Ladies bike versus small "mens"

[Katrin Stehmeier]

Hi there,

 

just getting into MTB riding and looking to buy a bike (max ZAR 15.000). I am a female, height 162 cm. Now, maybe I can get some advise/reviews from the ladies on this forum about if it is worth going for a specific ladies bike or just a small frame in the mens/unisex bikes. Am currently looking at a small Silverback Slade 1, Silverback Splash, Scott Contessa 710 and Giant XTC 27.5. Has anybody experiences with these bikes or any other suggestions? I doubt I will ever ride the Epic but I also don't want to upgrade in 2 years time... so need something that's nice and allround.

[Pulse]

Sometimes the 'ladies specific' bikes are more just weird colour changes, and are often lower specced.

 

I'd go Giant Xtc 27.5

[arendoog]

Sometimes the 'ladies specific' bikes are more just weird colour changes, and are often lower specced.

 

I'd go Giant Xtc 27.5

Bought my daughter an XTC 29 .She is much the same spec as the op .Medium frame with a riser bar and tubeless from day one and get a ladies seat straight away .A good LBS will spec your bike so it will fit better ,like swopping the flat bar for a riser bar

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Xtc is a good option...

 

And don't worry about the "ladies specific" branding. It's often just a different saddle, slightly shorter stem and a couple of grand more than the same "normal" bike. Very seldom do manufacturers make geometry changes to their normal frames before making them "ladies specific "

[Uni]

The only reason I ride a ladies' silverback - the medium men's frame - the top bar just too high and zero stand over clearance

In hindsight I never considered a small, I'm only a few cms taller than you

[Cejay]

Go conventional (mens small) my wife is the same height as you and rides her 29er (mens Spec) as if she stole it.

[Skylark]

Generally the only thing truly lady specific about a ladies branded bike is the saddle, marketing subterfuge.

[camelman]

Giant makes ladies specific bikes in the Liv range. And yes, it's a different frame than the men's frame for the uninformed. I am not sure about the Scott contessa though. That might just be a men's bike with pink and purple. Specialized also makes proper ladies specific bikes.

 

A quick way to check is to compare the geometry of the men's and ladies bikes on the website. The top tube measurement is in general a bit shorter on the ladies specific range. The stand over height measurement will also be a tad lower on a ladies specific frame. This is quite important for dismounting safely.

 

And my advice would be to get a 27.5"/650b bike if you ride a small frame. As you are getting into mtb, the smaller wheels give you the opportunity to get safely off the bike without hurting your tender parts, even getting off behind the seat "on" the back wheel when things are steep.

[Da Vinci]

Lady here... I am 1.65. First bike was a small (men's) giant talon 26" with a ladies specific saddle. Loved the bike but upgraded to a small (men's) Spez Stumpjumper 26" a year later. Was a natural progression. I found the small (men's) 29ers too unwieldy and "big" for me. This year (2 years down the line) after trying a number of 29ers all of which felt too big and boat like I bought a Spez woman's specific 29er in a med which I love. The bigger wheels help me keep up with the friends who ride circus wheels on the flat stuff but the small tweaks in the woman's specific Geo lets me flick the bike around on the tighter stuff.

The other bike I liked was a men's Spez camber in a small but it was the full carbon model so naturally lighter which made for better handling. But a bit out of price range at the time ( ok still is!!)

Ride before you buy it's the best advice I can give. Difficult when u just start out to know what kind of riding you are going to enjoy but the bike should feel easy to handle. I agree you won't go wrong with something like an xtc. Not sure cost exactly but if budget allows go for lighter wheels and definitely a ladies specific saddle and get a proper bike setup/ fit done!

[Da Vinci]

Hi there,

 

just getting into MTB riding and looking to buy a bike (max ZAR 15.000). I am a female, height 162 cm. Now, maybe I can get some advise/reviews from the ladies on this forum about if it is worth going for a specific ladies bike or just a small frame in the mens/unisex bikes. Am currently looking at a small Silverback Slade 1, Silverback Splash, Scott Contessa 710 and Giant XTC 27.5. Has anybody experiences with these bikes or any other suggestions? I doubt I will ever ride the Epic but I also don't want to upgrade in 2 years time... so need something that's nice and allround.

PS I see you are cape based. If you want to try my small stumpy or med rumor on some trails you are more than welcome too just to get an idea of handling and feel

[CAAD4]

The title of the thread is a little misleading. I thought it was another Specialised thread....

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

As said before, the majority of manufacturers don't do anything to the ladies specific bikes. Recently, though (last 2 years or so) Giant and Spaz have started doing proper ladies specific designs, which are generally slightly shorter in the top tube and have a lower stand-over height. Though personally, I don't know why they're doing it (and charging a premium) when the correct setup, frame size and stem length will get you there anyway. 

[Katrin Stehmeier]

Lady here... I am 1.65. First bike was a small (men's) giant talon 26" with a ladies specific saddle. Loved the bike but upgraded to a small (men's) Spez Stumpjumper 26" a year later. Was a natural progression. I found the small (men's) 29ers too unwieldy and "big" for me. This year (2 years down the line) after trying a number of 29ers all of which felt too big and boat like I bought a Spez woman's specific 29er in a med which I love. The bigger wheels help me keep up with the friends who ride circus wheels on the flat stuff but the small tweaks in the woman's specific Geo lets me flick the bike around on the tighter stuff.

The other bike I liked was a men's Spez camber in a small but it was the full carbon model so naturally lighter which made for better handling. But a bit out of price range at the time ( ok still is!!)

Ride before you buy it's the best advice I can give. Difficult when u just start out to know what kind of riding you are going to enjoy but the bike should feel easy to handle. I agree you won't go wrong with something like an xtc. Not sure cost exactly but if budget allows go for lighter wheels and definitely a ladies specific saddle and get a proper bike setup/ fit done!

Thanks for this input, much appreciated. We are actually going to ride on the 29th November in Worcester so I decided I am just going to check out several ladies and see what they ride :-) The guys in the shops all want to sell me 650b bikes but I am already thinking then I might not enjoy the "flat stuff" as much... But I learned the stand over height is very important (even though the sales people in the shops hardly ever mention this). So far I have not come across anything that gives me enough room so this will have to be one of the main criteria now...

[Katrin Stehmeier]

Giant makes ladies specific bikes in the Liv range. And yes, it's a different frame than the men's frame for the uninformed. I am not sure about the Scott contessa though. That might just be a men's bike with pink and purple. Specialized also makes proper ladies specific bikes.

 

A quick way to check is to compare the geometry of the men's and ladies bikes on the website. The top tube measurement is in general a bit shorter on the ladies specific range. The stand over height measurement will also be a tad lower on a ladies specific frame. This is quite important for dismounting safely.

 

And my advice would be to get a 27.5"/650b bike if you ride a small frame. As you are getting into mtb, the smaller wheels give you the opportunity to get safely off the bike without hurting your tender parts, even getting off behind the seat "on" the back wheel when things are steep.

Thanks... the Giant Liv bike looks quite interesting, the LBS also mentioned they have quite a good stand over height. Tried the Scott Contessa, not nice for me, actually quite an awful geometry for a lady bike.

[camelman]

The Giant will definitely be the best bang for buck in a bike ladies bike.  Unfortunately the range is very limited and still cost a little bit more than the equivalent men's bike, but I guess that's how the economy works, quantities of scale.  My wife tried a friend's Lust Advanced the other day and her first comment was "It's so comfortable and I don't feel so stretched out compared to my Epic".  If you can afford it, get the Giant Obsess or the Lust.  As many riders here can attest, the Giants are built very strong(I am trying to break my XTC Advanced by riding it hard) and will give you many years of joy and happiness.

 

For the standover try to make sure you have a good 4-5cm.  1-2cm is not enough.  If your front wheel is on a rock and you decide to get off that 1-2cm is gone and it can hurt.  Ask them tot put the front wheel on a box in a shop, even a shoe box could work and then try to stand over it and check your clearance.

 

IMHO if you have decided you want to MTB and have put your heart on it,  buy a slightly better bike that you wont need to upgrade soon and enjoy the ride for a long time to come.  Sometimes you buy a cheapie and it is just not fun to ride and you stop riding because of that or the brakes don't work properly it does not shift well and so forth, and that is no fun either.

[Pikey]

My wife is 160cm and finds a men's 26r small slightly to big for her on the stand over height. And even a shorter stem was giving her back ache from stretching. Always felt stretched out never really felt 100% confident. Which in turn made her uncomfortable and slightly nervous

 

After many bikes we eventually found her a 14 1/2 frame 29 r which has given her a lot more confidence. She has done a few short race's even. Now more importantly she now enjoys it a lot more and takes more of my riding time up :-))

 

Even talk of an upgrade .

 

The most important thing I can take from this when starting out is to feel comfortable with your bike and not intimated ,size and fit is more important than spec at the beginning.

 

Just my 2c worth.