Frustration with finding a new MTB

[bcipam]

Have you tried the Santa Cruz Superlight, it's very much like the Juliana, but bigger? It's not a wsd, but i've heard a lot of good stuff about it. I just got a new Juliana a couple weeks ago and I love it. It sure beats the hell out of my old hardtail and it definitely cuts down on falls.

I just brought the Superlight and have to say I am totally in love with this bike.

One thing to consider, the Santa Cruz top tube is very short. I'm not certain, unless you have really short arms, you need the WSD bike (Juliana). I also have a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR and have to say this bike, although both are "medium" is way bigger than the Superlight. The top tube on the Spec is about 3 inches longer than the Santa Cruz.

Have you determined that you really need a WSD bike? If not, your options are definitely opened up. If you do need a WSD bike, Specialized makes an excellent range although watch the travel. The Stumpjumper is a 5" travel bike. The Superlight is 4" and I'm more comfortable with that.

[Crankin]

I have a Norco full susp. bike with 5" of travel. It is not wsd, but it is very comfortable. I am 5'1" and I got the small, not the extra small. It cost $1600. I don't think this brand is too common in the US, it's Canadian.
I am not a great mtb rider, but I really love the way the bike feels and it goes well over the rooty, muddy New England trails.

[SalsaMTB]

Keep Shopping!

There are so many bikes out there. You've tried a lot, but I wouldn't say it's time to buy an expensive bike without test riding. WSD may or may not be the thing for you, I wouldn't eliminate non-wsd, I would keep trying both until you have found something you like. Have you checked out KHS? They have a really good bang for the buck. The xc604 retails well under $2k and is a very well speced bike using the 4 bar suspension. I don't think the 07s have shipped yet, but if you were willing to wait a little bit, the 07 xc604 has an msrp listed at $1599 and has the horst link.

Also, remember that bikes can/should be fine tuned to you. While test riding one, if something doesn't feel right with the setup, talk to the shop and have them change it out! We do that all the time here. Someone wants to test ride a bike, we'll fit them to it, change stems, handlebars, etc and send them on their way. If there is anything that doesn't feel right, we'll try to fix it. So, if there is a shop you like, test rode a bike and felt something was off, have them change some parts and see if it feels better. That's part of the benefit of shopping at a lbs instead of online, they should be helping you with the fit on the test ride.

[Pebble]

Just to give you an idea I'm 5'7" and I'm happy on a regular 16" Trance. I imagine you would be a "medium" as far as most bikes go. And remember depending on what you are buying (trail or xc?) it's not going to feel like your road bike and the position etc will probably take some adjusting to even compared to the fully rigid.

SalsaMTB is right in saying that you may have to be perpared to adjust a few things - stem lenght, saddle, bar width etc to your liking. These sort of things can make a big difference.

Round up all the brands available in your area, look up the specs for the bikes in your price range, narrow it down and test ride as many as you can. I wouldn't restrict the choice to WSD.

The two you test rode (kona & giant) were on my shortlist as well. You could also try Specialized, Norco, Trek, etc.

[3weight]

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I'm really interested in the Titus and the Santa Cruz bikes but since there aren't any Titus dealers nearby, I may go with the Santa Cruz. I need to check out the Superlight.
I'm not sold on a WSD bike; it just seems like they fit my body geometry a bit better sometimes (especially on road bikes). I'll likely not end up with a WSD mountain bike.
I wish I could be more patient......
Finding a new bike is like a full~time job!
Thanks again!
Teresa

[Pebble]

Oooh yeah, I wasn't supposed to get mine untill about now, but in the end I was spending so much time researching and deciding over the options (I'm a bit of a research nut though) in the end I had to just go out and buy one so I could stop thinking about it! Probably didn't help that I sold my old hardtail first and then had to ride hubbys one that was too big and real uncomfortable (but better than nothing!).

[3weight]

bcipam (and anyone else that owns a SC Superlight)~
What size did you get?
Thanks!
Teresa