Hey Girls!!

[t'kay]

I was so excited to stumble across this site while looking at mountain bikes! I am just starting to look into mountain biking hardcore. I rode a lot as a kid but since going to college I've kind of stepped away from it. It is time for me to get back into it and I'm excited yet very intimidated by this glorious world.

Any help is appreciated.

I'm looking into getting a new mountain bike as my father gave mine away while I was gone I'm having a hard time trying to figure out if I really need a full suspension as the boys at the bike shop always want to sell me the newest and best..but I'll figure that out soon enough. Can't wait to see y'all in the forums.

Natty

[DirtDiva]

Nice to have you here t'kay. Your dad gave your bike away? I hope he asked first! If you have lots of money and plan on doing lots of downhill and/or serious rocks and stuff then a full-susser would be the way to go, but a decent hardtail will get you everywhere else no worries. Happy shopping! Do let us know what you end up getting - we like pictures of bikes here...

[t'kay]

Thanks for the welcome Kiwi! I guess that wasn't much of an intro on my part.

Hi I'm Natty, I'm a dirtaholic. A good day on a bike means I crashed and got a mouthful of dirt. I like sugarsnaps straight from the garden. I love music and cigars and High Quality Ales..(which is why i love living in Portland) I'll be moving to Reno to go to school at U Of Nevada Reno, for journalism and Spanish. I like weird movies and photography. That's me in a nutshell!

[Irulan]

First, figure out your budget.

Next, the hardtail vs full sus discussion
- you will get a whole lot more/better bike for your $ if you get a hard tail instead of a fs, until you hit about $1800 or so. Any full sus that cost less than that is going to be heavy, and will have so so components, whereas you can get a really tricked out light, NICE hard tail.
- There is one school of thought that says you learn much better bike handling skills on a hard tail than a fs. I am in this camp.

then, womens' bike or not?

- women's specific or not? You have to understand what wsd (womens specific design ) is. It is a geometry set for a specific set of body porprotions. Typically, long legs short torso. These bikes may also have a women's saddle, narrow handlebars, and sometimes (depends on brand) a lesser component set than an similar man bike.

-fit. Critical point. Try lots of different bikes. Lots, everyone you can get a hold of. See what too big and too small feels like. There is a tendency to oversize ( put you on a too big bike) for beginners.

here is a good faq on selecting mountain bikes
http://bbauer.gomen.org/newbike/


~irulan

[t'kay]

I know for a fact I won't be getting a WSD. I'm 6'1" and 220..not exactly a typical woman. Plus I have a really long torso and long legs. I've decided to get a nice hard tail and just lust after the FS with 8" of travel, I'll buy that one next year Thanks you ladies for your help. I appreciate it a lot.

[DirtDiva]

Doesn't everyone lust after a FS with 8" of travel? That would of course require skills, terrain and finances that are decidedly unavailable to me at this time.

[t'kay]

Doesn't everyone lust after a FS with 8" of travel? That would of course require skills, terrain and finances that are decidedly unavailable to me at this time.

The terrain isn't hard for me to find. The skills I'd get eventually but the damn money..maybe if I get a 4th job and drop out of school

[Irulan]

I think I'd be happy with 5 and 5.....