 |
 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 90'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 tend to have longer
upper bodies than women, particularly, they have longer arms
(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.
|
"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. |
"Women's Specific Design" bikes have been recently introduced
by some of the bigger bike companies to acknowledge this difference
and make an attempt to address it. Such bikes usually have
shorter stems, shorter top tubes, and "comfort" saddles. While
they may cause less initial discomfort, they are not necessarily
set up for performance riding. Compromises are often made
in frame angles on smaller frames in order to produce a bike
which fits and works using the "standard" size 700c road wheels.
Such modifications force many women into a less-than-ideal
pedaling position and having to deal with sluggish steering.
No component upgrade can alleviate this problem. Some companies
have begun to utilize smaller 650c road wheels to avoid these
compromises when designing smaller frames, which is a step
in the right direction.
So what does this mean for women cyclists? In short, some
women—the minority for sure—can do just fine on
a stock bicycle frame purchased from the neighborhood bike
shop. Many more can adapt themselves to these bikes if they
are willing to spend some money on major component upgrades.
Still others—often those who are spending the most time
in the saddle —try to find a bike that fits right
from the start, without any compromises in geometry, and
they usually find a custom bike builder to create such a machine.
This fundamental, persistent problem for women in the bike
industry is why I started building custom bicycles for women
only.
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