Dearest Teamestrogen members,

I am thinking of selling my full suspension Santa Cruz 26er and buying a Carbon Hardtail 27.5 or 29er next year. I am still in the research stage because low standover is tough to find for a 5ft 1in female.

Currently I am looking at Niner's Air 9 3star carbon XT 29er XS (688mm standover) and the Giant Obsess 27.5 Advanced 1 XS (668mm). My budget will be around $3500, so, hopefully there will be an end of year sale for the Giant Obsess Advanced 1 which is over my budget.

I just wanted to see if any petite members of Teamestrogen have tried either of these bikes and your thoughts.

Unfortunately, demos are not an option due to my size. I will probably have to buy these bikes without being able to give them a test ride.