why are some bikes labelled as "womens"

[coffeejo]

Womens bikes are always pink or lilac, surely?

Don't get me started on *that* topic

 

[ian turner]

Don't get me started on *that* topic

You're hard wired to like lilac and pink
Though I suspect that mens bikes in the low to mid price ranges are of a limited colour range but no one bothers to comment.

 

[lulubel]

I have quite long legs and a short torso, so I find the reach on mens bikes too long and I can't get to the brake levers.

And that's the point of womens frames. The top tube is generally shorter to suit women's shorter torsos. But we're talking about the "average" woman, of course. My OH has a Trek WSD the same as mine because she "liked the colour" but she's built more like a man with a long torso, which means the bike puts her in a rather weird upright position. Still, she's happy.

The other obvious differences between my bike and the men's equivalent are a shorter stem, narrower bars, and the curve of the drops is smaller and tighter.

 

[coffeejo]

You're hard wired to like lilac and pink

 

[dellzeqq]

Dell, you say the levers are too big, do you mean the grips themselves or the reach to the levers from the bars? I'm sure that the latter can be adjusted with shims.

Norm, thankyou, and, yes, they could be adjusted with shims. My thought was that if Specialized want to charge £2500 for a bike that is 'womens-specific' then they should sort out the brake lever thing.

 

[Norm]

Norm, thankyou, and, yes, they could be adjusted with shims. My thought was that if Specialized want to charge £2500 for a bike that is 'womens-specific' then they should sort out the brake lever thing.

Whilst I completely agree that it should be sorted at the time of (hefty) purchase, I'd blame the LBS for not getting it done, rather than Specialized.

If they fitted smaller levers to their women's bikes, there would be someone who complained that they wanted the female geometry but they had large hands. You can easily shim it down but you'd need to be careful with the pliers and a heat gun to bend it the other way.

 

[Xiorell]

So to me it sounds like there's really dick all difference, when it comes down to it, if it fits it fits.

 

[sabian92]

Something I don't understand:

Me and my girlfriend both have 20" framed bikes, hers is supposed to be a women's frame, mine is for blokes (obviously). She's touching 6 foot (maybe a bit more) and I'm 5'10 with far shorter legs (mine are 29", her's are 34", so she's all leg, I'm all body), yet I can happily ride my bike with the saddle a good 3 inches from the lowest it can go, yet she can't ride hers without it being at the bottom...

Is it that much of a difference or just a horrible frame fitting?

 

[asterix]

It's because they are not quite as posh as the Ladies Bicycles.

 

[Xiorell]

Oddly enough since posting this I've come across a Cannondale R1000 for sale in one of the near-by towns, the "feminine" spec though.
Might just buy it and put a longer stem on there if need be.

 

[GrasB]

Me and my girlfriend both have 20" framed bikes, hers is supposed to be a women's frame, mine is for blokes (obviously). She's touching 6 foot (maybe a bit more) and I'm 5'10 with far shorter legs (mine are 29", her's are 34", so she's all leg, I'm all body), yet I can happily ride my bike with the saddle a good 3 inches from the lowest it can go, yet she can't ride hers without it being at the bottom...

Is it that much of a difference or just a horrible frame fitting?

Sizing a frame by the seat tube size is absolutely ludicrous. My wife has a city bike & a road bike, the road bike has a 47cm (18.5") seat tube & she has a fair amount of seat tube exposed, her city bike is a 17" (seat tube measurement) frame & she has the seat right down low as possible.