# Best DH Bike for women?



## jasonvelocity (Jul 21, 2006)

I cannot be happier, my fiancé has decided she wants to upgrade from XC to DH. Now I need to draw upon the sage advice of the ladies in the forum: What works for you? I know transition makes the all mountain/free ride Syren, but that just doesn't look up to the job.

What are the women of downhill riding?


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## Dalis12 (Jan 15, 2008)




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## jasonvelocity (Jul 21, 2006)

As soon as Sunline makes lock on grips with tassles, I am whippiing out my wallet.


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## hbracca (May 15, 2007)

How tall is she? My girlfriend is only about 5' 2" so it's pretty hard to find a frame with a good standover and toptube that is still affordable. Both Turner and Intense make XS with low standover and a short toptubes, Giant makes an XS to but the standover is a bit tall and the Sunday felt a bit long when my girl test rode it. I do a bit of design for Soul Cycles and I'm trying to talk Chad (the owner) into making an XS in his new DH frame that we are working on, but when it comes down to it, there isn't a huge demand, so it's hard for a small frame maker.


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## one incredible donkey (Jul 19, 2007)

Why would you need a drastically different bike just because she's not a man? How tall is she and what does she weigh? Don't tell her you're telling the internet this information by the way.


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## cyberdivachick (Jan 30, 2007)

I am a beginner downhiller. I have a Jamis Diablo mens small I purchased as a close out from Jenson USA for just under $1500. I absolutely love it. I am 5'4 and it fits me perfect. Good luck!


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## jasonvelocity (Jul 21, 2006)

She is 5'7" around 140. I don't think she needs a dratically different bike, just wanted to get a feel for what was actually being riden.


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## jasonvelocity (Jul 21, 2006)

That looks like a decent bike for the price. They still have the 06 Diablo in stock, I might have to find one and get her to take it for a spin. The new Bam appears to be the replacement.


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## ducktape (May 21, 2007)

Sounds about the same as me (5ft7 & 69kg). At the moment I'm riding a HT (Giant STP) and starting to have a go at DH on it. If I was to buy a dually I'd probably be looking at a size Small, and one of the models I'd consider would be Giant Glory, maybe something from Norco, or Kona mainly because over here in Oz it's the best value for money you can get.

A recent local DH race I watched recently was an eye opener, most people were riding a Giant! Once again purely because they are hard to beat in regards to value for money & performance too.

Oh just wanted to add that looking at what other Women are riding is probably not the best way to determine what you should buy, simply because mtb being the way it is I imagine most ladies would end up with hand downs from their boyfriends / husbands / partners for starters.


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## jasonvelocity (Jul 21, 2006)

Giant is fairly popular here as well, must be a good bike for the money.


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## Rb (Feb 28, 2007)

I'm not sure this helps you much, but the fastest DH chick I know personally rides a small Turner DHR. Seems to be working great for her.

What it really boils down to (for both men AND women) is geometry and fit. Spend a few minutes, and go through our fit system (link at the top right): http://www.wrenchscience.com/Store.aspx?stylecode=M

Don't worry, it's completely free and we don't send spam to your inbox. The numbers it spits out should give you a ROUGH estimate of what size bike your fiance needs. DH sizing varies quite a bit from bike to bike so having fit numbers is a great start to finding the right bike.

Btw, congratulations on the engagement.


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## jasonvelocity (Jul 21, 2006)

WS Recommended Sizes 
Frame Size center-to-center: 17 in 
Frame Size center-to-top: 18 in 
Overall Reach: 59.88 cm 
Saddle Height: 74.01 cm 
Handlebar Width: 38 cm 


Good information, I'll take it into consideration when looking at bikes.


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## sickspeed16 (Apr 9, 2008)

Jamis Diablo dude Kathy pruitt races/raced on one (Pro womens DH) look it up.


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## jasonvelocity (Jul 21, 2006)

sickspeed16 said:


> Jamis Diablo dude Kathy pruitt races/raced on one (Pro womens DH) look it up.


Done! http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/racing/kathy_pops.html


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## Irrenarzt (Apr 19, 2006)

Transition makes a women's specific rig. I think its called the Syren or some schit like that.


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## Djponee (Dec 20, 2006)

weeeeeehhhooooooowwweeeeeeehhhhhhooooooo.

Syren


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## fisherdude4eva (Apr 29, 2007)

Syren yo creo


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## DanD (Jan 15, 2004)

jasonvelocity said:


> I know transition makes the all mountain/free ride Syren, but that just doesn't look up to the job.


Something tells me he is not interested in setting her up an the Syren.


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## trailripper (Apr 30, 2007)

teach her to ride a bike upside down, then you'll get some respect.


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## jasonvelocity (Jul 21, 2006)

I don't even know what that means.


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## jasonvelocity (Jul 21, 2006)

I could be wrong, but it just doesn't seem to be in the DH class.


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## Irrenarzt (Apr 19, 2006)

DanD said:


> Something tells me he is not interested in setting her up an the Syren.


Missed that in the OP, thanks for pointing that out.

Not sure why he'd say the Transition isn't up to task. I'm sure it works fine.


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## ducktape (May 21, 2007)

Only thing about those sizing websites, is that you have to discount the handlebar width recommendation! I mean 38cm - more like 71cm thanks! Or at least more than 60cm I would tend to think. Obviously road hangers are much narrower than mtb bars.



> WS Recommended Sizes
> Frame Size center-to-center: 17 in
> Frame Size center-to-top: 18 in
> Overall Reach: 59.88 cm
> ...


In saying that I found it to be a good guide back when I was having a few comfort issues with my old dually. I found it calculated my optimum XC saddle height very accurately (the figure turned out to be basically where I generally liked to have it anyway).
And the overall reach was a good guide line for me - I brought my current HT for that particular reason - I knew from experimenting with my last bike that a 560mm top tube suited me perfectly with a 50mm stem.

Standover is always a consideration but I would primarily look at the top tube length and fit reach wise first, the rest should hopefully follow.


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## sickspeed16 (Apr 9, 2008)

Def Jamis, their small (7"), a women domitated on one already AND their like 1500 new.


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## NorKal (Jan 13, 2005)

jasonvelocity said:


> As soon as Sunline makes lock on grips with tassles, I am whippiing out my wallet.


I'd rock these


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## NorKal (Jan 13, 2005)

jasonvelocity said:


> That looks like a decent bike for the price. They still have the 06 Diablo in stock, I might have to find one and get her to take it for a spin. The new Bam appears to be the replacement.


FYI: My friend bought one of those Diablos from jensen and it had such a low bottom bracket he constantly complained about it. Within three months or so he had sold it for a used Bullit and he's so much more happy.


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## Yazzle Dazzle (Jun 27, 2007)

Had you considered the Transition Blindside? (haha, you thought I was going to say Syren!) I've ridden both and both felt incredible. I raced the Syren in a DH race this past weekend and did respectably (4th of 7 riders in Expert) and could have done better if I was actually fit for racing:skep: . I will admit that it does not quite instill the same confidence and feeling of invulnerability that a full-on DH bike does though. It takes a little finesse picking your lines since you can't just bomb through things. I had a blast on the Blindside when I tested one last year, and I have a sneaky suspicion that I will be owning one by summers end. The new Blindsides are building up around 40lbs which to me sounds better than the 50lb Giant Glory (which everyone I've talked to says they certainly don't feel that heavy). I previously rode an '03 Specialized Big Hit which was retired this winter to reside on my living room wall. That was a solid bike.


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## Hesh to Steel (Oct 2, 2007)

At 5'7 140 it seems like you could just set her up on a non-women-specific bike. She's taller than plenty of dudes that ride DH.


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## Squatch_ (Jun 7, 2006)

The other thing is you don't *need* a full blown race rig to ride DH, either. If you're just getting into it, a FR bike will offer a bit more versatility, and you probably won't be pushing it past its limits.


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## TLL (Apr 28, 2008)

Turner DHR or a Transition. If going lighter, a Turner RFX.


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## Iggz (Nov 22, 2006)

http://www.roteccycles.com/thebike.php

The RL9 has a really low stand over


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## bdamschen (Jan 4, 2006)

My girlfriend is currently rocking this: 



























Hopefully soon going to either an 888 WC ATA up front or a Totem solo air.

She's 5'9", 140 and loves it.

What I've found is that girls usually have slightly shorter arms than a guy the same size, so they need a slightly shorter cockpit. Also, because women usually have less physical strength than a guy the same size, keeping the bike lighter and the weight centered down low makes it easier for them to toss the bike around.


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## DHDiva27 (Nov 13, 2007)

I'm 5'5 and i currently am riding an Trek Session 77 and I love it!!! I was thinking about getting a new one for this race season so I did some research and found that there are not alot of race bikes that have a low enough stand over for me. It seems like the small in almost every bike is just an inch or so too tall for me to clear the top tube. Even the new Session 88 is just a little over what I need to get by, but for what its worth, I love my session!!


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## TheProphet (May 31, 2005)

My girl is 5'8" ish and she picked up a medium Giant Glory 1 and loves it. Pretty stocked out bike at $2700, although it does come in at 47 lbs. with pedals. The bike rips and picks up most of her mistakes. I would recommend the Glory 1 or 0 depending on your budget.


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## jasonvelocity (Jul 21, 2006)

That's good advise regarding the smaller cockpit. That is a sweet looking bike for a great price.


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## 08nwsula (Oct 19, 2005)

my wiener


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## BKnight (Mar 27, 2005)

theres three girls that ride in our group. 
One of them is rocking a super like intense Socom, another has an M3, and the last one has a v10 and shes only like 5'4" if that


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## jasonvelocity (Jul 21, 2006)

I demo'd a Socom, and it felt way too fragile for me. It might make an excellent women's bike, but that is a steep commitment for someone to start on


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