ValerieJ

Hi All -
I am researching getting a mountain bike for myself - a small female (5-3"). Needs low stand-over height. I am a beginner and want to start with a cross country bike (29" tires) for fire roads but it must be versatile enough to do some single track as I build my skill level. I've always liked the Juliana bikes but they are so heavy and very costly. I am looking to keep price under $3K and weight under 25lbs.

Are their certain brands that have good female specific bikes ?

Any suggestions ? . . . . . AND at the risk of sounding goofy . . . . A PRETTY COLOR IS IMPORTANT !!!

Mountain Mitch

A 29er is the wrong place to start looking as a small female. So, if you've already decided that you're on your own as far as I'm concerned.

hig4s

Totally disagree with saying you shouldn't go with a 29er. Wheel size is a personal preference, and almost all manufacturers make small frame with 29 inch tires. My wife is 5'2" and prefers 29, I am 5'9" and prefer 27.5. I suggest you go to a few shops, or bike demo days and try a few different styles and sizes to see what you like the best.

Under $3k shouldn't be a problem, not sure about the 25lbs, unless you are talking Hardtail.

Many of the female specific bikes are actually the same frame as the regular bike, but may have different saddles and handle bars. Matter of fact I test road the Julian Roubion because it was the same frame as the Bronson with narrower bars, and I don't like wide bars.. Very nice bike.
Personally I would recommending trying a good do everything trail bikes, like a Liv (Giant's women's brand) Pique 2, or a Giant Trance 2 in XS size. Another nice bike is the Specialized Camber Comp,, the women's model only comes in 27.5 but the men's 29 small might work for you.

funbikerchick

I do not ride mountain bikes so I can't speak to that specifically, but I would strongly recommend considering a Liv. Liv is now an independent company, but uses a lot of Giant components and is sold through Giant retailers. Liv bikes are "bikes designed for women, by women." Not all women need a bike designed specifically for women because not all women are "made" the same. However, the "average" woman shares a lot of similarity in terms of proportions. I didn't think I wanted a "womans" bike because I had tried womens models from other manufacturers. Problem with that is that not all manufacturers really do anything significant to a bike before labeling it a womans model. For some, it is nothing more than a different color, or different seat, or crank lengths. For Liv, the entire bike is designed from the ground up using a large database of women's dimensions as consideration for what goes into each bike.

hig4s

Here is a good article on women's bikes Feature: Coming up short?In search of the truth about women?s-specific bikes ? Dirt Rag


Oh, and just to mention, my wife rides a Liv Cypress 29er comfort bike (because of stomach issues she has to sit upright) with Rocket Ron mountain bike tires to make it more off road friendly.

rasheed

Emily Batty, pro and Olympic cross country mtb racer with Trek, races on a 29er some races. She's only 5'3"/5'4".

fietsbob

start thinking 24" wheels, or 26"

if you are fast, you never experience the problems that low speed toes and front wheel overlap interference creates..

ValerieJ

Thanks ALL !!

Fietsbob: Thank you for your candid assessment. You are probably right that I may be clumsy on the 29s for my first XC bike . . . but the reason that I think 29s look attractive is because the uphill climbs are a struggle and I'm looking to alleviate that encumbrance. It would also be nice to cover more ground quickly on longer rides. I may decide to have my FIRST bike be a dedicated XC while I build up my strength and endurance. When I feel ready for more challenging rides then I may add a trail bike with a smaller tire.

I JUST watched a youtube on Liv XC bikes and will be looking into the Pique . . . so thank you to those with that suggestion. It's all appreciated !! : )

Happy riding !!

prj71

There's nothing wrong with 29er for a female. Silly kids.

In any case...look at the women offerings from Giant or Specialized. Carbon frame will keep you around the 25lb mark.

https://www.liv-cycling.com/us/bikes/off-road

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/women/bikes

gsa103

At your size, you should at least look/test some 27.5 bikes. There's nothing wrong with 27.5, and the slightly smaller size allows for better top tube clearance. I wouldn't go any smaller than 27.5 though, there's certainly no reason to get a 26in wheel.

ksryder

nevermind

70sSanO

On fairly smooth terrain, there is probably not much difference between a 26er and a 27.5, however if I were going to spend $3k I wouldn't buy a 26er. As for climbing, the bigger the wheel the tougher if you don't have the legs. But things change as the terrain gets more uneven and a larger wheel will roll over things.

As for weight, you will not find a full suspension 25lb bike in your price range. Plan on 30lbs or so. Check out reviews and test different bikes. And don't forget a brand like Kona.

My wife rides a 26" hardtail but she doesn't ride anything technical.

John

Canker

The real world difference between wheel sizes is over stated. Yeah 26er to 29er you notice some differences mainly in the visuals. Looking over your bars after riding a 26er for a while that 29er wheel looks gigantic but actually riding them both they do the same things just about the same way. Jumping back and forth between 29er and 27.5 I don't even notice the visual difference let a lone feel any real difference on the trails. The differences that do exist are more in the bikes themselves than the wheels. 27.5 wheels are lighter though so if lightweight is your goal that might be a good reason to go with the smaller wheel size. Now I'm talking about your average smuck here. If you are an elite bad butt I'm sure you can really feel the differences out on the trails.

I haven't seen anybody ask yet if you want a hardtail or a full suspension bike. Hardtail under 25lbs for $3k shouldn't be too hard to find. Full suspension on the other hand you are right in that zone where you have to choose between a high end aluminum frame bike or a lower end carbon. I haven't been looking at XC bikes lately but you might be able to pull it off.

Orbea Oiz 27 M50 Bike 2017 > Bikes > Mountain Bikes | Jenson USA
something like that for example. 26.4lbs in medium so knocked off a bit for a small and change it to a 1x and it might go under 25lbs without throwing a bunch of money at it.

Kapusta

For what you are describing, most people would go with a 29er, and it is what I would do as well.

29ers are just fine for beginners. Yes, they are sometimes less nimble, but as a beginner you would not be pulling the moves that smaller wheels favor, anyway. They are more stable over rough stuff which helps any skill level.

There is no reason someone your size can't ride one. Toe overlap used to be an issue on some small frames, but modern geometry has bikes going with longer top tubes and slacker head angles, both of which push the front wheel forward, out of toe-overlap territory.

rasheed

She mentioned Juliana bikes in the OP. Santa Cruz doesn't have any hardtails in their Juliana line-up.

prj71

The Liv carbon bikes will be under 30lbs easily.

JonathanGennick 

I agree with gsa103. Trek has the Procaliber 6, an XC bike, and it is spec'd with 27.5 wheels in the 15.5" frame size:

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...lorCode=orange

There's a women's version in the even smaller, 13.5" frame size.

70sSanO

Not sure if it easily under $3k.

John

rasheed

The Liv Cycles 2018 Obsess Advanced 2 and the 2017 Obsess Advanced carbon XC hardtails are under $3000 USD.

70sSanO

Talking full suspension. So far I "think" that is what OP is looking for. Hardtails are easy. My '95 Trek 970 steel frame mtb weighs 27lbs with platforms, pump, cages and a Marzocchi oil bath fork.

John

prj71

Easily

twodownzero

I totally disagree with whoever recommends a 29er for you. I'm a guy who is 5'5" and I would not own or want a 29er. The bigger wheels might have some minimal performance advantages, but at the expense of geometry compromises or fit, no way.

The 27.5" bikes these days are the 29ers for us small people.

That said, there was nothing wrong with 26" wheels and they probably are a better fit for us.

70sSanO

Don't really want to argue. I am impressed that the Liv 2 is around 27lbs, 12.4 kg per Bike Radar, for around $3k. Not 25lbs, and I'm no weight weenie, but still much better than the 30lbs that I figured.

John

Kapusta

What geometry or fit compromises are you talking about?

twodownzero

Toe overlap, steeper seat angles, increased weight when the rider is already smaller to begin with.

Look at the geometry chart for any bicycle, mtb, road, hybrid, or otherwise with 700c wheels. The smaller sizes all make geometry changes to try to fit smaller riders on bikes with wheels that are that big. The largest sizes will generally have the same or very similar geometry scaled for size. The smaller sizes are not just scaled down versions of the larger frames. The reason is that big wheels are not a good fit for small riders.

In a perfect world, we'd have an ideal wheel size for each size frame. Terry road bicycles were once made with a 700c rear wheel and a 24" wheel in front for this very reason. 650b and "27.5" bikes are more popular than ever. Even when 29ers became commercially popular, nobody was recommending them for smaller riders. Then they almost completely displaced 26" bicycles and now every major manufacturer is offering a 27.5" bicycle. I wonder why? If you look at it, the reason is that they know 29" wheels are too big for the smallest of riders and even some of the bigger riders don't want the weight compromise.

OP, you can buy whatever you want. But 29ers are not marketed toward riders of our size. It doesn't mean that if you can't enjoy yourself on one. But I strongly recommend a bike with smaller wheels; it will be a better overall fit.