REVIEWS DEALS BIKESHOPS TRAILS

Bike for my wife

2798 Views 45 Replies 15 Participants Last post by chiefsilverback, Oct 22, 2021

chiefsilverback

Discussion Starter · Oct 20, 2021

My wife is starting to get into riding with me and our boys and she's been using my 15 year old 26" hardtail this year. She's 5'9, 135lbs, long torso but she likes a very upright riding position due to years of lower back pain.

She's a pretty capable rider, I took her out on some blue flow trails the other week and she had fun even at the slow speed we ride following our 6 year old. Her biggest dislike is the rocks and roots that are inevitable here in New England. To that end I'm thinking of getting her a full squish bike and setting up the shock to really just absorb all those bumps.

She is adamant that we don't spend a fortune, maybe $2500 so that has me looking at Polygon and Vitus, especially interesting in the Siskiu T8 because it has a purple paint job. I looked at the Liv options and the value just isn't there from what I can tell.

I went from the aforementioned hardtail to an Oiz H10TR, 120/120 with remote lockouts, so I've never ridden a longer travel trail bike to know how they pedal etc... Any experiences with the T8? Any other bikes I should be thinking about? Would she better on a 'downcountry' bike?

Thanks in advance.

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FrankS29

· #2 · Oct 20, 2021

The Polygon is getting good reviews and people that I've run into on the trails that have them always give good feedback on them. A lot of bang for your $$$.

Only thing that jumps out to me, swap that KMC chain out for an actual Shimano chain to actually get full Hyperglide+, it's worth it.

Are you looking to do the 27.5 or 29 wheels for her?

I've found in the North East that even shorter people tend to prefer 29ers as they like the better rollover on our root and rock filled trails.

blammo585

· #3 · Oct 20, 2021

I've been looking at the Trek Fuel EX5 for myself. It's $2500 or $2600. That blue or teal looks awesome. It's 140mm/130mm travel. I can't remember if the small is 27.5, but I know Medium on up is 29".

chiefsilverback

Discussion Starter · #4 · Oct 20, 2021 (Edited)

FrankS29 said:
The Polygon is getting good reviews and people that I've run into on the trails that have them always give good feedback on them. A lot of bang for your $$$.

Only thing that jumps out to me, swap that KMC chain out for an actual Shimano chain to actually get full Hyperglide+, it's worth it.

Are you looking to do the 27.5 or 29 wheels for her?

I've found in the North East that even shorter people tend to prefer 29ers as they like the better rollover on our root and rock filled trails.

At 5'9" I'd definitely go for 29", and looking at the geo chart I'd go for a medium for her so she's not too stretched out.

I completely agree about the bang for buck on the Polygon, SLX drivetrain and a Rhythm 34 for $2500. I wonder if they're speccing the KMC chain instead of a Shimano to save money, or because 12 speed Shimano chains are rarer than hens' teeth at the moment?

FrankS29

· #5 · Oct 20, 2021

chiefsilverback said:
I completely agree about the bang for buck on the Polygon, SLX drivetrain and a Bomber Z2 for $2500. I wonder if they're speccing the KMC chain instead of a Shimano to save money, or because 12 speed Shimano chains are rarer than hens' teeth at the moment?

I think the KMC chain is probably related to availability on large scale right now.

But I don't see where the T8 comes with a Bomber fork?

The Fox 34 Rhythm that I'm seeing as spec is pretty damn good for the $$$ though. Basically the same as the Bomber with a slightly improved damper from what I remember.

The Vitus Mythique comes with a Bomber, but my buddy purchased one for his wife and he hates it...

Can barely fit a 80mm dropper on hers because of the really tall seat tube and it chews up shift cables because of the routing near the BB.

chiefsilverback

Discussion Starter · #6 · Oct 20, 2021

FrankS29 said:
I think the KMC chain is probably related to availability on large scale right now.

But I don't see where the T8 comes with a Bomber fork?

The Fox 34 Rhythm that I'm seeing as spec is pretty damn good for the $$$ though. Basically the same as the Bomber with a slightly improved damper from what I remember.

The Vitus Mythique comes with a Bomber, but my buddy purchased one for his wife and he hates it...

Can barely fit a 80mm dropper on hers because of the really tall seat tube and it chews up shift cables because of the routing near the BB.

I just realised my mistake and edited my post. Yes I was thinking about the Vitus when I said the Bomber…

NorCal_In_AZ

· #7 · Oct 20, 2021

chiefsilverback said:
She's 5'9, 135lbs, long torso but she likes a very upright riding position due to years of lower back pain.

Even with limited stock out there, get her to several bike shops and let her parking lot ride bikes at the very least. At 5'9" she could be on a medium or small, how she fits on a bike is going to decide that. I would not order a DTC bike for someone, who already has a issue with fit on a bike.

chiefsilverback

Discussion Starter · #8 · Oct 20, 2021

NorCal_In_AZ said:
Even with limited stock out there, get her to several bike shops and let her parking lot ride bikes at the very least. At 5'9" she could be on a medium or small, how she fits on a bike is going to decide that. I would not order a DTC bike for someone, who already has a issue with fit on a bike.

I know I'm going to have to raise the cockpit for her with a new stem and/or riser bars, so a parking lot test ride won't help much...

She's comfortable on her current bike so I've measured her reach and stack to use as a comparison point, so as long as a new bike is in the same ball park the final fit can be tweaked with the right parts...

spaightlabs

· #9 · Oct 20, 2021 (Edited)

Thought from the title of the thread this was gonna be a swap offer. Disappointed since I've got a bike to trade.

Reactions: 5

245044

· #10 · Oct 20, 2021

Get her an ebike so she can outrun you and feel good about beating you.

Reactions: 3

BicyclesOnMain

· #11 · Oct 20, 2021

chiefsilverback said:
I know I'm going to have to raise the cockpit for her with a new stem and/or riser bars, so a parking lot test ride won't help much...

She's comfortable on her current bike so I've measured her reach and stack to use as a comparison point, so as long as a new bike is in the same ball park the final fit can be tweaked with the right parts...

A riser bar or stem is fine, however top tube length is going to have a lot more influence on the angle of the rider's back than the handlebar height. Putting her on a smaller frame and changing to riser bars is probably your best bet.

And you're better off spending a thousand extra bucks for a bike with good suspension now, than $2500 on a bike with bare bones suspension that she refuses to ride...

Reactions: 1

chiefsilverback

Discussion Starter · #12 · Oct 20, 2021

BicyclesOnMain said:
And you're better off spending a thousand extra bucks for a bike with good suspension now, than $2500 on a bike with bare bones suspension that she refuses to ride...

What do you define as "good suspension"?

Cary

· #13 · Oct 20, 2021

I will say it, I am a bike snob. I have a custom steel hardtail, nice banshee prime, canfield jedi downhill bike, and my son rides an Ibis carbon hardtail, HD4, and YT Tues Carbon DH. I build my own wheels, use Hadley or White Industry hubs and like nice high end components. Why do I say this? Because the idea that the Siskiu T8 is somehow to a cheap bike or has inferior suspension is utter nonsense. It is an amazing value. The Fox Rhythm fork is not glamorous, but easy to set up and offers 95% of the performance of anything out there. Same for the DPS rear shock. The components are not the coolest, lightest, or high end, but they are solid quality and durable. If someone took away my bikes and said the T8 was my only choice, I would be perfectly happy.

So that out of the way, I think the only decision you have to make is small or medium. Given she is torso long, I say medium, as it also gets you a longer headtube and makes the bike fit more upright. Buy it, throw on a set of 50mm riser bars, spend a bit of time dialing in suspension setup and tire pressures, and she should be good to go. The only other thing to consider is she may want a different saddle, Terry and WTB have excellent women's saddles.

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Reactions: 3

chiefsilverback

Discussion Starter · #14 · Oct 20, 2021

Cary said:
The only other thing to consider is she may want a different saddle, Terry and WTB have excellent women's saddles.

She has her saddle already, Ergon women's SC Core, and Ergon GA3 grips

Reactions: 1

Sparticus

· #15 · Oct 20, 2021

Well all righty then, thread closed.
=sParty

chiefsilverback

Discussion Starter · #16 · Oct 20, 2021

Cary said:
Terry

On the subject of Terry, when I was researching saddles for my wife I looked at the Terry website. A couple of days later a marketing flyer arrived in the mail, addressed to my wife, offering 20% off a Terry saddle!

DeoreDX

· #17 · Oct 20, 2021

I have ridden the T8's lower speced brother the T7. The frame, cranks, finishing kit, and wheelset is the same between the two, the rest of the components different. The suspension fees very "active" without an overabundance of anti squat. So it doesn't have a firm pedaling platform for something who like to power up climbs, instead favors a more relaxed sitting and spinning letting the suspension work and soak up bumps as you pedal up a hill. I would say that sounds just about perfect for your wife's riding style. With that it works great and does a great job at soaking up the bumps both uphill and downhill. Biggest complain is the wheelset is HEAVY. Absurdly heavy. The 29" 35id wheels built on MT410 hubs is almost 2.6kg for the set, not counting rotors and tires. If you end up with the Vee Snap Flow tires which is often substituted by Polygon for the Schwalbe tires count another 1.2kg for each. I almost wonder if the D7 and and extra $800 might be a better fit.

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Reactions: 1

chiefsilverback

Discussion Starter · #18 · Oct 20, 2021

DeoreDX said:
Biggest complain is the wheelset is HEAVY. Absurdly heavy. The 29" 35id wheels built on MT410 hubs is almost 2.6kg for the set, not counting rotors and tires. If you end up with the Vee Snap Flow tires which is often substituted by Polygon for the Schwalbe tires count another 1.2kg for each. I almost wonder if the D7 and and extra $800 might be a better fit.

I took about 3lbs off my son's Nukeproof Cub Scout 26 Race by going tubeless and replacing the 2.6 DHFs with 2.3 DHRs...

If I went with Siskiu then it sounds like I could do the same going tubeless with a pair of the new Vittoria Syerras, and then maybe aspire to a nicer wheelset in the future. Or upgrade the RaceFace AR30s on my Orbea and put those on the Polygon...

chiefsilverback

Discussion Starter · #19 · Oct 20, 2021

spaightlabs said:
Thought from the title of the thread this was gonna be a swap offer. Disappointed since I've got a bike to trade.

What bike?

Reactions: 4

Cary

· #20 · Oct 20, 2021

DeoreDX said:
If you end up with the Vee Snap Flow tires which is often substituted by Polygon for the Schwalbe tires count another 1.2kg for each. I almost wonder if the D7 and and extra $800 might be a better fit.

Schwalbe Hans Dampf Snakeskin Evo's in 29x2.6 are 1000 grams each. You are saying the Vee Snap Flows are 2200 grams each?!!!! Try about 1250 grams each, hardly lightweight, but a total of a pound extra, not earth shattering.

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