why are some bikes labelled as "womens"

[Xiorell]

when to me, many of them look exactley the same as the mens model?

Are they often just smaller frames?

 

[TheDoctor]

The frame geometry is a bit different, and they tend to have narrower bars, slightly shorter-reach brake levers, a different saddle, and so on and so forth.
There's probably other differences, but as a mere bloke I wouldn't be privy to the finer details.

 

[515mm]

I wouldn't tell that to Cervelo.

They fit both their men's and ladies teams with six off the peg frames and no specials. That includes The Lovely Emma Pooley who is famously tiny.

Cervelo also say that women specific frames are a marketing gimmick.

Whether this is even more marketing guff...................

 

[Norm]

Taken as a group, men and women are different shapes and the bodies are different ratios - relatively longer legs, shorter torso, narrower shoulders, smaller hands. So women's bikes are made to be more likely to suit a female shape than a male shape.

As with any population, though, that does not mean that every, or indeed any, individual is the "average" size and shape.

 

[TheDoctor]

Well, I wouldn't know.
I borrowed a women-specific bike once and it didn't fit me all that well...

 

[Xiorell]

I know of course, that many womens bikes ARE clearly different



But I just been google-ing frames and coming across a fair few that claim to be a female version of said frame, but I couldn't see any difference, left me a bit confused as to why they'd bothered labelling it as for one sex or t'other.

 

[515mm]

The amount of fiddling and fart-arsing about that it took to get the "women's specific geometry" Giant fitted to Mrs515mm had to be seen to be believed.

To fit my latest iron to me took about ten minutes.

 

[Fnaar]

Most female specific bikes are factory-impregnated with the fragrance of Bounce tumble dryer sheets and/or fabric conditioner.

 

[GrasB]

iirc as a general rule women tend to prefer a short & high body position & men tend to prefer a long & low torso, with this in mind WSD frames tend to be the on short & high (assuming I've got that the right way round) side of the geometry spectrum. Like everything you have a spectrum of body shapes so there is some overlap. Also for the most part you can dial in a bike to the preferred body position no matter what the frame geometry is, it's just easier to get it right if the frame is closer to what you want. In addition to changes in frame geometry there are often little tweaks to exactly what's put on the bike to make the bike more suitable for women.

 

[Bicycle]

A tiny (really tiny) 43cm Trek road bike has passed through the hands of all my children.

It wasn't until I collected it from the shop that I saw the WSD script on the frame.

The brake levers weren't particularly small - and as I recall I had to put on a shorter stem to make it child-friendlier.

I was surprised it didn't have shorter cranks, but it was cheap....

I have no idea what difference the WSD element made. My sons enjoyed it as much as my daughter.

It was/is a topping road bike bike for a pre-teen of either gender, or for anyone around the 5'0" mark.

My daughter now rides a (non-WSD) road bike and seems not to be suffering from any frame-related absence of gender bias.

My sons, thank goodness, have moved away from WSD frame geometry.

 

[ClichéGuevara]

I once borrowed my sisters bike without asking, and it didn't half make my ears ring when she found out.

 

[dellzeqq]

Her Nibs has a Ruby Pro. It fits her, but the brake levers are too big. Could do better, Specialized!

 

[Norm]

But I just been google-ing frames and coming across a fair few that claim to be a female version of said frame, but I couldn't see any difference, left me a bit confused as to why they'd bothered labelling it as for one sex or t'other.

You won't see much difference from looking at the pictures, though.

Compare the details, though, and you'll see small but important differences between something like the Secteur and the Dolce within Specialized's range.

Compare the 54cm models, the only one where both share the same nominal frame size, and you'll see that some parts which are not gender specific (fork rake, trail, chainstay length) are the same for both bikes but other bits (seat tube and top tube length) are different.

Dell, you say the levers are too big, do you mean the grips themselves or the reach to the levers from the bars? I'm sure that the latter can be adjusted with shims.

 

[pepecat]

I have a 50cm (I think)....trek 1.2 WSD. It's not so much the frame length (as in , seat tube) that is the issue for me, it's the top tube length and the reach that I have hassle with. I have quite long legs and a short torso, so I find the reach on mens bikes too long and I can't get to the brake levers. I wouldn't feel in control of a bloke's bike - have tried riding them before and I didn't like it one bit!

 

[abo]

Womens bikes are always pink or lilac, surely?