This has nothing to do with her being a girl. Its plain and simple that she doesn't have the strength. She has trouble pushing up her 28/29lbs hardtail and all the girls she rides with just moan about having to push up there 38lb bikes. The only lift accessed riding we have are at races so unless she takes up racing or moves to a country with chairlifts making the push up easier is whats this about and making the bike more manageable.You guys SERIOUSLY underestimate us. We really can play with the big boys, even when the bike to weight ratio would be like you riding a +60lb bike. Just because we have vaginas doesn't mean we aren't strong and determined to beat you back up to the top when you tell us we can't.
Because we will.
My bike is 41 pounds. I weigh 118. Do that math, and figure it out the ratio with your weight. Then tell me we aren't badass's.
small womens dh bike
- Thread starter al-irl
- Start date
Good idea. Santas are incredibely small. I've tried small free and v10 and I felt like I would go over the bars any moment
A feeling never mimicked by any other s bike.It seems like a size small Intense SS V1 could be a solid option. They have low standover, solid angles, and I'm sure you could find one used real cheap. At the shop I used to work at, we sold quite a few of those to smaller girls for their DH bikes, and it seems like it worked out great. Even yesterday I was riding with a buddy's GF that's on the smaller side of 5'3" 120ish, and she was SHREDDING on her SS V1 on a pretty fast, rough trail with a few bigger gaps. She used to shred on her hardtail, but the SS definitely made her a lot faster!
Just stock up on 6001 (?) cartridge bearings.
The 6 point is not 1.5 and all the 6point and 7point are both really heavy frames (I think the SS is fairly heavy, too).
When I was dating a girl fairly seriously last year, I was planning on building her up a SS V1 with an 06-09 Boxxer WC set at 7", light wheels, low bars, and large volume, light tires (like singleply Ardents). That bike would shred!
Just stock up on 6001 (?) cartridge bearings.
The 6 point is not 1.5 and all the 6point and 7point are both really heavy frames (I think the SS is fairly heavy, too).
When I was dating a girl fairly seriously last year, I was planning on building her up a SS V1 with an 06-09 Boxxer WC set at 7", light wheels, low bars, and large volume, light tires (like singleply Ardents). That bike would shred!
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Thats the sort of bike is was thinking originally but don't have the budget for a ss. Have been scouring ebay and theres a few 6.6s going at the right money they have a 1.5 headtube and could take angled reducers and there pretty light. Although now im thinking a proper small dh bike now with some smart spec to keep the weight down. Transcend has tempted me with a sweet Orange 224 and im just trying to figure out were to get the cash for it from.
I agree with WBC, my wife is 4'-11" and I decided to buy her a Intense Slopestyle which fits her perfectly. Since my wife is less than 100 lbs soaking wet I could get away with an all mountain wheelset and XCish cranks bringing the bike weight down to 35lbs with DH tires. Some of the other advantages is a 135mm hub spacing (optional) and a 73 mm BB shell which allows you to run a spare set of whees and cranks if you have them.
In the end I think you'll find the perfect bike for her and she'll be happy!
In the end I think you'll find the perfect bike for her and she'll be happy!
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I'm a 5'4 male who does WAY TOO MUCH F'ING research for my own health. I mean, it's 5:10AM, and I'm still up looking for a 3.25" stroke 200lb spring from Australia.
Anyways, I have spent the last 2 years researching small downhill and freeride frames. This is what I've learned:
1) Screw virtual top tubes. Bikes can vary so much in this respect(because of sloping seat tubes) and have no basis on the TRUE sizing of a DH or FR frame: distance from crank to the top center of the head tube. Reach/Stack height are the new standard, but surprisingly most manufacturers are not listing this measurement(and it cannot be precisely calculated from the given measurements).
2) Standover is a deceiving way to judge sizing on a FR/DH bike. These are my findings after researching measurements of the the front center and reach of various manufacturers:
3) Don't skimp on the travel. I often hear people claim that shorter riders don't need as much travel. Extremely misleading.. it may initially sound logical but it truly has no basis in reality. Taller riders have enormous amounts of travel.. in their arms and legs. As a tiny rider, I'm bucked all over the place with 8.5" of travel. Believe me: shorter riders can use all the travel that they can get(in the downhill arena at least).
4) If your girlfriend is going to do freeride/trails/climbs, fine. But if she's going on gnarly downhill terrain, don't spoil the initial impression with an unforgiving bike with a steep head tube. I mean, you wouldn't teach somebody how to drive a stick shift on a clutch that slips.
At the very least, make sure there is sufficient sag(30%+) for the initial impression.. I heard somebody say that lighter riders "shouldn't need as much sag, <25% is fine." I'm not even going to explain this one... that's just stupid. Air springs definitely make things a hell of a lot better for adjustments. A supple coil is no comparison to air, if it ain't the right weight.
I know a lot of this sounds like bad news, but take it from a tiny rider who has made too many mistakes with the wrong equipment. If a girl has not ridden her share of dh/fr bikes, of course the one her husband/boyfriend made her "fits great".. cuz what is there to compare it to? I've owned so much crap and tried so many setups that I know what will allow a small female rider to have the same experience that you have on your properly fitting equipment.
The Syren is a great freeride bike, but it ain't no downhill bike.
However, if it is a freeride bike that you're after, the FR bike I ended up with may be another option: 07 Norco Six size XS(when they used to have one). AWESOME fitting rig with 6.5" travel, Lyric fork, FSR suspension efficiency, incredible standover, lightweight, and it's for sale
Some other notes: Stack Height just as important as reach. With a 8"/203mm travel fork, it will be hard to get the weight over the front for effective cornering and pushing the front wheel down when the ground falls away.
1)Headset:
- Crank Brothers have the lowest 1 1/8 stack height.
- If it's a 1.5, you're in luck! Get a Cane Creek Reducer or FSA with a stack height of under 11mm. E13 cups get you even lower at 6mm stack.
2) Flat bars - You can get wide/flat bars with sweep from Truvativ(Stylo's are the lightest), Gravity 777, Syncros, Sunline(really F'n wide), Chromag, etc.
3) If it's a dual crown fork, get the Canfield Brothers Stem: 25.4mm/1" drop and gives me more traction than any mega-compounded-siped-engineered-tire.
A traditionally stacked bike(King headset, 3-4 spacers, standard direct mount, riser bars) may seem harmless and even comfortable in the parking lot. However, your woman will be putting in unnecessary effort to tame a tall frontend.
Anyways, I have spent the last 2 years researching small downhill and freeride frames. This is what I've learned:
1) Screw virtual top tubes. Bikes can vary so much in this respect(because of sloping seat tubes) and have no basis on the TRUE sizing of a DH or FR frame: distance from crank to the top center of the head tube. Reach/Stack height are the new standard, but surprisingly most manufacturers are not listing this measurement(and it cannot be precisely calculated from the given measurements).
2) Standover is a deceiving way to judge sizing on a FR/DH bike. These are my findings after researching measurements of the the front center and reach of various manufacturers:
- Ironhorse Sunday smalls are not anywhere near the smallest.
- To my dismay, Intense smalls are not anywhere near the smallest.
- Canfield Jedi's are nowhere near the smallest with a really tall head tube.
- The Turner DHR(starting 07-08 and the current DW) is the smallest DH bike that I would actually ride. Sizing dropped in 07 and has stayed that way since. 3.7" head tube height(07-08) and even lower for DW bikes. There is a huge margin over most manufacturers. My BB-top headset cup mounting nets 2 inches less than an Intense Socom.
- Santa Cruz V-10's are pretty damn small, close to the Turner, but has a slightly taller head tube at over 4".
- Transition TR450 is pretty close to the Turner, but not quite. The Blindside, on the other hand, is a little bigger.
- Banshee Legend II - I don't know how they're defining "reach", but their measurement is quite a bit smaller than a Turner DHR??? Considering that the Banshee only has 3 sizes to Turner's 4, and Giant's 5.
- Giant has an XS Glory, but here is why I would not recommend a pre '10 XS Glory: Straight top tube. Look at the photos and you'll see why the standover(listed as 34.4) is higher than many size larges. Major flop in the design of the tiniest downhill rig ever built. Not to mention the weight.(A 44lb bike to a 120lb female is worse than a 60lb bike to a 180lb male).
3) Don't skimp on the travel. I often hear people claim that shorter riders don't need as much travel. Extremely misleading.. it may initially sound logical but it truly has no basis in reality. Taller riders have enormous amounts of travel.. in their arms and legs. As a tiny rider, I'm bucked all over the place with 8.5" of travel. Believe me: shorter riders can use all the travel that they can get(in the downhill arena at least).
4) If your girlfriend is going to do freeride/trails/climbs, fine. But if she's going on gnarly downhill terrain, don't spoil the initial impression with an unforgiving bike with a steep head tube. I mean, you wouldn't teach somebody how to drive a stick shift on a clutch that slips.
At the very least, make sure there is sufficient sag(30%+) for the initial impression.. I heard somebody say that lighter riders "shouldn't need as much sag, <25% is fine." I'm not even going to explain this one... that's just stupid. Air springs definitely make things a hell of a lot better for adjustments. A supple coil is no comparison to air, if it ain't the right weight.
I know a lot of this sounds like bad news, but take it from a tiny rider who has made too many mistakes with the wrong equipment. If a girl has not ridden her share of dh/fr bikes, of course the one her husband/boyfriend made her "fits great".. cuz what is there to compare it to? I've owned so much crap and tried so many setups that I know what will allow a small female rider to have the same experience that you have on your properly fitting equipment.
The Syren is a great freeride bike, but it ain't no downhill bike.
However, if it is a freeride bike that you're after, the FR bike I ended up with may be another option: 07 Norco Six size XS(when they used to have one). AWESOME fitting rig with 6.5" travel, Lyric fork, FSR suspension efficiency, incredible standover, lightweight, and it's for sale
Some other notes: Stack Height just as important as reach. With a 8"/203mm travel fork, it will be hard to get the weight over the front for effective cornering and pushing the front wheel down when the ground falls away.
1)Headset:
- Crank Brothers have the lowest 1 1/8 stack height.
- If it's a 1.5, you're in luck! Get a Cane Creek Reducer or FSA with a stack height of under 11mm. E13 cups get you even lower at 6mm stack.
2) Flat bars - You can get wide/flat bars with sweep from Truvativ(Stylo's are the lightest), Gravity 777, Syncros, Sunline(really F'n wide), Chromag, etc.
3) If it's a dual crown fork, get the Canfield Brothers Stem: 25.4mm/1" drop and gives me more traction than any mega-compounded-siped-engineered-tire.
A traditionally stacked bike(King headset, 3-4 spacers, standard direct mount, riser bars) may seem harmless and even comfortable in the parking lot. However, your woman will be putting in unnecessary effort to tame a tall frontend.
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Excellent post.
You have cleared up a few issues for me and my small girlfriend.
She is on a Syren but is looking to go to the next level
What do you make of the rotec RL9?
It seems small too
You have cleared up a few issues for me and my small girlfriend.
She is on a Syren but is looking to go to the next level
What do you make of the rotec RL9?
It seems small too
I'm a 5'4 male who does WAY TOO MUCH F'ING research for my own health. I mean, it's 5:10AM, and I'm still up looking for a 3.25" stroke 200lb spring from Australia.
Anyways, I have spent the last 2 years researching small downhill and freeride frames. This is what I've learned:
1) Screw virtual top tubes. Bikes can vary so much in this respect(because of sloping seat tubes) and have no basis on the TRUE sizing of a DH or FR frame: distance from crank to the top center of the head tube. Reach/Stack height are the new standard, but not everybody is on board.
2) Standover is a deceiving way to judge sizing on a FR/DH bike. These are my findings after researching measurements of the the front center and reach of various manufacturers:
-Ironhorse Sunday smalls are not anywhere near the smallest.
-To my dismay, Intense smalls are not anywhere near the smallest.
-Canfield Jedi's are nowhere near the smallest with a really tall head tube.
-The Turner DHR(starting 07-08 and the current DW) is the smallest DH bike that I would actually ride. Sizing dropped in 07 and has stayed that way since. 3.7" head tube height(07-08) and even lower for DW bikes. There is a huge margin over most manufacturers. My BB-top headset cup mounting nets 2 inches less than an Intense Socom.
-Santa Cruz V-10's are pretty damn small, close to the Turner, but has a slightly taller head tube at over 4".
-Transition TR450 is pretty close to the Turner, but not quite. The Blindside, on the other hand, is a little bigger.
-Banshee Legend II - I don't know how they're defining "reach", but their measurement is quite a bit smaller than a Turner DHR??? Considering that the Banshee only has 3 sizes to Turner's 4, and Giant's 5.
-Giant has an XS Glory, but here is why I would not recommend a pre '10 XS Glory: Straight top tube. Look at the photos and you'll see why the standover(listed as 34.4) is higher than many size larges. Major flop in the design of the tiniest downhill rig ever built. Not to mention the weight.(A 44lb bike to a 120lb female is worse than a 60lb bike to a 180lb male).
3) Don't skimp on the travel. I often hear people claim that shorter riders don't need as much travel. Extremely misleading.. it may initially sound logical but it truly has no basis in reality. Taller riders have enormous amounts of travel.. in their arms and legs. As a tiny rider, I'm bucked all over the place with 8.5" of travel. Believe me: shorter riders can use all the travel that they can get(in the downhill arena at least).
4) If your girlfriend is going to do freeride/trails/climbs, fine. But if she's going on gnarly downhill terrain, don't spoil the initial impression with an unforgiving bike with a steep head tube. I mean, you wouldn't teach somebody how to drive a stick shift on a clutch that slips.
At the very least, make sure there is sufficient sag(30%+) for the initial impression.. I heard somebody say that lighter riders "shouldn't need as much sag, <25% is fine." I'm not even going to explain this one... that's just stupid. Air springs definitely make things a hell of a lot better for adjustments. A supple coil is no comparison to air, if it ain't the right weight.
I know a lot of this sounds like bad news, but take it from a tiny rider who has made too many mistakes with the wrong equipment. If a girl has not ridden her share of dh/fr bikes, of course the one her husband/boyfriend made her "fits great".. cuz what is there to compare it to? I've owned so much crap and tried so many setups that I know what will allow a small female rider to have the same experience that you have on your properly fitting equipment.
The Syren is a great freeride bike, but it ain't no downhill bike.
However, if it is a freeride bike that you're after, the FR bike I ended up with may be another option: 07 Norco Six size XS(when they used to have one). AWESOME fitting rig with 6.5" travel, Lyric fork, FSR suspension efficiency, incredible standover, lightweight, and it's for sale
Some other notes:
1) Lowering the stack height: This really is as important as having a short reach for DH/FR bikes.
- Crank Brothers have the lowest 1 1/8 stack height.
- If it's a 1.5, you're in luck! Get a Cane Creek Reducer or FSA with a stack height of under 11mm. E13 cups get you even lower at 6mm stack.
2) Flat bars - You can get wide/flat bars with sweep from Truvativ(Stylo's are the lightest), Gravity 777, Syncros, Sunline(really F'n wide), Chromag, etc.
3) If it's a dual crown fork, get the Canfield Brothers Stem: 25.4/1" drop and gives me more traction than any mega-compounded-siped-engineered-tire.
A traditionally stacked bike(King headset, 3-4 spacers, standard direct mount, riser bars) may seem harmless and even comfortable in the parking lot. However, your woman will definitely enjoy the experience more when she can actually get her weight over the front tire to keep traction in loose corners.
the building on the morewood would be fairly labour intensive as its all done in house. Some nicely machined parts in the linkage thought would take some hours. Im sure the larger stroke shock in the makulu has something to do with the price as the kalula is slightly cheaper but not by muchI always wondered - was the cost to produce makulu and kalulu sa high? Because from what I know even for a shop the prices are quite mad
The rotec is nice and small but there heavy up there with the giant gloryExcellent post.
You have cleared up a few issues for me and my small girlfriend.
She is on a Syren but is looking to go to the next level
What do you make of the rotec RL9?
It seems small too
I may be grupy because the euro prices are crazy but from what I hear you can get a nicolai for cheaper and that kinda kills me because as far as in house quality goes I've never seen better (even if they are a bit gusset crazy).
You can't fault the Morewoods for build quality and there customer service is up there with Turner. The rest of the range is fairly well priced and the Izumi is fairly good value, for a hand built frame. The makulu and kalula are just up there with the intense/evil/mondraker prices. Think were getting off topic here.
Excellent post.
You have cleared up a few issues for me and my small girlfriend.
She is on a Syren but is looking to go to the next level
What do you make of the rotec RL9?
It seems small too
Thanks, I'm glad the post was of some help. I apologize for the delay; I had not checked this thread and was not aware that somebody had replied to my post.
I briefly looked into the Rotec RL9. I could not come to a positive conclusion on its reach measurement, though.
Unfortunately it is not possible to calculate a precise reach measurement from the typical geometry numbers(wheelbase, head angle, etc) If a wheelbase and chainstay is given, you can estimate the front center measurement(BB-front axle). However here's why it's an estimate
- I have seen manufacturers define chainstay as both a)BB-axle directly or b)BB-axle only on the horizontal plane(thus shorter because of BB drop/rise)
- Shallower head tube angles mean a slightly longer frontcenter, so that's another difference in side-by-side comparisons
- Lower headset cup/crown race stack heights used for geometry mock-ups can vary by up to 10mm
- We're assuming they're using the same axle-crown for geometry mock-up
If riders who are 5'4 or shorter are looking for a "smaller size small", this is the only way to go(since shops rarely carry these bikes/sizes in stock). I don't know why, but shop employees tend have a lot of confidence in concluding that a frame they recalled seeing in their past was small enough for me. I'm still shocked that there's a 40mm reach difference between my Intense and my Turner.
When I finally got my hands on a bike that fit smaller, riding was so much easier and more enjoyable. I wasted so much time and money on bikes that were small, but not small enough. No amount of upgraded tires, shifters, grips, shocks would make an Ironhorse Sunday small feel as natural as my current rig.
If you do get those numbers from Rotec or anybody else, let me know if you want to reference those with the numbers that I have saved up. Feel free to ask any other questions. Good luck!
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Unfortunately, I'll be selling my wife's small Giant Reign-X soon. We got it as her DH bike and she's literally ridden it twice. She just never got into gravity stuff where we live now.
PM me if your remotely interested. It's literally like new with a couple of upgraded parts for lightness.
PM me if your remotely interested. It's literally like new with a couple of upgraded parts for lightness.
I'm 5ft7 and had an Orange 222 as my DH rig. In regards to weight it was great, relatively light especially compared to a friends Iron Horse. I just wanted to chime in and say that if she is a beginner and not that great at DH then a single pivot such as Orange might not be that great for her.
Personally I was just too slow at riding DH and I realized that SP's like Orange really come into their element if you are able to ride fast and stay off the brakes, otherwise you just about may as well be riding a hardtail! And that's what I've gone back to now because in my case it was the rider, not the bike holding me back!
Owning a dually was a great experience, different to the HT and fun but certainly not a magic bullet in making me a better DH rider!
Personally I was just too slow at riding DH and I realized that SP's like Orange really come into their element if you are able to ride fast and stay off the brakes, otherwise you just about may as well be riding a hardtail! And that's what I've gone back to now because in my case it was the rider, not the bike holding me back!
Owning a dually was a great experience, different to the HT and fun but certainly not a magic bullet in making me a better DH rider!
Hey Rat,
21.5 inch for the TT measurement. Thats from the center of the post to center of the headtube with effective (virtual) is 22.0 with approx 3 inch of post showing.
Headtube is 5 inch, zero-stack height is 5"1/8 and with cups overall HT is 6".25.
Head angle is 65deg.
Standover from the curve of the TT to the ground is 27 inch.
Chainstay 17.20 (thats the BB to rear axle) 17.18 from BB to lower rear link pivot.
All I can say is that our latest version is much more friendly to riders under 5"4" with inseams of less then 30 " and riders that are less the 5' the response has been really postive. The .50 deg slacker HA over the 07 also helped tighten th reach as well.
If you need more I can send ya more with pics of the small with a long ruler as a ref.
21.5 inch for the TT measurement. Thats from the center of the post to center of the headtube with effective (virtual) is 22.0 with approx 3 inch of post showing.
Headtube is 5 inch, zero-stack height is 5"1/8 and with cups overall HT is 6".25.
Head angle is 65deg.
Standover from the curve of the TT to the ground is 27 inch.
Chainstay 17.20 (thats the BB to rear axle) 17.18 from BB to lower rear link pivot.
All I can say is that our latest version is much more friendly to riders under 5"4" with inseams of less then 30 " and riders that are less the 5' the response has been really postive. The .50 deg slacker HA over the 07 also helped tighten th reach as well.
If you need more I can send ya more with pics of the small with a long ruler as a ref.
cheers for all the help lads. In the end I just picked up a deal on a sweet small vp free. Its the last generation one with the 1.5 head tube so im either going to put in angled reducer cups or do a short shock mod. The santacruzs seem to be smaller than everyone else and the linkage bike should be a bit more active than the single pivot which will help.