I've posted this before and would like your suggestions. My GF is approx. 5'7" with a 30" inseam. I would like to know what bike you would suggest for her or your feedback on women's-specific bikes. I was thinking of the '04 Stumpjumper FSR Elite regular model which has a 23.48" TT and 43" WB. The women's-specific model has a 22.4" TT and a 41.88" WB. The regular model seems to fit her okay (if we swapped out the stem for a shorter one), but the wheelbase looks to me a little long for her. I'd have to order her the women's model to have her try it out, though. Thanks for any help.

Hmm, well, at that height, she may not even fit the women specific models. I have an almost 30" inseam and I'm only 5'4". TT lengths that fit me best are between 21.5 and 22". Honestly, though, its best to try to get her to ride one for more than just 15 or 20 min so she can get a good feel for the bike. Even if the shop doesn't have the Specialized in the same TT length at least try a different brand with the TT length just to get an idea of whether or not that would be comfortable.

As far as wheelbase goes, i think it depends more on the type of terrain she'll be riding on. A longer wheelbase will be great for fast, open trails and a shorter wb will be easier to maneuver if you have tight, twisty stuff.

Does she have a mtn bike now? You could always go by what she has and pick out the features she likes or doesn't like on it then base your decision on that. Based on one bike I had, I knew that a 42" WB and 22" Tt were going to be too big for me so I looked for something smaller. I hope this helps :)

She does have a mountainbike already, but she's never been off-road (her bike is old, heavy and unreliable). She'd like to start going on trails and I want to upgrade her to a lighter FS bike. I was considering having her go with the medium women's-specific Stumpjumper FSR due to the shorter wheelbase for climbing. Now that you've mentioned your inseam length, I'll have to recheck hers. Thanks for your help.

Good Luck! I hope everything works out for you guys :)

I've posted this before and would like your suggestions. My GF is approx. 5'7" with a 30" inseam. I would like to know what bike you would suggest for her or your feedback on women's-specific bikes. I was thinking of the '04 Stumpjumper FSR Elite regular model which has a 23.48" TT and 43" WB. The women's-specific model has a 22.4" TT and a 41.88" WB. The regular model seems to fit her okay (if we swapped out the stem for a shorter one), but the wheelbase looks to me a little long for her. I'd have to order her the women's model to have her try it out, though. Thanks for any help.

Thats what i am - a 5ft 7(and three quarters of an) inch woman with about the same inseam. I would say..

Watch out for the "womens specific" stuff- it is usually designed around the idea that all women have long legs and short torsos. (Sounds like your GF doesnt.) Which means that these bikes have short TT s and long STs.

I ride a medium Santa Cruz Superlight (not a Juliana WS) -AND LOVE IT- after buying a small only to sell it cause it was too small. I think (just my opinion) getting something a little big is way better than erring on the small side at least when dealing with a cross country mountain bike.

Hope that helps happy trails to you and your GF!!

Thats what i am - a 5ft 7(and three quarters of an) inch woman with about the same inseam. I would say..

Watch out for the "womens specific" stuff- it is usually designed around the idea that all women have long legs and short torsos. (Sounds like your GF doesnt.) Which means that these bikes have short TT s and long STs.

I ride a medium Santa Cruz Superlight (not a Juliana WS) -AND LOVE IT- after buying a small only to sell it cause it was too small. I think (just my opinion) getting something a little big is way better than erring on the small side at least when dealing with a cross country mountain bike.

Hope that helps happy trails to you and your GF!!

Did you try a women's-specific medium? That's what I was thinking of having her try, but the top-tube on the WS model (Specialized SJ FSR) sounds to small. We'll see. Thanks for your input!

Have you compared the components vs. the price on the WS vs. the regular bikes? I'm curious what you find. I have this idea, which may be completely wrong, that WS is an excuse to hike the price without hiking the cost. (good marketing). I'm 5'2" with a 29" inseam, yet my mountain bike is not WS, and it fits perfectly. I agree that your GF's measurements (if you have them right) don't sound like she needs WS.

Did you try a women's-specific medium? That's what I was thinking of having her try, but the top-tube on the WS model (Specialized SJ FSR) sounds to small. We'll see. Thanks for your input!

NO way did I try the med WS....Somebody grabbed me at Interbike in 01 and made me ride one--in medium... it felt like a bmx bike.....WAY tooo short TT. My knees where hitting the stem. Just cause I am a woman doe not mean I can ride what is called a "womans specific bicycle" Maybe you could get you GF fit on one of them bike fit fully adjustable jobbies some snazzy shops offer (for a fee) and take down the measurements- then search for a bike closest to those numbers-- find out what manu's design frames similar to them..also find out who measures center to center and who doesnt- cause the numbers can be misleading. Main thing.-some manufacturers design bikes (tt and st same size) to fit people with a "normal" (?) legs to torso ratio..and some companies do longer toptubes, shorter seat tube etc. and many other variations. I found Kona, Santa Cruz and Rocky to fit well for my long torso short legs combo. NOt the WS Juliana or other manus WSD...which like i said earlier implies short torso long legs combo, not "every woman".

Happy shopping!

Have you compared the components vs. the price on the WS vs. the regular bikes? I'm curious what you find. I have this idea, which may be completely wrong, that WS is an excuse to hike the price without hiking the cost. (good marketing). I'm 5'2" with a 29" inseam, yet my mountain bike is not WS, and it fits perfectly. I agree that your GF's measurements (if you have them right) don't sound like she needs WS.

Well, the medium Stumjumper FSR WS model has better brakes (disck), fork and shock for a MSRP of $1740. The regular base model of this bike is around $1400. So, with the base model (which is still an excellent ride), it would be ideal if the she can get away with the bike's WB and TT. She doesn't race; I'd just like her to enjoy the trails on a really nice bike. Thank you for your input.