Help! Womens Hardtail - no availability

[jakc]

Been struggling to find a new womens hardtail.

Currently narrowed choice down to:

• Liv - Temp 29

• Canyaon - Grand Canyon

• Trek - Marlin 7 WMN

• Cannondale Trail 5 WMN

• Marin Wildcat Trail 5

Based in Melbourne and have done a whip around of a lot of the official stores that sell these brands but nothing in stock and big waiting lists.

Have been contemplating ordering from overseas and have a LBS do the initial setup.

I know stocks are low now, but just hoping someone might be able to point me at a good source to sort out a bike or comment on ordering full bikes from overseas (e.g. Wiggle).

Thanks!

[Nobody]

Hi Jakc,

Wiggle and Chain Reaction (same company) have Australian web sites. I believe their bike stocks (unless geo baring, which is common these days) are the same locally and OS.

Basically the industry is going to be this way until at least late next year according to some who claim to know about the industry. Over seas have got similar problems. I haven't bought a bike from OS before, but I understand the postage costs often can be hundreds of dollars. I have bought frames from OS which haven't been too bad for postage costs.

Unless you're hung up on colour schemes, or the thought of wanting a womens' specific bike, then you should find there is little difference between the mens' and womens' bikes. It mainly matters at the XS sizing end. Just swap out some bits to make the fit better if necessary. It's normal for men to do the same.

Unfortunately the MTB industry is infected with a "modern geometry", longer reach, slacker head tube angles and steeped seat tube angles philosophy. Which is fine for those who mostly like riding downhill. But not for those who want a bike to handle well under them when negotiating difficult obstacles, or riding on flatter countryside. The reason I mention it is not all the bikes you list are going to have similar dimensions in the same size. The Giant/Liv, Trek and Cannondale are XC bikes, while the Canyon and Marin are more trail bike - or modern - in their geometry. Basically what that means is the Canyon and Marin will have too long a frame Reach for the same size of bike. If you are trying for an ideal general MTB bike fit, then search "Rider Area Distance" (R.A.D.). Have a look on YouTube for R.A.D. if you want it explained well as to what it is and why it's important. Once you've done that and estimated your own R.A.D., you'll soon realise that unless you are tall, most modern geometry trail bikes and almost all 29ers won't fit well. There are some work arounds, but they require a reasonable technical understanding of what one is trying to achieve.

Also even the XC bikes you list are now sized up compared to 10 years ago. I have an Avanti XC MTB in medium size which is the same size as most small sized current XC bikes from the major manufacturers. So unless you want to upsize with more modern geometry, then know your current bike's measurements and read the geometry charts carefully. I have made up a spreadsheet to work all this stuff out for myself.

[jakc]

This is such a great reply to my first post here, I really appreciate the time and wisdom you have shared.

RAD is entirely new to me, and from brief reading makes a lot of sense. Will do mor eresearch there.

And thanks for pointing out the discrepancy between those bikes not all being similar. The truth is, just trying to find a 1st proper MTB for my partner to start riding on, not entirely sure what her riding style will end up being, but wanted to start with a womens hardtail and to keep price down, assumed the womens models would negate the need to then ditch new parts and buy female parts (shorter bars/stem/seat). With that said, maybe I do need to start looking at unisex bikes to open up availability options.

My partner is small at 160cm, so your right - I should perhaps adjust my filters to avoid 29ers and have a re-think about the laid back styles.

[RonK]

I bought a Canyon partly because the was no local stock, and also because it was better value than anything I could buy here. Plus delivery was more certain than any local suppliers could offer.
Ultimately I've been very satisfied with my choice. Canyon delivered two weeks earlier than promised and the quality of the bike is first class.

[Andy01]

I have no idea if any of these stores actually stock, but searching on Bikeexchange for Liv Tempt does bring up a lot of bikes, many in Victoria. Of course, there are several models of Tempt in both 2021 & 2022 and several different frame sizes showing, so they may not suit even if they do have stock.

https://www.bikeexchange.com.au/s/hardt ... -bikes/liv

[jakc]

Thanks Ron - I am leaning towards Canyon as the others seem to indicate availability won’t be till next year. Was setup of the canyon easy enough or you take to a LBS?

I spotted those as well Andy - have contacted last week, will chase today. I heard from another shop that Giant/Liv are waiting list only.

[Mububban]

Thanks Ron - I am leaning towards Canyon as the others seem to indicate availability won’t be till next year. Was setup of the canyon easy enough or you take to a LBS?

I spotted those as well Andy - have contacted last week, will chase today. I heard from another shop that Giant/Liv are waiting list only.

Assembly tools and instructions will be included with the Canyon, if you feel confident doing it yourself. Otherwise flick your local bike store ~$50 for them to assemble it and check the bolts etc. Gears and brakes should be tuned and test ridden at Canyon before the handlebars are simply removed and the bike is packed for shipping, but something may get bumped in transport.

[RonK]

Thanks Ron - I am leaning towards Canyon as the others seem to indicate availability won’t be till next year. Was setup of the canyon easy enough or you take to a LBS?

Yes, Canyon included everything required for assembly, which was fairly minimal anyway. Fit the front wheel, attach the handle bar, and fit the seatpost. Oh, and the pedals (supplied by myself). Canyon supply a basic yet workable torque wrench and carbon assembly paste.

Here's a video showing the assembly of the Grizl. No doubt there will be similar for other models as well.

[10speedsemiracer]

I have no idea if any of these stores actually stock, but searching on Bikeexchange for Liv Tempt does bring up a lot of bikes, many in Victoria. Of course, there are several models of Tempt in both 2021 & 2022 and several different frame sizes showing, so they may not suit even if they do have stock.

https://www.bikeexchange.com.au/s/hardt ... -bikes/liv

The likelihood of all of the bikes on BikeExchange being in stock is extremely ...minimal.

[Andy01]

Thanks Ron - I am leaning towards Canyon as the others seem to indicate availability won’t be till next year. Was setup of the canyon easy enough or you take to a LBS?

I spotted those as well Andy - have contacted last week, will chase today. I heard from another shop that Giant/Liv are waiting list only.

My wife has a Liv Bliss 2 2019 hardtail MTB and quite honestly I couldn't really pick much difference between her Medium frame and my old Norco Storm 3 hardtail MTB - apart from hers being a teal colour. Both bikes had a sloping top tube (because mine was a men's small).

I have just received last week (after waiting 4 months) a Giant Roam 1 (men's small) which has very similar geometry dimensions (slightly smaller on a few dimensions) to my wife's Liv medium and the shape of the top tube is very similar. At a glance standing side-by-side they look almost like the same frame.

I don't think that there is really too much difference between the women's-specific bikes and the smaller men's bikes. So depending on the size you want you might find a men's hardtail that fits and is available - there is a much bigger selection of men's (unisex ?) bikes than women's-specific bikes.

[Andy01]

I have no idea if any of these stores actually stock, but searching on Bikeexchange for Liv Tempt does bring up a lot of bikes, many in Victoria. Of course, there are several models of Tempt in both 2021 & 2022 and several different frame sizes showing, so they may not suit even if they do have stock.

https://www.bikeexchange.com.au/s/hardt ... -bikes/liv

The likelihood of all of the bikes on BikeExchange being in stock is extremely ...minimal.

Surprisingly when I was waiting for my 2022 Giant Roam I found a non-Giant shop north of Brisbane that still had a 2021 Roam 1 Small in stock (I called them), so they do exist (it is still listed on bikeexchange). I decided to wait as there was no price difference compared to the 2022, and somewhat regret holding out because the 2022 took an extra 5 weeks to arrive.