[bluride]

Hi - we are trying to enlist the experience and advice of women DHers - my girlfriend and I just started to go on DH rides and we both enjoy the challenge - there is a limited range of hire bikes in her size though - it looks like we would like to get a DH bike for her, but don't have the opportunity locally to try out different models/ sizes.
which model/ size seems to work well for women? any women DH riders care to share their experience of different bikes ?! how do you customise your bikes for this purpose?
she is about 5'8"

ta

 

[DHS]

hm
do a search, i went through this before for a couple of friends
one now rides a Titus Super moto small, w/ Manitou Slider, she's 5'6"
the other rides a Turner DHR small, w/ Boxxer Team, she's 5'8"

i have a BMW racelink. its TINY, but i run a big fork. we always thought the FQ would be perfect, but she's still saving up for that one...

for the cheaper scale, i'd say a small Santa Cruz Super 8, Banshee Chaprrel(sp?) comes TINY, there were more, but spacing right now. i'll em later.
Steve

 

[DHS]

wait the Titus is an extra small

 

[Mark W]

I'm not a girl, but my sister bought a 2004 Giant DH Comp in the Extra-Small size, and she raves about it to anyone who asks. She is around 5'3. With the new sloped top-tubes on the 2005 models, I think the Small size version will also be girl friendly because of the improved standover and would probably fit a 5'8" rider nicely.

My sis's riding has improved drastically, although I think thats probably not due entirely to the bike.

 

[MikeD]

5'8" shouldn't be hard to find a bike for at all. 5'1", 4'11"...then it gets tough. Most small DH frames should fit her...

MD

 

[narlus]

agreed...at 5'8" she should have plenty to choose from.

 

[buildyourown]

A 5'8" woman should be able to ride a medium or small from lots of manufactures. My GF has a medium DHR and she is 5'8"

 

[dropmachine]

I just bought my 5'9" girl a BB7, that ought to be fun to watch.

 

[sanjuro]

I recently read an article in the Bicycle Retailer about fitting women to bikes (although it was mostly about road bikes). There were two schools about bike fit for women: one that believed in specially designed bikes, particularly with shorter top tubes, and the school which felt that most women could fit fine on mens bikes.

The biggest fit challenge is shorter women, 5'2" and under. Road bikes often do not fit 5'0" and under unless 650c wheels are used. Mountain bikes are easier with plenty of standover clearance to begin with.

Sizing is limited with all downhill bikes. DH Bikes sometimes come with only two size choices (although 3 is normal, but 4 rare), where equivalently priced XC bikes have 6 or 7 sizes. And unlike XC bikes, where you might be willing to change stem sizes 2 or 3 cm, this would affect handling dramatically on a DH bike.

Bike weight is another issue. Some of the biggest bikes are pushing 45+ lbs, where the average 5'6" woman is about 125lbs. Slapping on a Monster T or a Cro-mo crankset is not only unnecessary, but could be a big hinderance.

Finally, skill level is the last factor in determining which DH bike to get. Is she a pro-level DH'er? Or is she coming from aggressive XC riding? Or somewhere in between? I know women from all three groups, and an accurate accessment of riding style is key (btw, the pro-level DH'er wants a V-10, the aggressive XC'er a Bullitt or a Gemini, and the woman in between has an older Switch).

I think a good starting point is looking at her favorite bike and measure the effective top tube and the stem length (some women using much shorter stems because they are riding bikes a little too big). Then start checking out frame sizes, then consider weight and her riding styles.

I think the 7 inch single pivots are great bikes for women. They are lighter than bikes with a bunch of linkages, and there are plenty to choose from to get the right fit. A good single crown, like the Breakout, would lower the bike weight without sacrificing strength.

 

[Tully]

I'm guy a guy, but I'm 5'9", and I have no problem finding stuff that fits; I usually ride a medium. I rode a small GT DHi a couple years ago, when I was about 5'6".

My mom, on the other hand, is 5'1", so there are very few (full-suspension) bikes she can ride.

 

[biggins]

small v-10, yeti dh-9, things of that nature. as with my a-sx i find that the single pivot bikes seem to be taller.

 

[Velocity Girl]

At 5' 8" most small dh frames should fit her. I'm 5' 7" and don't have much of a problem. When I was first starting out the stand over clearance could be a pain because I was constantly on the bike, off the bike, trying to get back on the bike, etc. But you learn to adjust and the more comfortable you are with the bike, the easier it gets.

Weight of the bike is an issue for all us women I think. Different styles of bikes rider heavier or lighter though, and we just learn how to finesse the bike more instead of man-handling it! (Even though I wish I could man-handle a bike the way the boys do ) Because of this though we can sometimes get away with lighter wheels, and a lighter fork definitely helps.

I've ridden a modified Specialized FSR, Haro DHR, Tomac (about 5 times), a V10 and a Nicolai (**begin spam** currently for sale in the Buy and Sell forum **end spam**). Spec was a med, all the DH specific bikes were smalls.

 

[dropmachine]

and a Nicolai (**begin spam** currently for sale in the Buy and Sell forum **end spam**).

hahaha is that isn't a ringing endorsement, I dunno what is.

 

[Tully]

I agree with you, Biggins--my AS-X definitely feels rather tall, too.

If she's a new rider, and not very strong, she might prefer a lighter frame with 7" or so, like an AS-X. Mine rips at Whistler, so they, or something similar, can definitely handle whatever she'll give out, plus they are light and relatively inexpensive.

What is her price range? If money is tight, a Transition Dirtbag is a solid bike with 6"-7" of travel, and it only costs $959. A complete Dirtbag would run you around $2500.

 

[Tully]

You might check out go-ride.com (they have complete-bike pricing for all their DH frames).

 

[Zutroy]

Alot of the females I've seen racing tend to like the Turner DHR, I've seen a lot on Specialized too.

 

[8it]

I have seen many women riding bullits at Diablo in New Jersey. I guess the low standover clearance and relative lightweight are big factors. I'd say that a medium or small bullit with a Slider Plus or Boxxer would probably work well. With a light wheel set and aluminum cranks you could get a nice light weight DHable bike. And if you guys are starting out DHing i think that bikes like V-10s and DHR's are a little overkill as far as the price and weight penalties that you will be paying for performance you don't need yet (if you guys are just getting into DHing).
I rode a bullit and those are really solid bikes and with the fifth element I can't think of a bike better suited to your needs. Check the buy and sell, I saw a nice looking white '04 that the guys was selling for cheap and it looked mint.

 

[sanjuro]

small v-10, yeti dh-9, things of that nature. as with my a-sx i find that the single pivot bikes seem to be taller.

Good point, I will have to check it out...

 

[MMike]

Any bike that Acadian rides is a DH bike for women....

 

[UiUiUiUi]

Any bike that Acadian rides is a DH bike for women....

ok according to that
a V10 a DHR and a DHI

good selection!


oh and not to forget the scuby

edit:
and to really say something valuable for this thread.
a (female) friend of mine who is about 5'6"/5'7" rides a small bullit with a junior t and likes it a lot!

 

[Gfreak]

If your significant other is 5'-8" tall I don't think you'll have a problem finding a bike for her, I would have you do what I did. Sit at the parking lot at your favorite trail or lift and every time you see someone ride by with a bike that may fit her stop the person riding it and ask if your wife can sit on it. it is the only way your wife will get a chance to sit on a ton of different bikes and see which one she likes and fits her best.

Now I will through in my 2 cents on what I think and which bike you might want to look at:

bike to body weight is something important to consider when buying a DH bike for a woman. with that being said I would recommend the Joker or a Dare with the Freeride rear swing arm to reduce weight (about 1 lb). The Top tube lengths run short on ellsworth. In addition The stand over height on both bikes is about 27"-28" where most DH bikes sit around 30" which is tall for a woman. I might add that I'm not an Ellsworth lover, I don't think you will ever catch me on one.

I have struggled with the same problem looking for a DH bike for my wife who is 4'-11". To give you guys an a good mental picture, even a small Bullit is big for her. When she stands over the top tube she is on her tip toes and the top tube is too long for her. I've been through this before and believe me I feel your pain.

 

[Kntr]

My wife rides a small Big Hit and she is 5'8" and it fits her pretty well. The TT is a little short but she has gotten use to it.

 

[2young2ride]

my friend rides a small bulit i with a boxxer and she really likes it.

 

[BadFastard]

Men usually have shorter legs and longer bodies in relation to the total length as compared to women. So I'd look out for bikes with shorter top tubes. How bout the VpFree with a Fox36? Yeti usually have very long top tubes. BeOne have a seat tower. Dunno if it offers multiple positions though.

 

[go-ride.com]

As others have mentioned, at 5'8", just about any small and even some medium DH frames will fit your GF great. If she is proportioned like most women (longer legs, shorter torso) then I would recommend only looking at smalls. The seat will seem low, but the more important TT will be the right length.

Some of my other observations for women DHers, is that they weight the front wheel less then men. I believe it mostly comes from a womans build. They are lighter built in the chest and arms (less weight on the front wheel) and carry proportionally more weight around the hips and thighs (more weight on the rear of the bike). What I'm saying is to avoid bikes with super slack steering angles, and/or get a 7" travel fork rather than an 8". Super slack and/or tall front ends require weighting the front wheel more to turn.

 

[Transcend]

i"m 5'5" and an orange 223 works great as they come standard in 15"

You may also want to look at the Titus DH bike, a giant Xsmall if you can find it or a Bullit.

 

[MikeD]

Some of my other observations for women DHers, is that they weight the front wheel less then men. I believe it mostly comes from a womans build. They are lighter built in the chest and arms (less weight on the front wheel) and carry proportionally more weight around the hips and thighs (more weight on the rear of the bike).

"No, honey, I want you to get these gigantic breast implants so you can RIDE better...I personally think really...huge...breasts are quite unattractive...I'm just willing to make the sacrifice so you can corner faster..."

 

[go-ride.com]

"No, honey, I want you to get these gigantic breast implants so you can RIDE better...I personally think really...huge...breasts are quite unattractive...I'm just willing to make the sacrifice so you can corner faster..."

As you can tell from my post I'm more of a J-LO booty fan.