Bikes: Men's v women's

[scots_lass]

I doubt if any blokes ride women's bikes but how many girls ride men's bikes? Just wondered if the 'women specific' bikes are worth having a look at. In the case of a small built women then I suppose they are but I am of a fairly average 5'5"" build. I am thinking along the lines of a Trek 7.5 FX WSD and Spec Vita Elite.........but wondering whether to widen my scope by looking at bloke's bikes.

 

[wafflycat]

I dislike the labelling of bikes to a specific gender.

My road bike & tourer are diamond frames, neither are 'women's frames' and as an average height of 5'7" and shrinking as I get older, I've never found a *need* for a 'women's frame' The only thing I've changed on the bikes is the saddle - as they are very much a personal thing anyhow.

My recumbent is well - a recumbent, so gender neutral design anyhow.

My hybrid is a step-through frame - bought as at the time, it was having a child seat on the rear rack, so at the time, a step-through was more practical than a diamond frame.

There's all sorts of reasons why a step-through frame really, really, really shouldn't be limited to use by gender. Example - a bloke may well have limited leg mobility and prefer a step-through frame. When cycling over in 'forn parts, on the European mainland, in both France & Germany I saw all ages, all genders riding all sorts of cycles. It was a joy to see.

 

[Fiona N]

There's a whole debate to be had about women-specific frames and, in particular, whether women's bodies have different geometry to men. There's some idea that, as women tend to have longer legs and arms and shorter torsos than men of the same overall height, it would make sense to have bike frames which are somewhat shorter in the top tube. Other people say this is irrelevant - just buy a smaller frame size and put the saddle up higher. There is some value to this because some women's frames compromise the overall geometry by going for a short top tube by bringing the seat tube up to a steeper angle. However, this brings the saddle forwards and closer to the bottom bracket (i.e. the vertical line dropped from the saddle moves forwards relative to the BB) which is not necessarily what you really want if you have a rider with a long upper leg as a woman with long legs and short torso could have. On the other hand, shortening the TT by bringing the head tube back can bring problems with toe overlap (forward toe catching the back of the front wheel in slow speed turns) - again not an ideal situation.
So you see, it's not a simple answer with respect to frame geometry. I personally would look at men's bikes because like you I'm tall enough to fit (5'6") the smaller sizes but my legs do tend to mean that the saddle is quite well up.

There is one area where well-specced women's bikes come into their own and that is it you have small hands. I'm pretty sure the the Specialized and other reputable women-specific designs use the short-reach brake levers and make braking and changing gear much easier, especially on the drops.

 

[wafflycat]

The one part of me that is vaguely delicate & feminine is my hands. Not huge, quite small, unlike my rear end Can't say I've ever had any hassle withreaching gear levers/braking using standard Campag kit.

My bikes:-

Luigi MkII - sloping top tube, so more seatpost showing but still not loads.

Gino - standard diamond frame - not a huge amount of seatpost showing

Both bikes fitted with Campag.

 

[HJ]

I doubt if any blokes ride women's bikes but how many girls ride men's bikes? Just wondered if the 'women specific' bikes are worth having a look at. In the case of a small built women then I suppose they are but I am of a fairly average 5'5"" build. I am thinking along the lines of a Trek 7.5 FX WSD and Spec Vita Elite.........but wondering whether to widen my scope by looking at bloke's bikes.

I would suggest that you try as many bikes as you can, it is only by riding them that you find the bike that is right for you, regardless of how they are marketed...

 

[wafflycat]

I would suggest that you try as many bikes as you can, it is only by riding them that you find the bike that is right for you, regardless of how they are marketed...

Is a good idea!

 

[Fiona N]

The one part of me that is vaguely delicate & feminine is my hands. Not huge, quite small, unlike my rear end Can't say I've ever had any hassle withreaching gear levers/braking using standard Campag kit.

It does, of course, depend on how much time you spend on the drops - if you tend not to use them, short reach levers are not critical as it's easy to locate the levers from the tops of the bars. However, I have both small hands and a propensity to high speed descents when being able to reach the levers from a low position without doing odd things with my arms (which I notice other women doing as they try to get their finger tips on the ends of the brake levers by dropping their elbows so that they can angle their hands/fingers upwards - very uncomfortable looking) is a great advantage, especially when the 'descents' go on for 40km or more

 

[gavintc]

My wife rides normal bikes and on both, fitted a slightly shorter stem. She also found that Campag was more suitable for smaller hands. On both bikes, she fitted a female specific saddle. But, she has been trying out a Spec Toupe and is quite impressed with it, so I suspect that the Toupe will become a standard fit on her good bike.

She looked at WSD initially, but discounted them as they just looked too 'girly'; pink colours or naff flowers. In retrospect, I think she made the correct decision.