Female rider - Mens or Womens bike?

[geoff_tewierik]

Fit bit here at work just asked me if I wanted to ride the Brisbane to Gold Coast with her. I said sure, problem is she doesn’t have a road bike.

Is there any difference between getting a mens road bike or a womens road bike? I.e. frame sizing or angles?

She is 174cm, lean, long legs and arms. Was thinking a 54-56cm frame would suit, but not sure. Can’t get her out to 99 Bikes during a lunch break to get her sized up. She’s wanting to buy a second hand one for under $1000 and is happy to cruise Bikeexchange or have me cyber stalk you lot in the for sale section of here

Any suggestions?

 

[harmonix1234]

I don't think it would really make much difference as long as the geo is good for her.
I'd be paying more attention to female specific saddles and a proper bike fit for comfort and efficiency first, and if that happens to be a womens specific or mens frame I think is irrelevent.
It's a decent ride so comfort and efficiency is what I'd be going for.

Keep in mind, I have not any idea what women actually require in a bike as opposed to a man. We all have arms and legs and torso's so you should be able to find a mens frame that fits.

I am 183cm on the mark and sit pretty on a 56cm Roubaix.
I could happliy ride a 54 with a longer stem though.

If you get a 54 you can always push it out a little with a longer stem and layback post, if you get a 56 you can tighten it up with a shoter stem and straight post. So either can be built to ride as a 55cm cockpit if needed.

 

[cleeshoy]

Fit bit here at work just asked me if I wanted to ride the Brisbane to Gold Coast with her. I said sure, problem is she doesn’t have a road bike.

Is there any difference between getting a mens road bike or a womens road bike? I.e. frame sizing or angles?

In a word "yes" - that's why there are women's specific bikes. Women traditionally have longer legs and a shorter torso, thus the top tube tends to be a bit shorter compared to a men's bike.

My wife has ridden men's bikes in the past, however the tube tube was always just a fraction too long. Changing the length of the headstem, seat adjusting helped but it was never "right" - after a few hours on the bike her back would ache - that all changed when she actually got a women's specific bike. In
addition to this, females generally have smaller hands hence have slightly thinner/smaller handlebars for better grip.

I ride a 52 , wife rides a 51.

In summary - look at getting her a women's specific bike. It's a no brainer.

 

[harmonix1234]

In a word "yes" - that's why there are women's specific bikes. Women traditionally have longer legs and a shorter torso, thus the top tube tends to be a bit shorter compared to a men's bike.

My wife has ridden men's bikes in the past, however the tube tube was always just a fraction too long. Changing the length of the headstem, seat adjusting helped but it was never "right" - after a few hours on the bike her back would ache - that all changed when she actually got a women's specific bike. In
addition to this, females generally have smaller hands hence have slightly thinner/smaller handlebars for better grip.

I ride a 52 , wife rides a 51.

In summary - look at getting her a women's specific bike. It's a no brainer.

Sounds like a post based on a lot more experinece based knowledge than my post.
Please disregard my post entirely!

 

[Norco Maniac]

i have short legs and a long torso. that said, i ride a men's 29er as my daily commuter/trailer bike, and the biggest problem i have is standover height - the bar it too high and i have to lay it over to get on and off. sudden stops are a real pain as you can imagine. the bike was the right price tho for the places i have to park it and the constant worry of theft :scared:

a women's specific saddle is of major importance, especially a split saddle and the bulk of a women's thighs as well as the positioning of that bulk can be very different than a man's. i have average size hands but prefer a thicker grip to reduce arm pump. crank length is something else i find i have to adjust on every bike, i race 170's for bmx which is almost unheard of in adults. i'm 5' 2".

 

[Plankosaurus]

In a word "yes" - that's why there are women's specific bikes.

My wife has ridden men's bikes in the past, however the tube tube was always just a fraction too long. Changing the length of the headstem, seat adjusting helped but it was never "right" - after a few hours on the bike her back would ache - that all changed when she actually got a women's specific bike.

In summary - look at getting her a women's specific bike. It's a no brainer.

this - exactly the same boat here, my wife tried a couple of different small mens bikes and different stems etc. but could never get comfy on any of them for any more than a round the block spin. we 'lashed out' on a womens specific bike for her one day on a whim and bang, shes suddenly comfy enough to do 20-30km rides with me.

you could play around with different mens gear but in the end, a road bike doesn't give you much leeway for comfort and it seems theres even less room for the fairer sex. i've managed to get her comfy on a mens mountainbike but that didn't take much, the position just isn't as uncompromising and the suspension takes most of the vibration out of the equation. just get her to invest in a girly bike, it'll save so much headache (and otherache)

 

[disappearin]

My wife ride a women's specific road bike and loves it. She previously road men's frames which took a bit of setting up to get right (stem lengths and seats). She is 168cm tall and rides a small merida women's frame.
If she is willing to stretch her budget alittle I'd buy new. We picked up the wife's for $1250.

http://www.merida.com.au/2013-bikes/road/ride-alloy-womens/ride-lite-juliet-94.html

 

[0psi]

A few things to keep in mind.

There are only a few companies that genuinely make womens frames. Most just put smaller handle bars, cranks and a womens saddle on there, some pretty paint and call it a girls bike.

While a girls specific bike will probably be easier don't discount a 'mens' bike if the top tube and seat angle are okay. Provided the geo is close I'd bet just about any amount of money I could get the saddle, bars and BB in the same spot on both mens and womens bikes.

 

[hach_bee]

I don't think it would really make much difference as long as the geo is good for her.
I'd be paying more attention to female specific saddles and a proper bike fit for comfort and efficiency first, and if that happens to be a womens specific or mens frame I think is irrelevent.

This.

i have short legs and a long torso.

a women's specific saddle is of major importance, especially a split saddle and the bulk of a women's thighs as well as the positioning of that bulk can be very different than a man's. i have average size hands but prefer a thicker grip to reduce arm pump. crank length is something else i find i have to adjust on every bike, i race 170's for bmx which is almost unheard of in adults. i'm 5' 2".

And this. I'm built the same as NM and did the Brisbane to GC on a 17" mens bike (definitely too big but we knew that!) Biggest problem I had was the saddle (not to mention my complete lack of fitness). I could only manage 77km without training simply because I couldn't take the pain anymore. Granted, it was a commuter style bike... With shorter legs and longer torso though, I've always ridden mens bikes more comfortably than womens. Im 5' 1.5" (the half counts!!!)

 

[antigee]

.......My wife has ridden men's bikes in the past, however the tube tube was always just a fraction too long. Changing the length of the headstem, seat adjusting helped but it was never "right" - after a few hours on the bike her back would ache - that all changed when she actually got a women's specific bike. In
addition to this, females generally have smaller hands hence have slightly thinner/smaller handlebars for better grip....


In summary - look at getting her a women's specific bike. It's a no brainer.

same experience here hated riding because gave her back pain tried a friends WSD mtb and loved it - also got a specialized womens specific road bike .......but it does depend have a friend whose wife (pretty sure is a woman) who is very happy on "mens" frames not all women have typical women's build

 

[monc]

I'm a similar size (about same height and long legs/short torso) and ride a men's 55" cyclocross as my roady, only with a short stem - so it is possible to get a comfortable men's bike for someone your friends height. I've found that you'll probably get a better deal too, as the market for men's bikes is much larger. You may need to tinker with the stem. If she's got small hands you may need to look at different brakes, but that's starting to get more complex.

It will require research whichever way you go, as some brands may be more or less suited depending on their geometry.

0psi made a good point, not all 'womens specific' are actually any different in their geometry to the men's version, they often just call a mens small a womens medium and put some smaller pink grips on it. Some brands do put a lot of research into their womens specific designs though.

Saddle is probably the most important thing - getting the right width to suit her seat bones is crucial - shops that stock Specialized have a memory foam pad you sit on to give you an idea of the best saddle width. Too wide = inner thigh chaffing and sore hips, too narrow = seat bones on the outer edges and not properly supported. That said, I've got a mens saddle on the road bike that's quite ok (have done 2+ hour rides on it), and a womens specific on the mtb.

 

[cleeshoy]

0psi made a good point, not all 'womens specific' are actually any different in their geometry to the men's version, they often just call a mens small a womens medium and put some smaller pink grips on it. Some brands do put a lot of research into their womens specific designs though.

Some of those brands and models that do put some research and effort into the ladies bikes include the following:

Specialized Amira
Specialized Dolce
Giant Envie
Giant Avail
Cannondale Supersix Women's
Cannondale Caad10 Women's

 

[redbruce]

Some of those brands and models that do put some research and effort into the ladies bikes include the following:

Specialized Amira
Specialized Dolce
Giant Envie
Giant Avail
Cannondale Supersix Women's
Cannondale Caad10 Women's

Add Trek WSD series to the list.

 

[Asterope]

i have short legs and a long torso. that said, i ride a men's 29er as my daily commuter/trailer bike, and the biggest problem i have is standover height - the bar it too high and i have to lay it over to get on and off. sudden stops are a real pain as you can imagine. the bike was the right price tho for the places i have to park it and the constant worry of theft :scared:

I am in the same boat with the short legs and longer torso, 5'4", and on the advice of the shop I bought it from, went a womens specific frame back when I bought my roady... I wish I hadn't. Firstly - toe overlap - nothing you can do to fix that = too small! The whole setup just feels far too cramped unless I am in the drops - Stuff like putting back the saddle further has already been done, and a longer stem would make handling really sketchy. On the other hand its got great standover height and the womens specific touches like short reach levers, narrower bar and smaller drops are awesome. I have done several 100+km rides on it (I have done the brisbane-goldie ride twice and will be doing it again this year.) and am starting to commute with it - This has resulted in a love/hate relationship (I love to ride to uni/work, I hate having sore shoulders and back from doing so), I realise that some parts of womens specific bikes are wrong for me and im now looking for a new/old frame (I am thinking a mixte for the standover) or building up a commuter bike from scratch.

if she is built like the majority of women (long legs, short torso) - awesome - go a womens specific if thats that suits. if its the other way around there may be issues finding a frame that fits but has decent standover height.

Other than that - make sure the bar width and the size of the drops is comfy, the reach of the levers is comfy and really importantly - the saddle is comfy!

Also - You said she didn't have a road bike... has she got a decently light hardtail? why not slap some slicks on it?

 

[wombat]

Some of those brands and models that do put some research and effort into the ladies bikes include the following:

Specialized Amira
Specialized Dolce
Giant Envie
Giant Avail
Cannondale Supersix Women's
Cannondale Caad10 Women's

For my mind, the interesting thing is the way that all this womens specific research plays out in the designs of the bikes. Some of the Specializeds run pretty substantial differences in geometry when compared to the mens versions, but the giants seem to be as little as 5mm length in TT (not to say that 5mm isn't noticable, it's just nowhere near as much as some other brands think is necessary).
Point I'm getting at is "womens' specific" can really only be as "specific" to any one woman, as any non-WSD bike is to any one guy. Maybe a women's bike is an appropriate choice for any individual woman but, as the girls in this thread have spoken about from experience, it's not always going to be the case.

Choose a bike because you've tried it and liked it, not just because you have private bits that match that section of the catalogue.

On a related note, I had a brief chat with a designer from a large company about the idea of womens' specific bikes, and his response was that the most comprehensive anatomic studies of the moment suggested that when you look at a large enough sample, it's very hard to pin point bike relevant traits that split along gender lines. I can't read German, so have no idea what the studies actually contained, but I'd be interested to hear from anyone with a background in such a field.

 

[pharmaboy]

Wombats post is dead on the money. Just had a quick look at femur lengths for forensic identification, and a female for a given average femure length is about 3cm shorter, but 2 standard deviations is greater than that. So from that the average woman would want a slightly smaller frame than a man of the same height and around 15mm shorter stem.

In reality you probably buy a bike with the right top tube then put the seatpost up to match the leg length, and stack the stem to the right height.

Ie there is about as much difference between different men as there are between men and women. ( not quite but close)

 

[geoff_tewierik]

Thanks for all the feedback.

We had her measured up on Friday and they recommended a 56cm frame for her. Just a matter of her getting the coin together. Until then we will be keeping an eye on bike exchange and the for sale forums of a couple of websites.

 

[0psi]

Thanks for all the feedback.

We had her measured up on Friday and they recommended a 56cm frame for her. Just a matter of her getting the coin together. Until then we will be keeping an eye on bike exchange and the for sale forums of a couple of websites.

Sounds a bit big unless it's a 'small' 56. I'm 176 and I currently ride a 540 top tube but would also be happy with a 550. I'm of fairly average proportions so I'd wager a girl of fairly regular proportions would need a slightly shorter TT.