So you are looking for a Mountain Bike? For those wishing to dip their feet into mountain biking and also don’t want to spend too much money. These 8 Women’s Mountain Bikes are some budget friendly options that are also some of the best quality and value.
It can be hard at times to compare bikes and see which would be ideal for your needs. That is why we have broken everything down for you. We will outline what to look for in a MTB and which ones in this list would be ideal.
First let’s take a look at the line up.
- Trek Marlin 6 Women’s 2021
- Specialized Rockhopper Comp 29 2021
- Liv Tempt 1 2021
- Canyon Grand Canyon 5 WMN 2021
- Cannondale Trail Women’s 5 2021
- Boardman MHT 8.6 Women’s 2021
- Norco Storm 1 Women’s 29 2020
- CUBE ACCESS WS RACE 2021
Trek Marlin 6 Women’s 2021
If you are after the cheapest bike in this list at $669 and are not worried about anything else. Then this is the bike for you. It does have less quality components than all the other bikes here. And heavier at 31.7 lbs / 14.4 kg. With the SunTour XCT fork with 100 mm travel and 2 × 8 Altus, Shimano drivetrain it is still an okay bike to introduce you into the world of mountain biking. Plus Trek is a reputable brand. With a 17.8″ climbing gear Which is amazing for a bike at this price.
Specialized Rockhopper Comp 29 2021
This Rockhopper MTB is the second cheapest at $800. If you want to save $130 and are okay with cheaper level components then go for the Trek. But if you want something with a bit better quality components. With a SunTour XCM (100mm Travel) fork which is said to be better than the XCR. It also has a 1 x 9 microSHIFT Advent drivetrain which is a good quality budget option. And you also get 29ers (like the rest of the other bikes, compared to the Trek which is only 27.5) which means more tire on the trail for traction.
Liv Tempt 1 2021
$30 more than the Rockhopper is the Liv Tempt 1 which is a 27.5″ / 29″ aluminum frame hardtail crosscountry bike with upper mid-range components. The front travel varies from 800 mm to 100 mm depending on wheel size. You do get a 1 x 10 Deore drivetrain which is the better quality for all bikes in this list. It comes with the Giant SXC32-2 RL air spring fork and Maxxis Rekon 27.5 or 29 x 2.4 Tires. Which are the widest stock tires for all the bikes here. this bikes comes with a 20.79″ granny gear which is not ideal for climbing steep stuff compared to other bikes.
Canyon Grand Canyon 5 WMN 2021
A slightly more expensive bike, the Canyon Grand Canyon does come with slightly better drivetrain and components than previous bikes mentioned. It does have the SunTour XCR fork which is said to be not as good as the XCM on the next bike I will be mentioning. It is about as light a bike as you can expect for this price range, weighing in at 30.1 lbs / 13.7 kg. Oh and yes, it is $849. You can expect quality with the 1 x 12 Deore drivetrain. The 1x drivetrains do look so good. But it is worth checking to see if these will be limited. As this bike comes with a Shimano MT510 crank with 30T and a 10-51T cassette. And the Which means you should get a 17.1″ granny gear (anything under 18″ is great for climbing). So it is comforting to see MTBs in this price category with a 1x are more than capable for climbing. If you are after a bike that is the most capable for riding up-hill this would be the one.
Cannondale Trail Women’s 5 2021
Taking a look at most of these bikes and considering availability and quality of components and parts. This Cannondale would be my bike if you want quality for a decent price under that $1,000. it comes with a semi-decent SunTour XCM (100mm Travel) fork which is better than the XCR and XCT forks on the other bikes. But it has an upper mid-range drivetrain setup with the 1 x 10 microSHIFT Advent X. This bike comes with a 18.26″ granny gear. (making it slightly more limited for climbing compared to other bikes). You do quality WTB Ranger tires.
Boardman MHT 8.6 Women’s 2021
Are hardtail trail bike, this Boardman MTB offers some upper mid range components which is nice to see on a bike that costs just under $900. It does come with 27.5 x 2.25 wheels and weighs 29.8 lbs / 13.5 kg. I would recommend this for being the best quality all round component bike. with the SunTour RAIDON (120mm travel) fork. But because of availability in the West which is where most of my readers are from. It might not be a valid option. But if you are in the EU this could be a great option. Thus bike does come with great quality components for the price but is a little limited for climbing when compared to other bikes, with a 19.24″ climbing gear.
Norco Storm 1 Women’s 29 2020
Norco make some decent quality bikes and their budget MTB option is no different. You do get a decent RockShox 30 Silver TK fork, (i definitely would rate RockShox over most SunTour forks.) Other mid-range components include a 2 x 9 Alivio, Altus groupset which gives you a 17.68″ granny gear.
CUBE ACCESS WS RACE 2021
The Cube is only available in EU countries and might be hard to find for Westerners. However, it is still worth including in the list, as it comes with an upper mid-range 2 x 10 Deore groupset and RockShox Judy Silver TK fork. The granny gear on this bike is 17.97″ which is perfect for MTB climbing standards.
If you want a more visually appealing look at all these bikes compared side by side this table can help paint the picture as to which bike is best. I have used a star rating to show the quality of each bikes components. Out of a possible 5 stars being the best highest quality components to 1 star which is a modest level.
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