Milton Keynes

If you're man enough to ride with plastic daisies on your bike, then go for it.

jimmie65

I'll post a picture.

SEAJAYBIKE

We sell step thru frames to men all the time. Whatever it takes to create a fun comfortable safe riding experience.
Specialized Roll in step thru size large fits me fine at 5'11" Trek has one of my favorites the step thru Verve as well as a step thru 7.3fx Disc that is quite nice. Its either 19" or 20" I can't recall.
We have used Dropper Seatposts with remote handlebar switches from the mountain bike realm to help some people with hip mobility problems. Drop the seat all the way down as you come to a stop. Feet stable and Saddle is out of the way as you swing off.

Doge

I just stumbled in here and didn't read much. That is pretty much it.

The "women's" geometry is typically different. But in some applications I want that geometry, and in some I don't.
If you mean no top tube, at 73 - go for it. If you generate the big watts, there is more frame flex. I know of no serious cyclist that would care. Posers may care.

In general, looking at the average rider on the SoCal Pacific Coast Hwy - they would do better with a woman's geometry. Most do not have the power (and body) to need the stretched out cockpit and slammed stem. Yes - that was a dig (not at the OP).

PaulH

A step thru bike, like a car with doors, sacrifices structural efficiency for convenience. Besides, why should a gentleman have to adopt the posture of a urinating dog in order to use a mode of transportation? The mystery is why step thru bikes are not the norm. Of course, among bike shares, both docked and dockless, they are. I've been riding a step thru for 17 years and driving a car with doors for 33.

KraneXL

No. That said, I first learned how to ride a bike on my sister's old bike. And I think I rode my mom's bike to the supermarket...once.

bobwysiwyg

Around here they are referred to as gender neutral "low entry."

KraneXL

A very clever marketing counterpoint. The future is going to be a very interesting place.

rdlange

YEAH.! Go for it.!

I shot a snake with my wife's pink revolver once. Didn't feel any less manly.

For injured me, for many years, step thru has been the way to go... in fact a high top tube can actually be detrimental to your manliness. Mmm?

Or you get to pretend to be an eccentric... Wait a minute, we ARE eccentrics. Oh well...

Get a quality ride regardless... just make sure it matches your eyes.

Be well...

WGB

Try selling a Mixte (an old one not a new one) and for some reasons you get some weird responses.

I listed my Motobecane Grad Touring. First caller asked if it was "girl's bike". I tried to explain what a mixte was and he interrupted and said "why don't you just say it's a F%(# girls bike?" and hung up. Second caller wanted it for his wife and then he asked what kind of man would have a woman's bike, so I hung up. Third caller asked if he could buy the parts because he could see it was either wrecked or built wrong.

I give up. I'm pulling the ad and my wife can have it. If it had fit me I would have said screw everyone and rode it everywhere. I think it's a great bike and the mixte concept is a great idea. I just wonder how they would hold up as a touring bike because mounting the step through frame would be no issue, even with a heavy load.

sbcost

Thats how we roll.

kidshibuya

The idea of men's and women's products is pure marketing, they realised they could change the package colour and magically make more money. It's amazing how well marketing can work as mental conditioning, we all think men's and women's specific products are normal, they aren't.

Women are human also, they can ride normal human bikes, they have no need for different geometry.

natnatroswell22

I don't see any problem with men riding women bike. Women bikes are thinner and smaller so that could be an advantage too. Also, Im amazed that despite of your age, you can still do cycling... Thumbs up.

rollagain

Aerodynamics. Strip all the decoration off that wire basket and the air flows right through it.

The only comment I've ever had on my Forest Green women's Simcoe was from a guy even older than me, who just said it was a really nice-looking bicycle. I think color does make a difference.

freeranger

I see no problem, and should be no stigma attached to riding a step-thru frame. I can see many reasons why a step-thru would work better for some, as opposed to a horizontally top tubed bike. That being said, if you opt for a step-thru, just check that is isn't a "women's specific design". My wife's traditional horz.top tubed road bike is a WSD, and there is definitely a difference. It is geared to a shorter torso, longer legs of typical female anatomy. Works great for her, wouldn't work so great for a man with longer torso and shorter legs, as compared to a female of similar height.

bicyclridr4life

I ride a Miami Sun Traditional trike with the optional 7 speed and rear disk brake.
Much easier to get on or off than my bike, and it carries so much more stuff without a trailer.

Fastfingaz

sir that terminology went out with the dail phone,,,,,,, what you have now is a step thru frame which is very comfortable and convenient,,,, I my opinion that should be the classic frame design for men's bikes, less danger for those sudden stops or when your foot slips off the pedal and your body impacts the top tube,,,,,, I have two of them.......bikes that is........

I-Like-To-Bike

And describe bicycle frame styles as you see fit, especially when it is in agreement with how probably the majority of people describe such bicycles.

fietsbob

My Folding bikes all have a low frame tube, so, functionally, a step through..

Duo

really, really good answer: pure marketing.

sure when we were kids we thought a 'girls bike' really was a girls bike. didn't matter though, way back in the day kids knew how to have fun...and we had a garage full of fun.

bikes?

yep, tons of them for our big family and we rode them all. some were too big and some were 'girls bikes'...and yes i would ride them again if i needed to. hmmmm...

still do.

a friend of mine is handicapped, so i bought a tandem bicycle. the back of the bicycle is a mixte frame, um he likes that a whole lot. but marketing doesn't affect him much and away we go.

just checked my Schwinn Air Dyne indoor bike, and what do you know, it is a 'girls bike'. ...and i wouldn't have it any other way. this is an old indoor exercise bike that gives upper and lower body work outs. great machine, built tough and available on Craigs list, help yourself.

a good cure for marketing BTW is just turn it off and leave it off. could be the TV, catch my drift: why bother?

Kent T

A Mixte is a universal, accessible frame to Europeans. My bike must suit me (I wear Braces, Allard BlueRockers to be exact), and my needs. I have long ago not cared about what people think. Steel has no gender. My next bike will be a Mixte (with Cerebral Palsy and Spina Bifida, easier for me to mount). I prefer to ride, and to enjoy life and grin. I am about function over perceptions. I was Hybrid before Toyota conceived one (part pedaling, part pushing, part hopping). So do what works best for you, and be your own trendsetter and Freak. I am who I am. Those who know me, know this. I set trends, not follow them. Do your own thing. I support you being you.

K R

Just went shopping for a hardtail MTB for me and DW. We're both fairly compact and she fits nicely on a W's small I find I'm somewhere between a Small and Medium Men's bike. A lot of men's mediums size up including going from a 27.5 to a 700c tire and with my 720mm inseam a bike with a 770mm stand-over is a problem. I've had the bad experience of a quick stop and meeting the Top Tube experience and don't wish to repeat it, also I've had my back surgery and don't bend as well as I used to and with disc compression and 72 years young I'm 5'8" going on 5'6" a bit short coupled so a shorter reach is a benefit. Found a Women's Medium that checked all the boxes and fit right in between the men's Small and Medium. Also rather than a step through simply curved the top tube down a couple of cm's giving a stand-over height of just under 690mm, appreciated clearance (seems this is a trend going on with several unisex makers as well (check the REI dirt series). As an added bonus, it's black!

When we got our Diverges last year DW hated the Women's color scheme so she got the Men's with a bar and seat swap, she loves it. So... if she can ride the men's I have no issue with a bike that fits even if it was marked by some marketer as a Women's. I agree with the general sentiment that if "it fits, I sits".

Kent T

If it fits, it sits, and it shifts, and I can mount it, I ride it. Function follows form (those who adapt, keep riding and enjoying their ride). Glad to see you riding and enjoying it more.

medic75

I was recently looking into this for my son. He is a bit short, but at 11 years old I expect him to shoot up at any time. I want to get him a capable mountain bike, but I want something that he will get a couple of decent years out of before he outgrows it. To make a long story short, I was looking at the Trek Marlin & Roscoe models. I noticed that there is no difference in frame geometry when it comes to the WSD bikes. For these two models the WSD features are essentially different saddles & bars with a redesigned top tube on the Marlin to achieve a lower stand-over height. I cannot say this is the case for all WSD design bikes, but it wouldn't shock me at all it the manufacturers retained the same geometry for all of their WSD design bikes.

Finally, to add some confusion to this, Trek's FX line has "stagger" in addition to WSD bikes. You can get a stagger without the WSD design features & you can get a WSD bike that is not a stagger or step-through frame. I haven't compared geometry on these, but I would also expect them all to be the same.

Brocephus

Heck, I woulda thought that was just a 23cm C-C compact men's frame !!!