Wife first emtb suggestions

[Brawwp]

My wife has finally shown a smidgen of interest in mountain biking again. Last time we tried I got her an analog maybe a tad too big bike and made a huge mistake taking her to a bike park. She fell and quit.

Looking for suggestions on emtbs. I’m on an amflow now. I’d love for the bike to be light for her, but I’m also thinking more power will help out a lot as well.

She is 5’2-5’3ish. I’m thinking an S1 turbo levo gen 4 could be a good bike? 105nm power and I think that size will make her more comfortable. I can also get a military deal with them. I’ve read some choose to get their wives an SL bike to keep it light, but worried about the lower power. The amflow makes uphill so fun when compared to my last gen 3 levo.

Open to any suggestions. I’m definitely going to get her a full face helmet and pads. She’s pretty scared of everything so it’ll be a long journey but hope we can make baby steps to get her more comfortable being uncomfortable lol.

 

[Brawwp]

So we went and tried a s1 levo and the standover is just a little too tall. Any suggestions on good emtb with lower standover?

 

[nickf]

Unno Mith. Probably the lowest standover out there. You might have to mortgage the house though!

 

[Brawwp]

Unno Mith. Probably the lowest standover out there. You might have to mortgage the house though!

Yeah that bike is so sexy. If she was same height as me I’d have it on order hahah. I’m now thinking about the ibis oso for her. Very low standover height on the oso.

Im hoping I can just swap my stock amflow fork and maybe a few other things on whatever I get her. I think the oso is 170mm fork and my amflow is 160. Idk how bad that’ll be for her but im figuring she probably wouldn’t notice.

 

[MeatBike]

What about some of the Giant Liv or Scott Contessa models?

710mm standover on a small Liv Embolden E+ vs around 8 nautical miles on the Levo.

 

[Pizzman]

My wife is beginner advanced/ intermediate skill level (very good shape, super strong, works out seemily every godamn day) . She is 5’2 and with a few small changes she loves her size S2 Levo 4. I shortened the stem and put taller bars on. Put the smallest one up dropper post available. Just got back from a trail ride. Smiles all around
The larger frame takes a bit more muscle to move around, but is super stable at higher speeds. She rode a small Evil Wreckoning before this bike.
She can’t touch both feet on the ground on either bikes stand over. She leans over. One foot touchdown.
Smaller bikes seem and even are ok, but if you ride a lot. You may find they get smaller as you ride them.
Definitely, she should ride as many brands as possible. It’ll help.

 

[BobR]

My wife is 5’3” and rides an Orbea Rise with the software switched over to a standard power Shimano (85nm) but with the smaller battery which gives her power with less weight but shorter range ( we have never run out of juice as we never do more than 20 miles). She can stand up, touching the ground flat footed with out touching the head tube.

 

[Utah Rider]

My wife rides a med Kenevo 21'. The seat goes really low. Maybe look for used?

 

[Brawwp]

going to get her the ibis oso. It has the lowest stand over of all emtbs. I guess they designed it around one of the female ibis riders that is 5’1? Idk don’t quote me on that just something I was told. It’s also a pretty great deal now and I’m hoping to switch over some of the better components from hers to my amflow haha.

Issue is I have to just buy one. Limited selection in Hawaii (only specialized and trek). I’m trying to get her a small rental bike of any brand just to try an emtb out before buying a new one. She’s ridden analog but never e-bike.

 

[irie]

If the bike fits her nicely then I'm sure she'll grow into using the assistance. She can start by using none then little by little as she wants.

 

[Stihldog]

For our “love” rides I got a couple of Trek Power Flys hard tails (his/hers). Colour was important to her. She quickly grew accustomed to the Bosch CX motor. Light/tame trails or gravelly flats were her choice.

I’ve since gifted my medium sized powerfly to my son and got the Trek Fuel EXE as bike #2 for me.

She loves her bike and loves the speed. Leaves me in the dust sometimes when she says …”Let’s Race”!lol

 

[edruid]

Just leave it out wiht the bike park for at least a year. Or until she asks to go. Which means trails. So full suss anything and a nice big soft gel saddle. Maybe an SL to start with. Lots of coffees and cakes. This is what I've learned along the way to getting my wife and 3 (20-25yo) daughters to a point where they will wake me on a Saturday to ask if I want to go out for a ride with them. It took a while to find the formula (and I too got it wrong put them in harm's way early on to my shame). On balance I find the sacrifice of adrenaline is worth it for the privilege of riding trails with my fam. There's still day I can frighten myself solo or with similarly reckless ebiking old boys.

 

[BobR]

My wife road analog first and fought me the whole way but once she got on her new ebike she realized the areas of mountain biking she thought were gone for her due to her age. She told me at least two times during our first ride that she loved me. Now she wants to go just as much as I do.

 

[SteAmtb]

I would go the opposite way to some and say that heavy and full power worked for my wife. She likes cycling but was always quite tentative, cautious and not really comfortable on even vaguely (very gently!) adventurous trails. Heavy, 160/150 ebike and she feels a lot more stable and comfortable and even enjoys some quite technical trails, she even suggests holidays that involve mountain biking now, which is a huge win for all concerned She is a bit taller than your wife but happy on a small Megawatt / Merida E160 (with a comfortable saddle!). My daughter however is 4' 9" and still completely happy with the size and standover of the Merida...

 

[ntm95]

Wife is 5'1" and loves her heckler sl in small.
She is 110 pounds, I am 190 pounds on a bosch gen 5, 600wh.
I ride in tour mode, she rides in turbo, climbing rates are similar, and we run out of battery around the same time.

My wife got hooked by going to the bike park. Lift service was her first taste of e-bike life !