Dear NSMB, I have a genuine first world problem. My GF got into MTBs last year and she loves it. Apart from going on alpine epics and quick after work blasts, this year she also got into park riding, where her Specilaized Myka is pretty much out of its depth, therefor we are thinking of getting her a new bike in the 2nd half/end of this season. Now this is where it gets tricky: She is quite small (160 cm) and light has about 45 kg. This means that most bikes she has tried were either too big or the suspension did not function very well, only the women specific bikes worked fine. Now; I know that there are plenty XC/Trail bikes out there that would suit her, but how many "hardcore" bikes are there? Is custom tuning the suspension with specific coils, bushings, oil density and witchcraft the only way?
To make the situation worse; there are not many bike brands with official dealers present in Slovenia. Of the "mainstream" brands, there are only the big S, Trek, Norco, Scott and Kona, and while you can order an Ibis, a Cove and a Santa Cruz, those are quite expensive and might be out of the question.
So, My question: What are the options? What would you recommend for Enduro/AM/park duty to a compact and lightweight lady?
Now to the second issue: I have an problem with the seat post on my Enduro Evo. No matter how hard I clamp the seat post and no matter what seat post I use (I have tried a couple with the correct diameter), there always seem to be some play of the seat post in the seat tube. There is always enough seat post tube left in the frame, and the play is noticeable even when the seat is fully lowered. This has been this way since the bike was new. The play is noticeable when picking the bike up grabbing it by the seat, not when riding, but irritating nonetheless. Any suggestions how to solve this?