Small modern bike for the wife - opinions wanted

I've been searching unsuccessfully for a 14" (max) frame for my wife in both forums. She has finally decided that she wants a modern hardtail with discs so some advice would be greatly appreciated. I was thinking about buying a donor bike and then sourcing a suitable frame as I think this might be the cheapest option. Thinking about an On One Inbred frame (if she approves) as they seem like good value for money and are currently £140 frame only. She likes Kona's and Voodoo's but these seem pretty hard to find in the small size unless you go for the jump style frame, which are plentiful, but I'm guessing these won't perform well on the cross country type riding she does?

Any pointers gratefully received as modern bikes aren't really my strong point :?

I have done this several times admittedly for my children.

Earlier this year I bought a 13" Specialized Hardrock frame for around £10 on ebay and built it using available parts - very light frame.

I think a similar size Rockhopper frame sold on ebay for around £40.

Both were disc compatible.

I was lucky enough to then buy a complete xs GT Pantera which we have kept.

Further up the gravy train there is a lovely 14.5" Santa Cruz Chameleon on ebay at the moment which seems to be very highly regarded on here.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Santa-Cruz-Ch ... 1000wt_958


Depending on your spares box I think the problem with donor bikes is getting suitable decent wheels and indeed forks.

i had a kona shred good few years ago that was a good strong small bike.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Scott-Contess ... 2a304c92b3


dont know anything about them but looks ok to me

If she can squeeze on to a 15" these are great value.

http://www.bikescene.co.uk/Orange-Diva- ... 107-0.html

Got my girlfriend one and built it up with parts from my 2007 Clockwork. She loves it.

Kona Cowan has a long enough top tube to work as a trail bike, sliding dropouts so you can run SS or fine-tune the wheelbase and makes a nice all-round play bike.
I wouldn't choose one for an all-day bike as it would be a little harsh for extended in-the saddle riding but for a couple of hours ragging around it would be good.
Or a medium Santa Cruz Chameleon maybe?

Small modern bike for the wife - opinions wanted

Click to expand...

Personally, I think it's appalling that you'd trade your wife for a bicycle.

Andy R":3i5cxalc said:

Kona Cowan has a long enough top tube to work as a trail bike, sliding dropouts so you can run SS or fine-tune the wheelbase and makes a nice all-round play bike.
I wouldn't choose one for an all-day bike as it would be a little harsh for extended in-the saddle riding but for a couple of hours ragging around it would be good.
Or a medium Santa Cruz Chameleon maybe?

Click to expand...

I have thought about the Cowan and similar but she really wants something she could ride comfortably few a few hours. There's a nice little Chameleon on ebay just now but £175 for frame only seems a bit steep!

xerxes":3i5cxalc said:

Small modern bike for the wife - opinions wanted

Click to expand...

Personally, I think it's appalling that you'd trade your wife for a bicycle.

Click to expand...

I think it might actually be easier to find a taller wife

It might be worth you both going round the shops to see what your wife can comfortably ride. I'm very short (26" inside leg) and what I can ride depends on the style of the frame. If the top tube is sloping, I can manage a slightly bigger frame - my main bike is 14.5" frame but I can comfortably ride a 16" frame with a sloping top tube (and I'm talking blokey frames not those awful flipping girly shopper 'mountain' bikes :roll: ).
Happy shopping!

Salsprocket":2ky6jvtl said:

It might be worth you both going round the shops to see what your wife can comfortably ride. I'm very short (26" inside leg) and what I can ride depends on the style of the frame. If the top tube is sloping, I can manage a slightly bigger frame - my main bike is 14.5" frame but I can comfortably ride a 16" frame with a sloping top tube (and I'm talking blokey frames not those awful flipping girly shopper 'mountain' bikes :roll: ).
Happy shopping!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply

She currently has a 93 Kona Hahanna in a 14" which measures around 11" centre-centre. This is pretty much spot on for her and obviously has a sloping top tube so I'm thinking anything bigger will be too much :?