# What FS bike for a 5'1 105lb girl?



## slimphatty (Sep 9, 2011)

My gf is looking to get into mountain biking. She's a roadie and a pretty decent one at that. Only been on dirt twice. She doesn't have much time to go demo bikes but is willing to spend up to 3k for a good bike. 

She's tiny. 5'1 and 105lbs.

I don't really see her getting into the gnar anytime soon and I really think she'd benefit more from a pedal friendly bike than a bike with loads of travel but I don't want the bike to be the limiting factor. She's is the type of girl that says, "I want to try that!" 

I'm kinda eyeing the liv INTRIGUE 2 in XS but I think it has too much travel for the trails that surround us and for her experience level.

Thanks guys!


----------



## mLeier (Oct 17, 2017)

I love, love, love my Liv Intrigue. I demoed a crap load of bikes last summer while looking for "the one". If you scroll though this forum, you will see a whole bunch of posts about bikes being recommended for women about the same height as your GF. I am 5'1".

I found the Intrigue to be an amazing climber. It climbed better than the Pique (27.5", I haven't tried the 29er) which has less travel and it climbs waaaay better than my 2015 Liv Lust that only has 100 mm of travel front and back. I say go for it!


----------



## mLeier (Oct 17, 2017)

Oh, also, I ride it in a size small. I find the bigger bike to be more stable but try to have her sit on both sizes before buying.


----------



## twodownzero (Dec 27, 2017)

I recommend the Juliana Furtado. There are others I like, too, but that's what my lady rides and unless she really intends to do some big terrain or XC only, the Furtado/5010 splits the baby nicely.


----------



## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

LIV XS are truly XS.


----------



## dir-T (Jan 20, 2004)

My 5'2" wife loves her Furtado but it's on the heavy side by a couple pounds IMO.


----------



## Undescended (Apr 16, 2018)

New Jeffsy Primus 26 has reach, wheelbase, and angles on par with Furtado XS, 2” lower stand over, nearly 1.5lb lighter, and much lighter on the pocket...


----------



## 06HokieMTB (Apr 25, 2011)

My wife is 5' 1" and is on an XS Diamondback Clutch (which is the same bike as the Release)... setup 130/130, 27.5. Was only able to fit a 100mm KS LEV dropper on it, but that's plenty for her.

She loves it for the XC and light trail riding she does


----------



## Suns_PSD (Dec 13, 2013)

Trailcraft 26" should be considered.


----------



## ashwinearl (Jan 2, 2004)

My wife is 4'10" and there is a hard requirement to be able to fit typical small water bottle in the main triangle. She has an older 26" Titus (precursor to Pivto) racer X XS. It's fit her well but she hates the water bottle cage on the underside of the downtube.

This removes the Jeffsy Primus 26, Fuel EX Jr, and the Clutch from the list.

It's challenging to find frames. I myself am 5'4" but with very short torso and look to XS frames. So can't image her fitting on the bikes that I would get. I have a Rocky Mountain Altitude XS with reach 385-390 (with different ride 9 settings)

I can mitigate the longer reach of modern bikes with the shortest stem and bars with higher setback, like SQ labs.

The ones that are on my list for her now are

Giant Trance JR 26" reach 371
Juliano Furtado reach 390 stack 570
Liv Pique XS reach 374 stack 581
Liv Intrigue XS reach 405 stack 577
2019 Norco Sight XS reach 377 stack 581
Pivot Mach 4 XS Reach 405 stack 580
Rocky Mountain Thunderbolt XS Reach 397 stack 572
Cannondale Habit XS Reach 366 Stack 600


----------



## mLeier (Oct 17, 2017)

How about a Rocky Mountain Reaper? A junior bike With geo and suspension for smaller people, but still with 27.5" wheels. http://https://www.bikes.com/en/bikes/reaper/2020


----------



## AGarcia (Feb 20, 2012)

I just bought a Trance Jr. for my 11 year old, 4'11" son. It seems to be just right in terms of dimensions and wheelsize with room for him to grow. The bike comes with a 27.5 fork and a the same chain stay size as the adult sized bike, so I'm guessing I can run 27.5 wheels when he gets a little bigger. It's a cool little bike. The bike has really instilled confidence in his riding.... He came off a 24" Transition Ripcord. That bike was nice, but he's a different kid riding the Trance jr. The Sram SX gearing works well for climbing, and he's got enough travel for basic MTB park stuff.


----------

