{"id":175871,"date":"2019-10-25T12:10:54","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T12:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=175871"},"modified":"2019-10-25T12:10:54","modified_gmt":"2019-10-25T12:10:54","slug":"the-great-womens-bike-debate-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/10\/25\/the-great-womens-bike-debate-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great Women\u2019s Bike Debate Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

A phenomenon that emerged in the early 2000s, women\u2019s bikes, which typically feature shorter top tubes and taller head tubes, at first seemed like a step in the right direction. Designed to cater to a perceived difference in average anatomical measurements, the justification for a different designed felt valid.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fast forward a few years, and as more research has been done into what the actual difference (if any) between gendered versions of items like razors, multivitamins, swimming goggles, and everything in between, actually is \u2013 bikes have fallen under the same scrutiny. Although it can be roughly suggested by some sets of data that women do have longer legs, proportionally, or shorter torsos compared to men, does that mean the bikes being sold as \u2018women\u2019s bikes\u2019 are actually any better for them?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As it stands, some people swear by their women\u2019s bike while others dismiss them as nonsense. Naturally, we\u2019re not here to settle the debate but simply to outline some of the major talking points that inform the discussion, in the hope that women can feel more confident making a decision regarding whether or not a women\u2019s bike is right for them. Here\u2019s a breakdown of some of the key concerns.<\/p>\n

Do women have shorter upper bodies?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The most prominent argument forming women\u2019s bike design is that women, on average, have shorter upper bodies and arms, compared to men. You\u2019ll also see this reframed to suggest that women have less strength in their arms and legs and therefore need more power to come from the lower body. Sometimes the centre of gravity is also raised or the fact that women can\u2019t rotate forward in the same way due to the sensitivity of their pelvic area.<\/p>\n

Regardless, brands supporting women\u2019s bikes state that the statistically average female needs a shorter reach on her bike when compared with the statistically average man. Practically, this means that women\u2019s bikes tend to have a shorter top tube and higher stack.<\/p>\n

The criticism here is that as valid as some of the data may be, simply shortening the reach and rebranding something as a women\u2019s bike is only addressing one of many components. Designing an entirely new frame that would allow the woman to have that reach with an \u2018average\u2019 length stem might require more investment than many brands are willing to make. When you reverse the logic and ask that if 80 per cent of the riding population was female and the men were the 20 per cent \u2013 would they want to be told they\u2019re best off with a longer bike, but \u2018it\u2019s ok, you can just have a 150-mm stem?\u2019 Thus, the problem becomes more clear.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Do women want a different riding experience?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You\u2019ll also hear the argument levelled that women don\u2019t need a shorter reach because of shorter upper bodies but rather that they are, overall, looking for different riding experience. Some brands creating women\u2019s bikes with a shorter reach and greater stack say they do so because a lot of their female customers want a more relaxed, endurance style fit and are less concerned about being aerodynamic or going really fast.<\/p>\n

The problem here is that many different types of bikes already exist for that exact reason. Regardless of your gender, you might decide that an endurance, cyclocross, gravel, or adventure bike is what you\u2019re after and that\u2019s why the diversification of bike models exists.<\/p>\n

If we had research to suggest that women\u2019s bodies need specific women\u2019s race bikes or endurance bikes, then the argument might be more compelling. As it stands, there\u2019s a lot of room for scepticism.<\/p>\n

Do women power their bikes differently?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Anyone who has spent any amount of time thinking about bike design will be able to appreciate that the balance of stiffness vs lightness is an art. One argument for women\u2019s bikes is that this balance is often designed around men\u2019s requirements and tuned to offer perfection for the average man. Meanwhile, the average woman is often lighter and usually produces less power \u2013 so she needs something different.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In a world of standard bodies, this could be the basis for consideration. Unfortunately, very few of us are inclined to feel that we have the perfectly average body. There are many different bikes out there, some are super stiff, others are more comfortable, regardless if the model in question is designed with gender in mind.<\/p>\n

Do the pros ride women\u2019s bikes?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This one inevitably comes up at some point in the conversation. Practically all on unisex bikes, pro women riders also work with a whole team of experts to determine which bike is best suited to their body, strengths, and goals. There\u2019s definitely something problematic about the fact that you might still catch a team manager saying, \u201cOur girls ride the sponsor\u2019s men\u2019s model, they\u2019re strong riders!\u201d But knowing that plenty of self-respecting \u2018strong riders\u2019 also love their women\u2019s bike, were inclined to say that which bike the women choose to ride should be down to what fits them.<\/p>\n

What can the industry do better?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Undoubtedly, women want bikes based on the same reliable data that informs the construction of the top bikes, end of story. And although some points are relatively undisputed, for example the fact that handlebars and saddles are an area where the vast majority of women will need something different to their male counterparts, the rest remains largely inconclusive.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Going forward, probably the best thing we can ask is for the industry to be honest about the decisions behind their design and to show the research that informs them. If the data, research, rider feedback and bike fit information points toward the need for a women\u2019s bike, then build them. If not, then don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

When it comes to the practicalities of buying a bike, remember that bike brands need to create bikes for \u2018averages\u2019 to reach the largest audience possible. Keep in mind that a good bike shop will ignore marketing and concentrate on bikes that fit your body proportions. And due to the fact that each body is unique, the only way to find out what suits you best is to try a lot of bikes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A phenomenon that emerged in the early 2000s, women\u2019s bikes, which typically feature shorter top tubes and taller head tubes, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":175874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329,334],"tags":[3643,3644,3642],"global-categories":[3376],"class_list":["post-175871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","category-socialising-and-culture","tag-choosing-a-bicycle","tag-how-to-choose-a-bicycle","tag-women-bicycles","global-categories-kamiq"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Great Women\u2019s Bike Debate Explained - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A phenomenon that emerged in the early 2000s, women\u2019s bikes, which typically feature shorter top tubes and taller head tubes, at first seemed like a step\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/10\/25\/the-great-womens-bike-debate-explained\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Great Women\u2019s Bike Debate Explained\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A phenomenon that emerged in the early 2000s, women\u2019s bikes, which typically feature shorter top tubes and taller head tubes, at first seemed like a step\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/10\/25\/the-great-womens-bike-debate-explained\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-10-25T12:10:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2019\/10\/Women-Cycling-MTB-CVR-profimedia-0416480064.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Megan Flottorp\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/10\/25\/the-great-womens-bike-debate-explained\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/10\/25\/the-great-womens-bike-debate-explained\/\",\"name\":\"The Great Women\u2019s Bike Debate Explained - 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