Mountain Bike for my 5' Wife?

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I apologize for asking such a lame question when a few hours of research may help find the answers. What I am looking for is some direction from those that are up to speed on current offerings without the hype of a cyclery trying to sell their particular lines.



I need to purchase a bike for my wife. As mentioned in the title, she’s a shorty at 5’. A full suspension, smooth riding cross-country machine with a fixed bottom bracket is what we are after. “Soul”, that indescribably feeling one gets from a vintage Italian road bike is a must, as are decent components. Our price range is $1k to $2k. Any suggestions or first hand experiences would be greatly appreciated.

I bought a bike for a 152cm, 5' lady yesterday. She has short legs, 700mm stand over, and the only thing we found successful was the 2005 Giant Sedona 14" extra small ladies bike at around AUS$400.

There were some top end Giant 15" Mountain bikes that fitted, but not quie her style.

cheers
George

Hey Mr Taco,

I'm a 5' shorty too, so your wife is not alone. :) I'm currently riding an m20 Raleigh mountain bike, it's a 12 inch high frame and it's basically the smallest cool bike I could find. I absolutely love it! It's a hybrid unisex frame, although the label says WXXS (but the red male version MXXS is actually identical except for the colour). The guy at the bike shop assessed the fit and said it was most probably still a smidge too small for me if I intended to do any real mountain biking but given that I'm really just biking it around the city, it's fine. The m20 is an entry level bike so I doubt it'll fit the "vintage Italian" feeling you describe. The cost also falls flatly outside (below) your price range so I doubt it even more. :) Anyway, good luck with your search, there just doesn't seem like a lot out there.

I apologize for asking such a lame question when a few hours of research may help find the answers. What I am looking for is some direction from those that are up to speed on current offerings without the hype of a cyclery trying to sell their particular lines.



I need to purchase a bike for my wife. As mentioned in the title, she’s a shorty at 5’. A full suspension, smooth riding cross-country machine with a fixed bottom bracket is what we are after. “Soul”, that indescribably feeling one gets from a vintage Italian road bike is a must, as are decent components. Our price range is $1k to $2k. Any suggestions or first hand experiences would be greatly appreciated.
okey i have one question for you! you said she's short but before we can come to an agreement on what bike she is worth. first can you tell me what she looks like, however i feel that the above is quite an amikable exchange
1 mountain bike for 1 wife, how many miles has she done and has she been rode hard.

i have a dual suspension. but i can get my hands on quite a few others if the exchange rate is okey. i never thought i'd get a bargain like this, and i always thought they where more rental from tai land £5 a week.

i think maybe you should refraise your question.

okey i have one question for you! you said she's short but before we can come to an agreement on what bike she is worth. first can you tell me what she looks like, however i feel that the above is quite an amikable exchange
1 mountain bike for 1 wife, how many miles has she done and has she been rode hard.

i have a dual suspension. but i can get my hands on quite a few others if the exchange rate is okey. i never thought i'd get a bargain like this, and i always thought they where more rental from tai land £5 a week.

i think maybe you should refraise your question.

huh????????????????

Jamis makes some nice smaller frames!