Buying a female Roadbike or not?

[LeahCod]

I am fairly new to cycling - I have been riding an old Peugeot road bike for the past 3 months.

I am looking to buy a more modern road bike, and I am confronted with the choice of buying a specific "woman bike" or not.
I am a 1m72 tall female, so I could actually ride on a regular "male road bike", frame size 52-54.

However, I have seen a number of bikes that are apparently designed for women.
Except the frame size which is often smaller, I was wondering what are the main differences between a male/female roadbike?

I am interested by this bike in particular https://www.secondbike.co.uk/card/bianchi-full-carbon-womens-bicycle

Do you think I could ride a male bike, or does it have to do with some leg/body ratio?

 

[vickster]

Go try it out and decide.

Bearing in mind you'll need to change the saddle and possibly the handlebars if you buy a men's (a 54cm 'unisex' bike often comes with a 42cm bar, too wide for many women, including me and I'm 5'10 (178cm?) and not what you'd call slight). You might also need a shorter stem - men tend to be longer in the torso and shorter of leg for their height, we are the other way round typically. All of that costs money to buy and time / money to fit
A 53cm Bianchi would be too small for me, I almost bought one, a 55cm

The headtube is typically taller on a women's bike. You'd also want to check what they measure to get that 53cm, manufacturers often 'size' their bikes differently.

Best thing to do is to compare the geometries of equivalent bikes, say a Cannondale synapse male/wsd or a Giant Defy/Avail if you want to assess the differences. There's probably a 'male' equivalent to the Bianchi too, find the geometry table.

If you like the Bianchi and it feels good when you try it, job's a good un (do check that it's not stolen though, ask for a reciept/proof of ownership from the seller. If they refuse or get shirty, walk away)

 

[User32269]

Keep the old Peugeot though, or you'll regret it!

 

[jefmcg]

Vickster has covered it pretty well.

One thing to beware of is the vagina-tax. When I bought my bike in '12, several manufacturers charged about an extra £200 for similarly equipped WSD compared to unisex models. Giant and Cannondale were exceptions.

 

[vickster]

Vickster has covered it pretty well.

One thing to beware of is the vagina-tax. When I bought my bike in '12, several manufacturers charged about an extra £200 for similarly equipped WSD compared to unisex models. Giant and Cannondale were exceptions.

£675 seems reasonable for a carbon Bianchi with 105, said to have only minor wear. You'll be paying a bit of a premium for the brand and a good looking bike

I think there is less price differential now anyhow (explained by supply and demand I should think if the two bikes use different frames, smaller numbers of the WSD bike, higher cost per unit)

 

[vickster]

Keep the old Peugeot though, or you'll regret it!

Why?

 

[User32269]

Why?

Because they're nice bikes.
They will increase in value.
They are getting harder to get.
It's good to have a pub bike if you don't want to leave an expensive bike outside Tescos.
Was just a glib comment because I regret getting rid of loads of bikes when I see one a year or two later.

 

[LeahCod]

Thank you for your replies!
I wish I could keep the old Peugeot, but I can't afford to have 2 bikes where I live (space/security).
After doing some research, female roadbikes are quite similar to regular roadbikes. Some say it's just marketing really.
I am gonna keep on looking on gumtree or secondbike for a while until I find something affordable in my area.

 

[biggs682]

One thing to beware of is the vagina-tax.

Love the terminology.

Another vote for looking at 2nd hand from me

 

[vickster]

Thank you for your replies!
I wish I could keep the old Peugeot, but I can't afford to have 2 bikes where I live (space/security).
After doing some research, female roadbikes are quite similar to regular roadbikes. Some say it's just marketing really.
I am gonna keep on looking on gumtree or secondbike for a while until I find something affordable in my area.

You can try eBay, same rules apply regarding checking the bike's not stolen

What's wrong with the Bianchi you linked? Sold?

There are some really good deals out there on new bikes too if you are prepared to shop around. What specifically are you looking for? Where in London are you?

 

[lpretro1]

I'm 5ft 3" and I ride a standard Scott Solace 52cm - the changes I made were to fit a shorter stem and narrower & compact bars and of course the saddle. Otherwise it' It would be best to get a proper bike fit before buying so you can make informed choices. This is what I did and it was very worthwhile. I don't have any problem with reach on brake levers or anything like that.

 

[k_green]

I am 6 foot tall and assumed a men's/unisex bike would be fine but when i actually tried some bikes, the women's (liv) just fit and felt better. I didn't want a women's bike really (loved the look of a wilier!) but the liv was about £60 more for a comparable spec. That was definitely worth it for me to not mess around with the saddle/handlebars/stem.
You do just have to try them out really.

 

[ufkacbln]

In reality there is no such thing

For many years, male and female bikes were the same, just a different position for the crossbar

Now there are a number of variations suitable for "standard" women and "standard"men

Next time you go out look at the vast range and try to select the one the designers chose


Some women will benefit from a WSD frame, others will not. Some women will find a "male" design comfortable, others were not

A friend of ours after many years bought an Islabike "children's" bike and loves it

As above the only way to find out is to sit on the saddle and try

 

[smutchin]

Except the frame size which is often smaller, I was wondering what are the main differences between a male/female roadbike?

Bianchi's women's bikes use the same frame geometry as their men's bikes. The only difference is in some of the finishing kit - eg women-specific saddle - and more 'feminine' colour schemes.

Here's the geometry for the Infinito CV compared to the Infinito CV Dama Bianca, taken from the Bianchi website (don't worry if you don't know what the numbers mean, just note that they are the same for the men's bike as for the women's bike):

You'll notice that the women's version comes in a smaller choice of sizes.

Do you think I could ride a male bike, or does it have to do with some leg/body ratio?

Leg/body ratio will affect your bike fit, but that's true regardless of whether you're male or female - I'm the same height as my colleague but we ride different size bikes because he has longer legs than me.

Saddles are a very personal thing too - some women would be better off with a men's saddle, and I dare say some men would be better off with a women's saddle.

 

[vickster]

Saddles are a very personal thing too - some women would be better off with a men's saddle, .

On what basis? Only sit bone width?