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Womens Mountain Bikes

Womens bike options - simplified.

Women's mountain bikes can be separated into 2 areas:

  • Hardtail (front suspension only)
  • Dual-suspension (or front and rear suspension)

Hardtail mountain bikes are available in 2 types:

  • Recreational
  • Performance

And women's dual suspension mountain bikes are available in 3 types:

  • Cross-country (XC) bikes are light, nimble and designed to cover ground fast.
  • Trail bikes have a calm and stable personality; these are excellent all-rounders.
  • Enduro bikes are designed for raw, technical, steep and challenging terrain.
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First. Why buy a womens mountain bike?

The simple answer is ergonomics and therefore comfort.

If you’re average or shorter than average, then a properly designed womens mountain bike has several advantages.

Such as:

Data-driven sizing. Especially from a brand like Liv Cycling.

The dimensions (length of the tubes, angle of the tubes, seat type, handlebar width etc.) are not guesswork.

Liv is reviewing a database of thousands of physical profiles and then designing bikes that suit.

The mountain bike fits your body. You're not forcing your body to fit the bike.

So, as a female with a typical body type, you will find a ladies mountain bike to be a better fit.

This will mean increased comfort and more confidence (due to better bike handling), which will encourage you to ride way more than your old bike.

Gears and brakes. To the point.

You’ll see 3 brake types on the bikes we stock:

  • V-brake (or rim brake).
  • Mechanical disc brake. These brakes have a disc but are still operated via a cable. It's an improvement in dry/wet braking compared to the rim brake.
  • Hydraulic disc brake. These are the best. They need the least maintenance and they deliver the best braking power in dry/wet conditions.

Next, the gears:

  • 7-gears (or 7 speed). These gears are entry-level but still reliable. Perfect if you're riding weekends with friends/family on flat and easy terrain.
  • 8-speed bikes use mid-range quality gears. These are smoother and deliver more range (better for hillier rides).
  • 9-speed bikes use upper-end recreational parts. These deliver even smoother gear changes and a bigger range.
  • 10-speed is considered (affordable) performance. It's designed for semi-serious riders or those who are riding regularly.
  • 11 and 12-speed gear parts are performance. These are the most robust components and designed to perform under harsh conditions.

Recreational hardtails.

These are designed for family bike rides and riding with friends on bike paths, rail trails, short distance rides around suburbia and light dirt and gravel trails.

And they are suitable for pre-teens, teenagers and adults.

If this is the sort of riding you have planned, then the Liv Tempt women's mountain bike range is an excellent place to start.

There are 4 Tempt models to choose from:

Performance hardtails.

The difference between recreation and performance hardtails is how you will use your mountain bike.

You should consider buying a performance hardtail if:

  • You plan on riding mountain bike trails.
  • You want a bike that's calm, smooth and stable in off-road terrain.
  • You'd like more robust parts (such as brakes, suspension and gears).

As a starting point, consider the new Liv Lurra

It's a very modern women's performance mountain bike that gives new riders a lot of control and confidence.

It's great for places like off-road single track, 4WD tracks and mountain biking trails like Lysterfield Park, Plenty Gorge and the You Yangs Mountain Bike Park (Kurrajong side).

Dual-suspension.

These bikes have wider tyres, bigger brakes, more/bigger suspension and wider handlebars for more control.

For those that want to take things a little more seriously, we have the Liv Embolden. This is a mid-range dual-suspension mountain bike.

For riders who want a mountain bike that’s more capable of riding steeper and more raw, technical terrain, the Liv Intrigue is the bike.

Liv has designed the Intrigue with more suspension than the Embolden, bigger and better suspension, a lighter frame and better parts.

The lightest and fastest womens dual-suspension mountain bike is the Liv Pique.

The Pique is perfect for trails that are smoother, where speed and efficiency are the required traits.

Do you have more questions on womens mountain bikes? We're here to help.