Gary Fisher Marlin vs. Trek 4500

[Determined]

I have gotten it narrowed down to these two bikes... First mt bike purchase, I've done alot of
research, thanks to all of you who posted sites and info! They both seem to be pretty good entry
level bikes. They're both pretty much the same price, around $450. This is more than I was
planning to spend, but many of you suggested that I'd be way better off with a better bike, so I'm
going to ante up!

Last time I posted I forgot to mention that I'm a female, and short - about 5'2" and around 127lbs.
I don't know how much that effects which bike I should choose, but I thought I'd mention it now.

Anyways, if any of you have an opinion one way or the other on these two bikes, I'd really
appreciate it, I'm going to make the big purchase next week for my b-day present to myself!

--
determined

 

[B. Sanders]

"determined" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:KXyqa.390370$Zo.90841@sccrnsc03...
> I have gotten it narrowed down to these two bikes... First mt bike purchase, I've done alot of
> research, thanks to all of you who posted
sites
> and info! They both seem to be pretty good entry level bikes. They're
both
> pretty much the same price, around $450. This is more than I was planning to spend, but many of
> you suggested that I'd be way better off with a
better
> bike, so I'm going to ante up!
>
> Last time I posted I forgot to mention that I'm a female, and short -
about
> 5'2" and around 127lbs. I don't know how much that effects which bike I should choose, but I
> thought I'd mention it now.

For short-ish female riders, there is an issue of fit. If you're planning to ride technical offroad
trails, your fore/aft balance will be important. With shorter riders, stem height is an issue - the
stem/bars are often too high for a powerful riding position. Women (supposedly) have shorter torsos,
so male-oriented frames are not ideal for them. The Gary Fisher bikes have an extra-long top tube,
which may or may not work for you. Trek makes a WSD (Women Specific Design) bike line. I suggest
that you test ride one of their WSD bikes before making your final decision.

For you, a good frame fit is going to be the determining factor. You need to test ride these bikes
on off-road terrain and give them a good workout to see which one feels more balanced and powerful.
Climb and descend hills to see how they handle. It takes careful engineering to build a 26" wheeled
MTB for shorter riders, and your test rides will sort out the keepers.

Best of luck on your search, and let us know what you end up with.

-Barry