General question for you
 

The BBI, Barnett bicycle institute sent article on bicycle mechanics it appears that they filled their July class with all women in effort to bring women into what is now predominantly male career, so of course the question is ,would you be confident in women wrenching on your bikes,,,,, just for General discussion,,,,

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As long as she's H-O-T and does it in a string bikini. (kidding)

Seriously, women have worked on my car so there's no reason that I wouldn't want/trust them working on my bicycles. Presumably if they're wrenching in a LBS she's been vetted to prove she knows what she's doing. But, I do all my own work on my bikes so it's a non-issue for me (IMO shouldn't be an issue for anyone really).

Dan

The best bike mechanic I have ever met is a woman. In fact she teaches bike mechanics and has worked as a mechanic for several professional teams

Really?
I've been in the hands of female drivers, pilots, Skippers, doctors, electricians etc etc.
Why on Earth should I have any objections to female bike mechanics?
Only thing I can think of is when removing something badly stuck.
Since Male average weight//strength is higher, a Male mechanic might do better with stuck BBs, seat posts and freewheels.

Welcome back to 1950.

Probably not.

Then again, I don't trust my bike in the hands of male mechanics around me, either. I'm sure good ones exist, but most around me look to be high school/college kids that I can't imagine have that much more experience than me, especially on systems that aren't modern.

To be honest, though, most people I've seen leave stuff for mechanics have little clue as to who the actual mechanic working on their bike is, so I don't see why it would be an issue. Or, why one would care to begin with, it is not 1950.

Ok then,, I had never met a female mechanics according to BBI there will be more working at lbs and maybe opening their own shops after certification,,, just for General Discussion,,,,

Speechless....

WD-40 and leverage. And next time you go by a construction site, look at the women on the crew lifting those 50 pound boxes of nails like they were lifting a box of feathers and cotton balls.

:thumb: I happen to work across the street from the site where, for years, Comcast has been building its new technology skyscraper. Many women doing tough jobs right alongside men.

There's at least one that works (worked?) at a PB by me. I'd trust her more than most of the guys I've talked to that works there.

I have never met a female neurosurgeon, but if I did I wouldn't wonder whether or not she is competent simply because she's a woman.


See the issue with your thread for "general discussion" (as opposed to specific discussion?)?


Or are you just trolling?

That's what I was thinking.

I find it hard to believe that this is even a THOUGHT in anyone's mind in this time!

Maybe it's because I worked in an industry that's dominated by women (showjumping horses) where the men were the minority and were hard pressed to beat the numbers and talent of females.

So?

Odds are, there'll be a couple of guys around picking up two at a time w/o straining.

Look, I don't think it's a problem. The shop I recommend for IGHs is run by a woman. Method can often compensate for weight/strength.
But sometimes, weight/strength can sure come in handy.
And the average male has more of that than the average female.

Any task not related to huge amounts of torque, I wouldn't care.

To me, it's no different than picking a shop depending on tooling.
There's one shop that doesn't ever use tensiometers. I'd never send anyone there for anything wheel related.
But they do OK suspension work.
There's another that has the fairly rare tools for facing disc brake mounts. If that's what I need, there's where I'd go.
If there was a shop employing an ex-Sumo, or maybe a female shot putter, those would probably be high on the list for stuck BBs and similar.

I was born in 1950 and it was a mighty good year,,,,,

It was meant to be a benign question form a legitimate article but,, whatever you make of it is fine,,, I think I feel how Trump feels now,,,,

I would actually have an issue with it.
My concern would be with bolt tension, or more specifically the lack of proper bolt tension. I don't want a bike falling apart because the female mechanic lacked the strength/body mass to adequately torque the bolts. I'd be ok with a female mechanic assisting the main mechanic with things like changing tires as long as she is not the one tightening bolts requiring high nm.

Even so, I'd feel like I had to check/torque all bolts every time I got a bike out of a LBS who had a female mechanic which would make me a hell of a lot less likely to go there.

Good lord some folks are (deleted to avoid ban.)

I have done my own bike work fro decades. I am a lot weaker now than I was then ... I am probably weaker than an "average" woman. That's why I use my brain, and a breaker bar.

Most jobs on a bicycle, if you need more strength than that you are doing it wrong.

Also ... a woman who is doing hard labor is not an "average" woman, and would certainly have as much strength as was needed to do the job. And for some of those jobs, and "average" man wouldn't have enough strength either, but like the woman, would develop it.

I guess some guys are afraid off strong women and avoid them ... and then claim they don't exist.

You ought to go the Gold's gym where I am a member. See how strong women can be if they care to be. Might be too scary for you though ...

Nobody here is doubting the power of steroids.
Women taking steroids are not really women anymore anyways.
Steroids are basically testosterone aka the male hormone.

And the 130# high school boy DOES have the muscle?

According to Park Tools, the highest torque spec required on a bike is around 60 ft-lbs or 75Nm. Even the most diminutive female should be able to do that without too much effort. http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-...icle-section-4

All the women I know ask for help moving anything heavier than 20 lbs.
A male highschooler can carry considerably more weight than any high school girl. You assume that said female mechanic will not hire high school girls, which is silly and unlikely.

Again, I'd feel the need to check/torque all bolts. I suspect most men coming into a LBS with a female lead mechanic would feel the same way.

I don't discriminate. I wouldn't trust man or woman wrenching on my bikes. No one else ever has and never will.

The question wasn't , is a woman strong enough to be a bicycle mechanic,