LADIES: do you ride mens' bikes?

[mrfacetious]

Hi all,
just wanted to get an idea of how (un/)common this is as the girlfriend has expressed interest in a racer and womens' road bikes are quite hard to come by on the cheap.
Cheers!

 

[summerdays]

Depends on the size of the lady. I'm 5'6 so I can get bikes to fit, if you are quite short then it is harder and that is when the Women Specific Design ones come into their own. We are also supposed to have differing proportions so that I have a 31.5" inside leg and can ride my 6" husbands bike though not comfortably.

But when it comes down to it ... it really is try them out and find out which ones feel best.

 

[mrfacetious]

Thanks, no she's about the same size as you I think, so hopefully not an issue

 

[theclaud]

5'7, long legs, short reach. I'm not so keen on compact geometry for road bikes, and prefer a horizontal top tube, which does mean that I almost always need a relatively short stem. With that modification I've been quite happily riding frames designed for men. It seems almost impossible to buy just a frame designed for women, and I've not bought a complete bike for years.

 

[vickster]

Yes, 5'10 long arms and legs. Men's bikes, women's saddle always. Women's frames don't come big enough. Large Spesh hybrid, 54.5cm frame on the roadbike (which was built for me, in terms of bar width, stem length etc)

Best to get a proper fit and test ride - nothing worse than a bike that is too big

 

[Fran143]

I've always preferred to ride mens bikes....got a med(I'm 5ft 5) sized Specialized Sectuer at the mo and love it. Somehow I just don't like the feel of a womans bike. Recently ordered a Giant Rapid 2 from Wiggle for a similarily sized female friend....great bike and great price, think they are offering extra money off too.

 

[gavintc]

5'7, long legs, short reach. I'm not so keen on compact geometry for road bikes, and prefer a horizontal top tube, which does mean that I almost always need a relatively short stem. With that modification I've been quite happily riding frames designed for men. It seems almost impossible to buy just a frame designed for women, and I've not bought a complete bike for years.

My wife is the same - shorter stem, but a normal horizontal tubed framed bike.

 

[ChristinaJL]

I used to have a womens' specialized dolce elite but swapped this August to an Onix Aurious. I love the mens' frame, ! was far too cramped and upright on the women's bike due to a really short top tube which couldn't be cured even with a longer stem. I'm 5'6" and also have long arms/body and 31" leg. Just can't get women's bikes to fit me.

 

[Baggy]

My wife is the same - shorter stem, but a normal horizontal tubed framed bike.

All my bikes are men's frames and I'm 5'4 - have also gone down the shorter stem route, and added narrower bars.

 

[gavintc]

All my bikes are men's frames and I'm 5'4 - have also gone down the shorter stem route, and added narrower bars.

Yes, the narrower bars were not initially fitted, but having talked to some of the girls in the club, my wife purchased some. She loves them, they are both narrower and have a lower drop, making it much more comfortable. The other change was a saddle, but saddles are very 'bum' specific and it took about 3-4 saddles before she decided to use a normal Specialized toupe saddle. Having tried a bunch of female specific saddles, she fitted my Spec Toupe for a test ride and loved it.

 

[trio25]

I have both. My road bike is women's specific and I love it, but my cross bike and commuter aren't and I love them as well. They are all very similar size/geometrt.

 

[Hebe]

I have both too. I'm 5'5. My mountain bike is a mens Spesh Hard Rock, with the handlebar narrowed slightly, and I love it. My on-road bike is a womens Vita, and it fits like it was made for me. When it's time to replace the Hard Rock I would definitely look at the women specific equivalent (which was ruled out initially because I didn't like the colour scheme ).

 

[smartmorgan]

male and female geometry is different, women tend to have longer legs in relationship to their torso, while the men tend to have a shorter inside leg and a longer torso and arms, so your height is not so important, just need to try your friends out before you buy, good luck

 

[trio25]

My road bike is a spesh ruby, works really well, the spesh mtb's I can ride women's ones as the top tube is too short. I have long legs and short torso but everyone is individual, other makes fit me differently.

 

[MissTillyFlop]

I a lady bike all the way - my 29" legs don't allow for anything else!