Any men riding women's bike?

[Spinney]

It's not though, is it?
Could get very draughty.
When out on MrsP's bicycle I favoured sturdy corduroy trousers.

Yes, it is. With a cross bar, all the skirt is held up and easily catches the wind, and the bit that should be behind gets pulled up between your legs. Without the crossbar the skirt has a chance to not catch the wind as much and it's not as uncomfortable.

 

[bpsmith]

I prefer narrower bars personally. Stem adjusted accordingly mind you.

 

[User10119]

When I was buying my CTW bike - about 7 years ago - I researched quite a lot and eventually found myself leaning towards a Trek Valencia, which was available in a WSD version as well as the bloke's version. When I compared the specs the only difference between the two was that the WSD one had a lowered top tube and a different saddle. The components, geometry and everything else were identical. Since I liked the look of the one with the higher top tube better, I investigated the standover height, tested (on some carefully measured other bikes since they didn't have a Valencia in stock) to make sure it wouldn't be a problem and bought that.

So it is worth looking at the specs and the measurements and not the labels and the marketing.

 

[midliferider]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I will compare the geometries, measure them by myself, test ride before making a decision.

 

[Pale Rider]

I often prefer the pastel shades of the women's version of a bike.

Colour, of course, being all important in the buying decision.

 

[bpsmith]

The ladies very soon of Matte Black is very subtly different to the gentleman’s version from what I remember.

 

[Bazzer]

Might be coincidence, but the three women's specific bikes I have ridden I have found to be very comfortable and all had step through frames. The first had belonged to my Aunt when she was young and was passed to me to learn to ride and be my first bike. The next was my Grandma's, which I rode when staying with her for a couple of weeks every summer. The last was my eldest daughter's; a Halfords Apollo. If it wasn't for being slightly small for me, I could have happily regularly borrowed it. IIRC, once I adjusted to it, I found the step through on the latter two bikes way better.

 

[smutchin]

To be more specific with my question..
Two bikes I was looking at are Trek FX WSF and Specialized Dolce.
Both bikes are marketed as women specific as there is corresponding men's version. Trek FX and Specialized Alex?

Have a look at the geometry charts for each bike, both men's and women's version. See if there are any differences for comparable sizes - it's often the case that so-called women's bikes are built around exactly the same frames as the men's bikes, just painted a different colour and usually available in a slightly different range of sizes. Aside from that, there might be a few different component choices.

Gender-specific bikes are a nonsense idea anyway. Off-the-peg bikes are always a compromise, designed to fit a non-existent person of average dimensions but don't take into account things like varying leg/torso proportions - and women are of course just as varied in their size and shape as men. Even when it comes to saddles, some men might be better off with a "women-specific" saddle, while some women would be better suited to a men's saddle.

 

[JoshM]

I ride 'woman's' bike. I'm a very small 5ft tall and 'men's' bikes don't seem to go small enough for me. My first decent roadie was a Spesh Dolce Elite. I've done thousands of miles on this lime green bike (without flowers, though I suppose I could have put some stickers on it), and loved almost every mile. Certainly solved the numb hand I was experiencing on a bigger, man's bike because the frame fitted properly.

My new roadie is a Bianca woman's road bike because again, its the best fit. No issues there either. it's grey with some teal, and teal bar tape. No flowers there either....

 

[Markymark]

Which is?

Indeed. For example my wife is taller than most men and you're shorter than most women.

The overlap of shapes between men and women in terms of riding a bike makes the terms meaningless. It's marketing pure and simple.

 

[Markymark]

And yet there is a firmly held belief that women have longer legs and shorter bodies than men. I guess that, if it has no basis in fact, it must have its basis in fantasy.

Of all the things I fantasise about women, leg to torso ratio is pretty far down on my list.

 

[jefmcg]

Of all the things I fantasise about women, leg to torso ratio is pretty far down on my list.

You may not be a "leg man", but a billion pound shoe industry suggests lots are.

 

[Mugshot]

One of my first bikes was a "womans" bike, it was a Raleigh folding jobby that belonged to my mum but she never used it. I was about 11 or 12 and I was teased mercilessly about it. My dad had a piece of steel tubing welded to it as a crossbar and the teasing stopped immediately. So, even if you do get a pink one with flowers there are options if random kids are shouting things after you concerning your sexuality

 

[stephec]

Of all the things I fantasise about women, leg to torso ratio is pretty far down on my list.

I'd always thought it more likely that women would be fantasising about you?

 

[GuyBoden]

When I can't get my leg over the top tube, I'll be getting a vintage Raleigh Clubman Mixte like the one below.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_m.html
"A mixte frame thus has 3 sets of rear stays, instead of the usual two." "Mixte frames are stronger than conventional lady's frames, particularly in resisting the tendency of the seat tube to get pushed backward in the middle when ridden by a heavy rider."