 |
 Women
tend to have more problems adapting themselves to the fit
and geometry of big-brand bicycles than men do. The average
bike from the bike store just doesn't feel "right" for most
of us without a whole bunch of modifications.
I took an interest in bicycle frame building in the mid 1990's,
and began to study bike fit and geometry. I discovered many
things. First, nearly all bikes are designed by men utilizing
the male anatomy as the yardstick around which to create
a frame's geometry and handling characteristics.
Next, I learned exactly what the differences are between women's
and men's anatomy with relation to bike fit. When comparing
women and men of the same height, men sometimes have longer
torsos than women, but, more consistently, they tend to have longer arms (on average
by nearly 4 cm!). This means men tend to like and need more
"cockpit" space than women when sitting on a bike. This is
why so many bikes feel "too stretched" out for many women. Also, due to the nature of pressure points created by the position of any woman sitting over two wheels, a lot of women find more comfort and the ability to ride longer and faster when placed in an overall somewhat less aggressive position on the bicycle.
Moreover, over a decade of framebuilding and designing bicycles has shown me that women want to buy their dream bike from someone who is truly listening, feeling their needs are being heard and understood. Oftentimes what ails a female cyclist cannot be simply remedied by the latest women-specific saddle or the basic bike fit mantras taught to most bicycle salespeople and many framebuilders.
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"Before
Getting a Luna"--Cathy is way too stretched
out, and her weight is too much on the back half of
the bike. |
"Riding
Her New Luna"--A much more comfortable
position, and Cathy's weight is more evenly distributed
between both wheels. |
Some women do just fine on stock bicycles purchased from the neighborhood bike
shop, particularly if they are willing to spend some extra money for component modifications and invest the time required to get the bicycle modified for their needs over time.
Others find some relief on certain "women specific" models which address the needs of certain women who have trouble with traditional bike fit (but by no means all!). Still others—often those who are spending the most time
in the saddle—try to find a bike that fits and performs right
from the start, without any compromises in geometry, and
they usually find a custom bike builder to create such a machine.
These fundamental, persistent challenges for women in the bike
industry is why I started building custom bicycles for women
only.
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