Buying an EMTB for the wife

[michael_bc]

I'm looking into buying my wife an EMTB and wondering if anyone has any advice.

Background

She's a complete beginner. She has rarely biked in her life. We rented a bike in autumn and rode some gravel mountain roads and she loved it. We live in the Swiss Alps so there's a possibility she might want to try some easy downhill trails later on. For now, it would be gravel roads, albeit with some steep ascents and descents.

We rented a Flyer Uproc 3 4.10 in size small and she loved it. I tried this bike a bit and thought it was a lead brick. I thought it was a horrible piece of junk. That said, a Bosch CX motor (or similar) with ~625 Wh battery seems like a good starting point. This Decathlon hardtail looks quite nice and got me thinking.

I started a couple of years ago with a Focus Thron2 (130mm front and rear). I think this was an ideal starting point considering I did not know what kind of trails I'd end up riding. This bike has delivered in spades - it has been a pleasure on anything from gravel roads to backcountry trails to double black diamond downhill trails. My gut feeling is my wife should start with a similar full-suspension bike and not a hardtail.

Questions

• Is there such a thing as a women's EMTB vs. men's? Is it relevant?
• Full suspension or hardtail?
• 29" or 27.5"?
• Any other advice?

 

[Litespeed]

I'm looking into buying my wife an EMTB and wondering if anyone has any advice.

Background

She's a complete beginner. She has rarely biked in her life. We rented a bike in autumn and rode some gravel mountain roads and she loved it. We live in the Swiss Alps so there's a possibility she might want to try some easy downhill trails later on. For now, it would be gravel roads, albeit with some steep ascents and descents.

We rented a Flyer Uproc 3 4.10 in size small and she loved it. I tried this bike a bit and thought it was a lead brick. I thought it was a horrible piece of junk. That said, a Bosch CX motor (or similar) with ~625 Wh battery seems like a good starting point. This Decathlon hardtail looks quite nice and got me thinking.

I started a couple of years ago with a Focus Thron2 (130mm front and rear). I think this was an ideal starting point considering I did not know what kind of trails I'd end up riding. This bike has delivered in spades - it has been a pleasure on anything from gravel roads to backcountry trails to double black diamond downhill trails. My gut feeling is my wife should start with a similar full-suspension bike and not a hardtail.

Questions

• Is there such a thing as a women's EMTB vs. men's? Is it relevant?
• Full suspension or hardtail?
• 29" or 27.5"?
• Any other advice?

My advice is to see if there is a woman's club she can ride with because it's less, shall we see, challenging than being a female beginner riding with the partner. If you're in Southern California, Girlz Gone Riding. Anyway, someone said as close to the set uip as you have without a big ass motor is what you want. A full suss for sure. And if she is that new, I recommend finding skills classes for her. It's kind of like teaching a family member to drive -- get a professional. It's less stressful on everybody. Be ready for her to decide she's on it and she outshreds you by the way.

 

[1oldfart]

i second post # 30. I had a Giant 2021 EStance and i was sure a woman would buy it and that happened. I needed money but i might rebuy the same bike when $$ comes in.

 

[Stihldog]

…black as that is the ONLY color a bike should be!
View attachment 132341

Just curious , Is that the entrance to “Six” on Burke Mountain?

Btw, my full suspension is black/gray with red air valve caps.

 

[KnollyBro]

Just curious , Is that the entrance to “Six” on Burke Mountain?

Btw, my full suspension is black/gray with red air valve caps.

Why yes it is! That was our first time up there but it is a nice warm up trail after the little juant up the FSR that kills most people on regular bikes. I like to ride all 3 (Red R, Elevator and Deliverance) with a little Ridden Art added in for variety, when I head over to Burke.
Black with accents are the way to go! I chose yellow to match my Ohlins color.

 

[Raffe]

I'm looking into buying my wife an EMTB and wondering if anyone has any advice.

Background

She's a complete beginner. She has rarely biked in her life. We rented a bike in autumn and rode some gravel mountain roads and she loved it. We live in the Swiss Alps so there's a possibility she might want to try some easy downhill trails later on. For now, it would be gravel roads, albeit with some steep ascents and descents.

We rented a Flyer Uproc 3 4.10 in size small and she loved it. I tried this bike a bit and thought it was a lead brick. I thought it was a horrible piece of junk. That said, a Bosch CX motor (or similar) with ~625 Wh battery seems like a good starting point. This Decathlon hardtail looks quite nice and got me thinking.

I started a couple of years ago with a Focus Thron2 (130mm front and rear). I think this was an ideal starting point considering I did not know what kind of trails I'd end up riding. This bike has delivered in spades - it has been a pleasure on anything from gravel roads to backcountry trails to double black diamond downhill trails. My gut feeling is my wife should start with a similar full-suspension bike and not a hardtail.

Questions

• Is there such a thing as a women's EMTB vs. men's? Is it relevant?
• Full suspension or hardtail?
• 29" or 27.5"?
• Any other advice?

I would recommend Orbea Rise

I'm looking into buying my wife an EMTB and wondering if anyone has any advice.

Background

She's a complete beginner. She has rarely biked in her life. We rented a bike in autumn and rode some gravel mountain roads and she loved it. We live in the Swiss Alps so there's a possibility she might want to try some easy downhill trails later on. For now, it would be gravel roads, albeit with some steep ascents and descents.

We rented a Flyer Uproc 3 4.10 in size small and she loved it. I tried this bike a bit and thought it was a lead brick. I thought it was a horrible piece of junk. That said, a Bosch CX motor (or similar) with ~625 Wh battery seems like a good starting point. This Decathlon hardtail looks quite nice and got me thinking.

I started a couple of years ago with a Focus Thron2 (130mm front and rear). I think this was an ideal starting point considering I did not know what kind of trails I'd end up riding. This bike has delivered in spades - it has been a pleasure on anything from gravel roads to backcountry trails to double black diamond downhill trails. My gut feeling is my wife should start with a similar full-suspension bike and not a hardtail.

Questions

• Is there such a thing as a women's EMTB vs. men's? Is it relevant?
• Full suspension or hardtail?
• 29" or 27.5"?
• Any other advice?

Hi
I would recommend Orbea Rise H30.
Wheel size depends on her leg length but I would recommend 29” or mx.

My girlfriend bought one and she really loves the light weight of the bike because she light weight herself.

 

[doochenozzle]

Orbea Rise. Carbon if you can swing it. Small battery to keep it light. That’s about as light as they come and will be more than capable for her use. It’s a great bike.

 

[Stihldog]

Why yes it is! That was our first time up there but it is a nice warm up trail after the little juant up the FSR that kills most people on regular bikes. I like to ride all 3 (Red R, Elevator and Deliverance) with a little Ridden Art added in for variety, when I head over to Burke.
Black with accents are the way to go! I chose yellow to match my Ohlins color.

We still haven’t tried Squamish yet but we ride the flow trails in Whistler.

Deliverance and Elevator is a little above my pay-grade but Mental Floss, Sandinista, Six, Franks, Pony Connect, Bot 2.0, Fluid and finally Hustler is my fun-run for a long descent. Sometimes I do it again.

“Sawblade” is scary.

A fun-run is Bullet Tooth Tony (20 seconds), Bullet Dodger, Bullet Catcher, Get Some and finally Garbage or Recycle.

And then there’s the “Chair”.
A network of trails for eMTB’s Or RedBull riders only. Hidden entrance, un-mapped, and the occasional lost hiker. Green to double black with chicken lanes. I use the chicken lanes .

My wife and I rode to the “chair” once…to sit.

 

[Hotrod]

My wife was the reason why I ended up with an EMTB. She has been riding for bout 6 years, myself over 20. But we both recently turned 60. She was losing desire to ride due to the amount of climbing we have in our area. We rented some EMTB's on a vacation and it was an amazing eye-opening experience for her. As a result of that we started looking for a bike for her. We tested Giant, Orbea, Specialized and Santa Cruz. Only the Orbea was a mid power Rise the others were full power bikes. Although she liked the weight of the Orbea as it felt more like her analog bike, she felt the power was not enough for the bigger climbs and ended up leaning toward the higher power bikes. For this reason I highly recommend testing a lot of bikes before buying.

Then something happened that I was not expecting, Trek advertised a Black Friday special for the Rail 9.7, it was a buy one get one free. This was something I've never seen done before. We had not test rode a Rail but this opportunity to get 2 bikes was something we had to check out. After a long test ride she was sold, the beautiful teal green and navy blue color certainly helped. As for myself, I am a solid intermediate/advanced rider currently on a Santa Cruz HT, but I admit I was pleasantly surprised with the Rail ride qualities. I especially liked the Bosch motor response. They had 2 mediums (we are both 5'8") luckily they had an all black one for me, we were sold!

We have about 60 miles on the bikes so far and really could not be happier. Something I had not considered but turned out to be a big plus is a battery that can easily be removed from the bike. The bike is easier to lift onto the rack and the battery can be charged and stored off the bike (safer). I will admit the bike is heavy, but it has not really been an issue. I also continue to ride my Santa Cruz as well but now my wife rides along on her Rail and is happy and looks forward to riding again. Hope this helps.

 

[Julie]

Small light female here. I was a strong advanced intermediate rider on regular bikes but when I got to age 70 (!!!) 5 years ago could no longer get up the steeper stuff. Enter the ebike. I have never been able to get back the level of comfort for tech that I had with a lighter more agile 27.5 small or extra small mt bike, but I do have fun on less technical terrain. After some misfires I ended up with an Orbea Rise LTD size small. 38 lbs. Fantastic bike for a 29 er. I’m 5ft 4 inch and 115 lbs and it really is too big for me as I know what a difference having a bike that really fits can make in handling. A 27.5 rear might help but it is really the sluggish too high front end that bugs me.

 

[nfujimaki]

I am 5'3 and 115 lbs female rider. I just bought Orbea H15 in small, changed to mullet, got 160mm crankset instead of 165mm since BB height lost about 7mm. I do ride steeps of North Shore in BC so making my bike mullet was something I really wanted. I only have two rides so far but it is working out great for me. Stock dropper post is working well as well for my not so long inseam. Good luck with your search.

 

[KnollyBro]

I am 5'3 and 115 lbs female rider. I just bought Orbea H15 in small, changed to mullet, got 160mm crankset instead of 165mm since BB height lost about 7mm. I do ride steeps of North Shore in BC so making my bike mullet was something I really wanted. I only have two rides so far but it is working out great for me. Stock dropper post is working well as well for my not so long inseam. Good luck with your search.View attachment 132368

Looks very nice! My only concern with this bike and mine is that I can never drop the saddle down low enough when going down hill. Which North Shore trails do yo like to ride? Even with an emtb, I still hate the climbing trail on Fromme .

 

[nfujimaki]

Looks very nice! My only concern with this bike and mine is that I can never drop the saddle down low enough when going down hill. Which North Shore trails do yo like to ride? Even with an emtb, I still hate the climbing trail on Fromme .

I do like to sneak into dark side on Seymour often. My favorite sanctioned trails would be Dale and Neds. I don't think I will be breathing easy on Fromme climbing trail. Climbing up Eagle Mtn was a definite workout for me last wkend even on eMTB. I have to see how my dropper works. I may have to change to One up from my analog bike but when I was riding steeps in Eagle Mtn, it was okay. My seat post is set quite low though since my inseam is not that long. A real test would be when I take it to the shore and do super steep ones.

 

[irie]

I do like to sneak into dark side on Seymour often. My favorite sanctioned trails would be Dale and Neds. I don't think I will be breathing easy on Fromme climbing trail. Climbing up Eagle Mtn was a definite workout for me last wkend even on eMTB. I have to see how my dropper works. I may have to change to One up from my analog bike but when I was riding steeps in Eagle Mtn, it was okay. My seat post is set quite low though since my inseam is not that long. A real test would be when I take it to the shore and do super steep ones.

Changed wife's and my droppers to Oneup and got them both nicely slammed. Made a big difference.

 

[KnollyBro]

I do like to sneak into dark side on Seymour often. My favorite sanctioned trails would be Dale and Neds. I don't think I will be breathing easy on Fromme climbing trail. Climbing up Eagle Mtn was a definite workout for me last wkend even on eMTB. I have to see how my dropper works. I may have to change to One up from my analog bike but when I was riding steeps in Eagle Mtn, it was okay. My seat post is set quite low though since my inseam is not that long. A real test would be when I take it to the shore and do super steep ones.

Neds was so good this year! I have not ridden the dark side much. I hear you. My KSL came with a 150 dropper but at 5-8 I had to have it raised too high to make it feel right on the climbs leaving it sticking out too much on the way down. I switched to a One Up 180 running at 170 but still find it sticks up too much on the way down hill.

 

[Stihldog]

Neds was so good this year! I have not ridden the dark side much. I hear you. My KSL came with a 150 dropper but at 5-8 I had to have it raised too high to make it feel right on the climbs leaving it sticking out too much on the way down. I switched to a One Up 180 running at 170 but still find it stick up too much on the way down hill.

My medium Rail came with a 150mm dropper also. Never felt comfortable on the steep DH’s. I carefully measured for a 170mm AXS Reverb. I have a 32” inseam, 5’9” and longish arms. The dropper barely fit but what a difference.

I can now slam the seat to a much lower position for DH’s

 

[Stihldog]

It’s only -13c here on Burke Mountian this morning. I might go for a ride if it reaches -20c. (JK) ffs

 

[KnollyBro]

My medium Rail came with a 150mm dropper also. Never felt comfortable on the steep DH’s. I carefully measured for a 170mm AXS Reverb. I have a 32” inseam, 5’9” and longish arms. The dropper barely fit but what a difference.

I can now slam the seat to a much lower position for DH’s

I have the same inseam of 32" at 5-8 but the KSL has the shock tunnel at the bottom of the seat tube which limits the saddle from going any lower. My Knolly Warden is much better but interestingly enough, their new model has gone to a straight top tube like the KSL. Apparently, stand over height is over rated.

 

[Shorty4]

I bought my wife a cheap hardtail ebike to ride after many years of not riding, she hated it and after a few rides refused to ride it any more.
As I had a Focus Jam2 I talked her into having a ride on it and that changed things totally so we purchased a small Focus Thron2 6.8 as the 6.8 comes with a dropper seat post, larger battery and larger brakes.
At the time she was in her early 60's and the bike has been ridden regularly for the last couple of years on bike trails and back roads with all types of surfaces and conditions.
Don't skimp on a bike for the wife, buy what you would for yourself.

 

[Stihldog]

@KnollyBro
Ah yes. I see what you mean.
My dropper has a few mm clearance.
At the bottom.

 

[Freddy-mountain]

I just got a new bike for my girl, and have to say it has not been successful. The Vitus E Mythique is a great bike no doubt , but I have underestimated the weight issue. A 25kg bike is just a bigger hassle to move over fences, on bike racks etc . I you are used to do everything on your own this is a handicap. As a result I do have a new bike for me and need to look for a lighter option. As I want to have a removable battery doesn’t make it easier. The Jam SL and Rotwild 375 are next to be tested. Any additional thoughts what to add to the list?
The good thing on the Vitus test was, that 170 mm travel also suit not so eager bikers

 

[Interstater]

I'm looking into buying my wife an EMTB and wondering if anyone has any advice.

Background

She's a complete beginner. She has rarely biked in her life. We rented a bike in autumn and rode some gravel mountain roads and she loved it. We live in the Swiss Alps so there's a possibility she might want to try some easy downhill trails later on. For now, it would be gravel roads, albeit with some steep ascents and descents.

We rented a Flyer Uproc 3 4.10 in size small and she loved it. I tried this bike a bit and thought it was a lead brick. I thought it was a horrible piece of junk. That said, a Bosch CX motor (or similar) with ~625 Wh battery seems like a good starting point. This Decathlon hardtail looks quite nice and got me thinking.

I started a couple of years ago with a Focus Thron2 (130mm front and rear). I think this was an ideal starting point considering I did not know what kind of trails I'd end up riding. This bike has delivered in spades - it has been a pleasure on anything from gravel roads to backcountry trails to double black diamond downhill trails. My gut feeling is my wife should start with a similar full-suspension bike and not a hardtail.

Questions

• Is there such a thing as a women's EMTB vs. men's? Is it relevant?
• Full suspension or hardtail?
• 29" or 27.5"?
• Any other advice Jump straight to a fully

I'm looking into buying my wife an EMTB and wondering if anyone has any advice.

Background

She's a complete beginner. She has rarely biked in her life. We rented a bike in autumn and rode some gravel mountain roads and she loved it. We live in the Swiss Alps so there's a possibility she might want to try some easy downhill trails later on. For now, it would be gravel roads, albeit with some steep ascents and descents.

We rented a Flyer Uproc 3 4.10 in size small and she loved it. I tried this bike a bit and thought it was a lead brick. I thought it was a horrible piece of junk. That said, a Bosch CX motor (or similar) with ~625 Wh battery seems like a good starting point. This Decathlon hardtail looks quite nice and got me thinking.

I started a couple of years ago with a Focus Thron2 (130mm front and rear). I think this was an ideal starting point considering I did not know what kind of trails I'd end up riding. This bike has delivered in spades - it has been a pleasure on anything from gravel roads to backcountry trails to double black diamond downhill trails. My gut feeling is my wife should start with a similar full-suspension bike and not a hardtail.

Questions

• Is there such a thing as a women's EMTB vs. men's? Is it relevant?
• Full suspension or hardtail?
• 29" or 27.5"?
• Any other advice?

I for one, jumped straight to a fully, for my wife, this is what she will want, (trust me) after a few rides and a sore butt, this will save you a lot of money in the near future, she will want another softer riding bike. get a fully in the middle range, make starting at the SLX area, once things wear out upgrade those parts IF she is still liking mountain biking. CUBE are a good bang for bucks bike.

 

[Interstater]

Oh…Wow! @irie beat me to it but there were three things that were important while we were purchasing a bike for my wife;
1-the colour
2-the colour
3-the colour

Once we got past that hurdle we could focus on the;
1-seat
2-grips
3-peddles

Finally we wanted an eMTB as close to mine as possible. We now have his/hers HT Powerfly’s. Hers is a small size. We got other stuff later after the sticker/price shock wore off.

Did I mention that the colour mattered.

I know that EXACT scenario, Orange and Black Merida 400 and yes, I like that colour as well.

 

[Litespeed]

i second post # 30. I had a Giant 2021 EStance and i was sure a woman would buy it and that happened. I needed money but i might rebuy the same bike when $$ comes in.

I bought a Trek fuel exe 9.8 xt in a small. Fits fine. I'm 5'6" There just aren't a lot of women only bikes as it were. Women just get whatever size works and make different adjustments like the saddle or cutting the handbars down to size.

 

[Stihldog]

Can you elaborate a bit more on why you both got hardtails?

And the difference between his/her is just the color, right?

Micheal…I’m so sorry. It must be the cold weather, having to much time on my hands or my wishy-washy nature. Forget anything I said about my hardtail …I just sold mine yesterday, to my kid, who took me to the cleaners.

But today might be “New Bike Day” for me. My wife was adamant, and quite vocal, that she wanted to keep her HT Powerfly and I should “stay in your lane”.

I’m testing the new Fuel EXE FS with the AXS transmission and TQ motor. Price seems right and I already have the immediate upgrades that I want.

I’ll now be able to ride with her, on the trails that she likes, and still get a decent workout. I’ll also be able to blend in with my MTBing buddies who ride analog’s. She likes the colour too. (I think it’s reddish but I only know 8 colours).

 

[irie]

Micheal…I’m so sorry. It must be the cold weather, having to much time on my hands or my wishy-washy nature. Forget anything I said about my hardtail …I just sold mine yesterday, to my kid, who took me to the cleaners.

But today might be “New Bike Day” for me. My wife was adamant, and quite vocal, that she wanted to keep her HT Powerfly and I should “stay in your lane”.

I’m testing the new Fuel EXE FS with the AXS transmission and TQ motor. Price seems right and I already have the immediate upgrades that I want.

I’ll now be able to ride with her, on the trails that she likes, and still get a decent workout. I’ll also be able to blend in with my MTBing buddies who ride analog’s. She likes the colour too. (I think it’s reddish but I only know 8 colours).

If it's this, very pretty!

 

[Stihldog]

If it's this, very pretty!

View attachment 132422

Oh crap! I think that’s it!!!

On my way …

 

[lamerecycles]

I'm looking into buying my wife an EMTB and wondering if anyone has any advice.

Background

She's a complete beginner. She has rarely biked in her life. We rented a bike in autumn and rode some gravel mountain roads and she loved it. We live in the Swiss Alps so there's a possibility she might want to try some easy downhill trails later on. For now, it would be gravel roads, albeit with some steep ascents and descents.

We rented a Flyer Uproc 3 4.10 in size small and she loved it. I tried this bike a bit and thought it was a lead brick. I thought it was a horrible piece of junk. That said, a Bosch CX motor (or similar) with ~625 Wh battery seems like a good starting point. This Decathlon hardtail looks quite nice and got me thinking.

I started a couple of years ago with a Focus Thron2 (130mm front and rear). I think this was an ideal starting point considering I did not know what kind of trails I'd end up riding. This bike has delivered in spades - it has been a pleasure on anything from gravel roads to backcountry trails to double black diamond downhill trails. My gut feeling is my wife should start with a similar full-suspension bike and not a hardtail.

Questions

• Is there such a thing as a women's EMTB vs. men's? Is it relevant?
• Full suspension or hardtail?
• 29" or 27.5"?
• Any other advice?

We have a some nice Small and Med demo eMTB LaMere bikes you can see them at link below and can even take more off the price depending on where we would be shipping to:

XC

LaMere Cycles custom carbon bikes and eBikes online store

shop.lamerecycles.com

Thx, JP

 

[KnollyBro]

Micheal…I’m so sorry. It must be the cold weather, having to much time on my hands or my wishy-washy nature. Forget anything I said about my hardtail …I just sold mine yesterday, to my kid, who took me to the cleaners.

But today might be “New Bike Day” for me. My wife was adamant, and quite vocal, that she wanted to keep her HT Powerfly and I should “stay in your lane”.

I’m testing the new Fuel EXE FS with the AXS transmission and TQ motor. Price seems right and I already have the immediate upgrades that I want.

I’ll now be able to ride with her, on the trails that she likes, and still get a decent workout. I’ll also be able to blend in with my MTBing buddies who ride analog’s. She likes the colour too. (I think it’s reddish but I only know 8 colours).

The Fuel EXE FS will be for your wife, right? Maybe she will let you ride it when she is "not in the mood" . How much is it? Where are you getting it from? Love the color

 

[irie]

The Fuel EXE FS will be for your wife, right? Maybe she will let you ride it when she is "not in the mood" . How much is it? Where are you getting it from? Love the color

But it's not black, are you having a girly moment?
I also like the colour, that is exactly what I'd go for! Old boyz rool, OK?

 

[Stihldog]

The Fuel EXE FS will be for your wife, right? Maybe she will let you ride it when she is "not in the mood" . How much is it? Where are you getting it from? Love the color

For the wife?…NO friggen way. Mine Mine Mine.
I might not be in the mood for a few weeks though …I’ll be busy.