I havent ridden a sweetpea, but ive met the builder. she is nice and the bikes look great. sure, any frame builder could probably build a women's frame, but natalie works with a big bike fit guy to ensure good fit and being a woman she probably thinks about how the bikes fit women. anyhow, as far as waiting a while to get the bike, it is a CUSTOM frame. theyre made one by one, by one person. try buying a vanilla (also built in PDX)- the waitlist is a couple of years long.