Originally Posted by
chaadster
I'm curious as to whether you ladies find the dressguards that Fietsbob mentioned, and which are pretty standard equipment on Dutch utility bikes, to be useless, or perhaps suitable for dresses longer than you wear?
When I first started riding I was very concerned about it. But it has only been an issue once. My very full light cotton skirt escaped the clip and somehow wrapped around the brakes. I started to crochet a set of wheel guards right after that. Now I just need to tie them on.
Originally Posted by
jade408
I generally wear wear knee length stuff. And it appears all bikes with skirt guards are $1500+. And pretty heavy. I've got stairs to navigate. But I wouldn't mind an after market one if I could find one.
Crocheted skirt gaurds re a real thing. There is a pattern or three on Ravelry... or you can buy a set from I think Belgium.
Originally Posted by
Giant Doofus
I love mixtes. I seriously considered a SOMA Buena Vista before settling on my Achielle Oma. I'm 5'4" and found that mounting the mixte in a dress wasn't quite as...um...ladylike as it was on the loop frame. On the other hand, I do tend to be a klutz, so that was probably operator error rather than a problem with the bike!
I'm 5'3" and that is a bit of an issue with a longer skirt. I tend to have to tip the bike over a bit to step over the bars. It is the one thing I miss about my loop frame cruiser (and why I still want another bike for my stable!) That said, I enjoy how the frame is nice and not-wobbly. I can get up to some serious speed on this bike. I couldn't do that on my old loop frame cruiser.. the frame would twist under me if I peddled too hard. It also handles well.
I don't use a dress guard. My dresses are mostly knee-length and an A-line cut, so they really couldn't blow back and get caught in the spokes. My coats also are either waist-length or tailored closer to the body, so I don't see an issue there either.
The best trick I've picked up about wearing skirts and dresses is about how you stop them from flying up. This is super simple: you just clip a binder clip or two to the hem to weight it down. Works perfectly. You just have to remember to take the binder clips off when you get to work!
And now, because I never pass up an opportunity to share a picture of Sassy, my bike, here she is:
[IMG]
P1050728 by
Giant Doofus, on Flickr[/IMG]
I wear fuller skirts and just tie them up with a hair clip or scrunchy. I keep both on my handlebars. Just attach on the side with the chain and go.
Lovely red bike! I love how it has lights and a full chain case.
I will probably round out my stable with a Papillionaire Sommer. It looks much like your very lovely red bike. Unless I can find a comparable 3 speed in purple.... they did sell these in purple but stopped. So I'll just get a black one... maybe.