29er reviews from females

THATmanMANNY

Well-Known Member
Hi ladies. Ride a 9er? How do they fit/ride for you in your opinion. All the gentlemen up in here has drank the kool-aid but I never have read anything from the women. Nor do many brands make female 29ers :hmmm:

Some girls I know would like to get into the sport, with minimal investment so I'm on the lookout for bikes for them, esp SS and possibly 29er SS's. So I'm wondering how a 29er fits/rides from your point of view? Do you still ride a 26" too? etc..

Thanks.
Manny
 

pixychick

JORBA: Ringwood
JORBA.ORG
FWIW, I have only tried one 29er and one 69er in 2 sizes. This is mostly because few exist in my size. I'm not saying that plenty of other women with longer legs could find some that fit, it just is not happening for me any time soon.

I demoed an early edition GF the first year they came out. My test ride was on snow, so take it for whatever it is worth. It's handling excelled in snow because of the big wheels, but it was difficult to get the front end over a small log. At that time, the choice of tires and forks was nil, and being a tire whore, I dismissed the bike for that alone.

Then this summer I rode two Trek 69ers SS. They had a custom tuned Fox fork and a good tire choice, as compared to the early days of big wheels. The handling was very good and I thought it was a nice balance of roll over ease, acceleration and ability to handle tight corners. Unfortunately non of the sizes fit me very well. The small had great standover height but the top tube was too short and had a jacked up front end. The medium had a perfect top tube length but was way too high off the ground and did not feel as nimble. I was impressed with the overall performance, but also knew that it was nowhere near the the performance of the well fitted 26" Titus FS or Voodoo SS a already had.

It just does not work for me, but if other women have proportionally long legs to torso, I think they could easily find a good fit in the 29er world and jump on the band wagon. If her legs are shorter than 29 or 30, she may want to try a 69er. Equally so, she may just prefer to stay with a 26" wheel.
 

Glancing Aft

Active Member
Donno how much help I'll be but my girlfriend regularly rides a 26er but has ridden my Niner AIR several times as well as demoed a Titus Racer X 29er. At 5'10" she's a bit taller than most females and usually rides men's bikes so the 29er fits her well.

It's amazing watching the kool aid take effect when she rides them. She is in amazing cardiovascular shape but not the best technical rider. On the 29er, she's instantly able to clear technical rock gardens she normally can't ride, and in general seems to cruise along at a faster pace.

If she were in the market for a bike today I think she would look at a FS 29er, but as Pixy said it completely comes down to leg length, and how the geometry fits an individual rider.
 
M

Mtnbikechick

Guest
No going back...

I'm 5'9", so probably a little taller and longer-legged than your average woman, but I'm sure there's more of us out there... :) Regardless, I do know guys shorter than myself by a couple inches that ride 29ers and love it!

I've ridden both a fully rigid Haro Mary SS and Cannondale's 29er. While I found the front suspension on the Cannondale a little more forgiving, there was nothing quite like the handling of the Mary. Maybe it's the reach with the On-One Mary handlebars... I think they're better suited for women, as I know, most men change them out first thing. While the Mary has a chromoly rigid fork, I don't find that I take too much of a pounding. You can always change out the front fork if you find you prefer the suspension, but right out of the box I loved the simplistic look and the feel of the Mary, and for under $1,000, you have yourself one rugged, sleek, smooth-handling ride!

It did take a little getting used to, as I noticed feeling a little higher... especially going over bridges, log piles, etc., but I couldn't believe the difference... it seemed to just glide over technical sections that I found more difficult on a 26" bike.

Anyway, I absolutely LOVE my Mary and wouldn't trade her for a 26"... NO WAY!

I hope this helps!

LC:)
 
J

JerseyGirl

Guest
I have a salsa dos niner and love it!! I am 5'9" and purchased a small frame so the fit would be better. I love the advantages to riding on a 29er. I am definitely able to go through rock gardens and over bigger logs easier with the bigger wheels. It does take some getting use to especially with tight turns. totally worth it!!!
 

RacerChick

Hudson Valley Girl
Bam!

This is funny that you guys are talking about 29ers. My bike shop has a Gary Fisher "Rig" 19 inch single speed 29er in black for $650. I was riding it around the shop knocking stuff over and pulling clothes off the racks. I than headed outside (not by choice) and rode around the lot. I thought it was fun to ride and very comfy for my long legged 5'9" body. This was the first time I rode a single speed too, which I think for me to race would be tough. I like the idea of a 29er, but would choose gears over the single speedy.

You friendly neighborhood Racerchick
 

Pokgirl

Spork
Yeah, funny you should ask... I just asked my husband a similar question, now that he just bought a 29er, "So when are the girls going to start riding them?"

From the feedback, it doesn't sound like it would happen for me anytime soon... since I am 5'5". It would be fun to test ride one on demo day.
 

BiknBen

Well-Known Member
IMO, this is just an issue involving rider height. Since women tend to be shorter, it is less likely that a 29r will work for them.

I think one of the key issues is the difference in height between the saddle and handlebars. The front 29r wheel increases the height of the handlebars. If the rider is too short the saddle will be low in relation to the bars. This will dramatically change the rider's weight distribution and position.

This is one of the reasons I keep my daughter (only 9years old) on bikes with smaller wheel sizes. Although, I'm told that she could ride a 26" wheel bike, she looks like she is sitting on a recliner. The bars are way too high. I kept her on a 24" just to provide better fit.

While a 29r may roll over obstacles easier, it won't help if your position is so upright that it resembles a beach cruiser.
 

phathucker

New Member
I did ALOT of bike shopping to find my g/f a good bike. She is 5'3 and about 100lbs soaking wet. The guys at bicycle therapy in philly had a few sweet 29ers and swore they were better than 26ers at everything. Sure enough she demo'ed one and the center of gravity was just too high. The big wheels made the bike too long and too big. So they were trying to sell us the specialized womens 26' bike I forget the name but it was 1300 and came with v brakes.....lame. I think I was explaining to manny once, she found this online company called fezzari (fezzari.com) and got a bike custom made to her fit, a full suspension with hydro brakes,front rockshock fork and airshock rear, truvative and xt components for 1200. Shes had it for about a year and im impressed. The only thing was that we had to order the lighter spring kit for the front fork, but they sent it for free so no beef.

the company makes the bike according to your measurements.
Definitly worth checkin out if your a female
 

anrothar

entirely thrilled
IMO, this is just an issue involving rider height. Since women tend to be shorter, it is less likely that a 29r will work for them.

I think one of the key issues is the difference in height between the saddle and handlebars. The front 29r wheel increases the height of the handlebars. If the rider is too short the saddle will be low in relation to the bars. This will dramatically change the rider's weight distribution and position.

This is one of the reasons I keep my daughter (only 9years old) on bikes with smaller wheel sizes. Although, I'm told that she could ride a 26" wheel bike, she looks like she is sitting on a recliner. The bars are way too high. I kept her on a 24" just to provide better fit.

While a 29r may roll over obstacles easier, it won't help if your position is so upright that it resembles a beach cruiser.


you can put the grip/handlebar height just about anywhere you want it. flip the stem. i know that's 'more dangerous' due to the stem sticking up above the bars, but plenty of people do it. especially cannondale riders. :D

in my opinions, which is extremely valuable and more accurate than the word 'mile', the reason 29ers don't work for people bleow 'x' height is standover and 'swing-over'. 29" wheels require the top of the head tube to be higher, which will make the front of the top tube higher, which will decrease standover without some funky bending of the top tube. by swing-over, i refer to the back wheel, and how high one has to swing their leg to clear it and mount the bike. i almost just typed "mount the biker" there, but i deleted it. :D

it might also have something to do with a ratio of centrifigal force to height.
 

THATmanMANNY

Well-Known Member
Thanks Jim

Jim,
No, no, no. I can't accept that but I will

Ellen,
As per requested by JimV, please ride his Superfly and take it to me.

Best Regards,
Manny ;)
 
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