead of it handling her.
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
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Okay...I just checked out the thread in the lounge and there is some good info in there too.

Do you have a stock pile of useable parts? The Joker might be on to something here....get a good used frame or frame/fork and build it up with some parts that you have, then as she progresses and/or breaks things, replace with nicer (lighter) parts.

For what she'll be riding, I would say a HT or a 4" FS bike would be great to start out on. I think in one of your posts you said she didn't enjoy the HT, why--was it fit or comfort? That's definitely something to think about before building one up and having her not like it.

A women's specific seat would be a great thing, as would a good pair of cycling shorts -- don't skip on either.
 

mandown

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Jun 1, 2004
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The XC HT she was on was a problem for her because it was a 17" XC frame and she needed a 15" or smaller for that model. A shorter stem would have had her in a better spot, but in any case the frame was too big. Also, the fork was worthless and locked out (at 190lbs, I couldn't get it to compress). She also thought it would be a good idea to be clipped in (she's a roadie) and the trail we rode had some tech sections, so she fell a few times because she lost flow (stupid fork) and couldn't unclip.

On a previous ride, she rode a 35lb 18" HT that I had (On-one Inbred Summer Season with a Pike... before it was stolen) on flat pedals and managed to do fine on it, even through some tech sections I thought she would walk. She has roadie legs, so she could climb fire roads just fine. However on the second ride, she realized that the tech stuff was more fun. There isn't too much here in SoCal that she would need a big AM full squish for, so I don't know if it is worth the weight and the cost to get one. I'm also not sure she'd appreciate having the squish. Of course, she might not appreciate the HT either. It is a gamble.
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
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The XC HT she was on was a problem for her because it was a 17" XC frame and she needed a 15" or smaller for that model. A shorter stem would have had her in a better spot, but in any case the frame was too big. Also, the fork was worthless and locked out (at 190lbs, I couldn't get it to compress). She also thought it would be a good idea to be clipped in (she's a roadie) and the trail we rode had some tech sections, so she fell a few times because she lost flow (stupid fork) and couldn't unclip.

On a previous ride, she rode a 35lb 18" HT that I had (On-one Inbred Summer Season with a Pike... before it was stolen) on flat pedals and managed to do fine on it, even through some tech sections I thought she would walk. She has roadie legs, so she could climb fire roads just fine. However on the second ride, she realized that the tech stuff was more fun. There isn't too much here in SoCal that she would need a big AM full squish for, so I don't know if it is worth the weight and the cost to get one. I'm also not sure she'd appreciate having the squish. Of course, she might not appreciate the HT either. It is a gamble.

Yeah, it's always a bit of a gamble with your first bike. I personally had a HT that was too big for me, didn't like it and got a FS bike that fit...that's when I fell in love with the sport. Now I actually prefer my HT for a lot of my riding, but love to play on my FS bike too.

For her size, a heavier AM FS bike probably is a bit much, though I tend to ride heavy so I appreciate it and am willing to deal with the extra couple of pounds (yes, my 575 is crazy light).

Are there any women's groups that ride local to you? Maybe you can contact them for some advice too. They might have a spare bike that would fit her better that she could take out and see what she'll really prefer (HT vs. FS) and that can help to guide the purchase as well. They may even have a used bike for sale too. We don't have an LA LUNA Chix team or I would send you there...we're all about getting chix on bikes and having fun!!! Sunny is a part of the San Diego cycling team she's VERY knowledgeable and would also be a great person to contact for more information. We also have a Mountain Bike team in the Bay area, but again, it's a bit of a drive for you.

I am really thinking a HT or short-travel bike would likely be your best bets for her. The technical sections are nice and a little more fun with the suspension, but she'll learn more about flow and picking lines with a HT. Plus, if you go with a HT now and she gets hooked, you'll have the option of picking up a FS rig later and then she'll have both :)

I'll try to think of some solid bike suggestions and post up some more for you soon.
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
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Dancin' over rocks n' roots!
Much appreicated.

I'm leaning toward the Rocky Mountain here
http://www.hucknroll.com/mountainbike/Rocky-Mountain-Vertex-50-XC-Bike-Womens/RMB0010M.html?avad=20447_f8eac89

It is super light and the parts could be kept and swapped if she decides she wants to try a different frame.
That one looks nice...solid parts that would easily transfer to another frame if she decides to change. I would have been stoked to have a sweet ride like that when I started. Makes my man look bad for putting me on his 17" steel diamondback :busted:
 

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
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So we went shopping yesterday. We found a few bikes that were nice. One was a $700 Diamondback with a nice parts build, at Performance. I got her to try a 29" wheel, but she didn't like the sluggish feel, and liked how "flickable" 26" wheels were. The game winner came through at another LBS, with a 2009 Cannondale female specific design. It had a nice parts build and a solid fit... in fact, her eyes lit up when she sat on it. I could tell she found something she liked. The sales guy there did a great job and the bike had a shorter stem and narrower bar than others we had looked at, so the whole package seemed like it would work. The only wrinkle is that a bud of mine came through with his Chamelon that he's looking to unload. It is heavier and the bar is too wide, and it is a single speed. I've got cranks that will save a bunch of weight with a quick swap, and some extra derail parts to make it a multi-speed rig. The big bonus is the Pike. She already can tell the Pike is a nicer fork and that the geometry of the bike is more stable for curb-hopping. Since the Chameleon had lock-on grips, I was able to move them in closer to the stem to give her the narrow bar feel, which she liked.

It is tough to beat the price of the bro-deal, but the new bike is new. My gut is to say that the Chameleon will be a better bike for her to grow into. She likes them both and sees the pros and cons of each. Heck, I even told the sales guy what options we are considering, and he agreed that it is a tough choice:

Chameleon - good bike, a bit heavy, bro-pricing, nice fork, will require some tweaks to set up.

Cannondale - good fit out of the box, 30lbs, new bike smell, warranty and shop adjustments, middle of the road price (more than the bro deal, but half of the Rocky Mountain).

Rocky Mountain - Outstanding bang for the buck, over the budget, 5-10lbs lighter than the other options, nice parts build (a pro and a con, since breaking an expensive part will mean replacing an expensive part), gamble on the geometry and fit buying over the internet.
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
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Dancin' over rocks n' roots!
Which Cannondale? What's the build spec? It's a little heavier than the Rocky Mountain, BUT she got to sit on it and ride it a little, it's in the price range and that would save $$$ for some good gear (if she needs it) and for upgrades to make it lighter?

The Chameleon is a great bike don't get me wrong, but if it's going to need a lot of tweaks to get it down in weight and to the right feel of the Cannondale, it might be worth it to get the C-dale and hit the trails.

Honestly, as nice as the RM build looks, I would rule it out simply because she can't test ride it and she has 2 other options that she can.
 

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
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Size small.

The build doesn't match what is listed on the links I can find. The colors I found seem to be Euro models. It seems to be a strange closeout/mutt build, or the intrawebz isn't being helpful.

The Dart fork is my only concern with the build. The Pike just smokes it, and even she could tell... even with too firm a spring in the Pike.

As for tweaks to the Chameleon, it will just need the bar cut and some derails thrown on, which shouldn't be much trouble at all. I have the parts, I just need some cable housing and and a free hour of weekend time to set up the derails and swap the cranks (ISIS swap is fast and easy).
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
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Dancin' over rocks n' roots!
Ah, yeah, I would definitely say the Pike outshines the Dart...no contest. IF the Chameleon swap is that quick then I'd go for it. Yeah, it lacks the "new bike smell" but with that comes the desire to keep it looking new and shiney and let's face it...that doesn't happen with a mountain bike (atleast for me). I vote Chameleon (plus I'd love one) :)