why in the world...
 

do some bike makers STILL insist on making those stupid, ugly, ladies frames with the top tube that slopes all the way down to the bottom bracket???? Women don't wear skirts on their bikes anymore.... it's time to let that tradition die...

also, doesn't it affect the handling of the bike? or at least the structural integrity, and the stiffness of the ride?? isn't it sexist that "men's bikes" are more performance oriented, more durable, and then women are made bikes that are a step down?

all you ladies out there.... don't those bikes make you mad??

I met an Englishman touring with a ladies bike. He said it was because nobody would even think of stealing it!

hahahahaha... that's a good one!

Well, someone must be buying them, right? If there was no market, they wouldn't be trying to sell them and apparently selling them enough to continue offering them.

You ever see a middle-age woman try to get on a bike? For lots of the ones we get in our store it's the best way to go.

My mom's a bit older now, and isn't terribly fit to step over/around a standard frame. So I for one am glad somebody is still producing them. She certainly isn't going to break it for lack of structural integrity either. There are lots of types of folks who just want to pedal around a bit, with some different bike needs.

You still get some models in the old "ladies" style with 2 thin parallel tubes, but many step through frames have a single fatter Al tube, and are as structurally sound as any other single tube design. The riders who like this style do not hammer their bikes, and the frames are quite stiff enough for the forces applied. They are heavier than more efficient designs, but with Al, the extra material you need does not carry a big weight penalty.
Some women still cycle in skirts, at least in parts of the world where cycling is an everyday method of transport.
If you need to ride 3 miles into a small, flat city and need to look smart for work, then you need a different style of bike to a weekend racer.

Those of us with really short legs are grateful that they keep making bikes with step-through frames. Find me a decent, inexpensive diamond frame with a 27" standover height, and then you can take away my step-through. :p Meanwhile--why should it bug you? If you don't like them, don't buy them.

ok ok... i see now... please forgive my ignorance ;)

same here.. I have a very expensive custom-fit touring bike that doubles as a slow road bike with a diamond frame.. first bike I could put feet on the floor.

Most of the time, 'adult' bikes are too large. The bike I bought at age 12 remained too large for me...

While I don't ride with skirts anymore and never do on the touring bike, I used to ride with skirts all the time when I was in secondary school up to age 25. It is plain silly to ride with cycling clothes if you're only covering up to 5 km each way... I love a bike that has chainguards, coat guards and has a step through frame so that in theory I could be wearing a bride's gown.

I know women who got married and rode a bike to their wedding ceremony in full bridal wear (also holds true for husbands)..

Heck, in the NLs we even have philharmonic harmonies that ride a bike while playing.. that's where you need that 'stupid' sit-up-and-beg bike for..
Never meant for speed, but wonderful for practical use around town in your regular clothes...

Ivana, sometimes missing her 2 stolen/vandalized city bikes but who now wears cycling clothes nearly 80% of the time

I lived in New Zealand for three years (GREAT cycling area). Girls (usually in their school uniforms) still wear skirts and ride bikes down there.

Catholic priests, with their long gowns, ride these bikes.

My folding bikes are step through. The folding bike design would be impossible with the top bar in place which is why the step through became necessary. There is some flex in the frame of a folding bike but it's really a non issue since this cycle is used for transport or traveling and not racing. Want to see a $2000.00 dollar step through bike? http://www.pbwbikes.com/foldroad.html

I rode a step through Breezer www.breezerbikes.com last week. It was the "Uptown - UFrame" step though city bike. To be totally honest, I didn't feel ANY flex and the bike was solid. It's a beautiful bike with chain guard, dynamo lights, fenders and rack. It's a complete commuter. If I didn't purchase my Bianchi Milano, this bike would be in my stable. For a town bike, the step through is safer than a diamond frame especially for men. (if you know what I mean!)

Someone above mentioned theft as a factor in getting a step through bike. I totally agree. I commute with a step through folding bike and no one touches it. Seriously. My step through folding bike costs $330.00 yet the theives would rather steal a $99.00 Huffy mountain bike. My friend at the station parks his Cannondale hybrid with THREE CHAINS and people always steal his asscessories and try to rob his bike.

Last week alone during my commute I have seen 2 ladies cycling wearing skirts. One was in her 60's and one in her late twenties.

There a very common occurance during the day going to and from the shops.

In cambridge UK, a lot of the students including men ride retro ladies bikes. Bonus style points go for original wicker baskets. It's the only place that I've been to where young men riding these bikes is accepted as perfectly normal, let alone that they wouldn't get things thrown at them.

I don't ride this bike myself, but I appreciate a place that doesn't judge you for doing this. Speaking of which has anyone seen the guy around boston with the sideways pedalling bike?

TELL ME WHERE!!! I dont see ANY girls ridding to skool around here....just intermediate boys and a few secondary males like myself.... im the fastest tho :p

Brendon
:beer:

Didn't realize they were still making them. Gotta agree that they cannot be that big of a seller

Calling them "girls' bikes" or "ladies' bikes" may be slightly sexist or may be a reflection on history wen females wore cumbersome dresses and males did enough exercise that they were fit... until they died fairly young. However, I think there is a valuable role for these frames, especially for older or less flexible people who, regarding of dress, have problems going over the tube. BTW, the "mixte" design is a bit more rigid, but my mother will tell you that her 1975 Peugeot mixte is much harder to straddle than her 1935-1940 girl's bike ever was.

People who have problems going over the top tube of even compact design bikes are not doing long distances nor they are carrying heavy loads, except sometimes in a trailer. A bike with fully loaded panniers is much too hard to control when one has problems straddling a bike! And for purists who cringe at the idea of a step-through frame anyway, I would respond that the single-tube design of many folding bikes is even more ludicrous from a structural point of view. But just as folding bikes need to be heavier, beefier (or flimsier) than an upright, so do bikes with step-through frames. And in both cases, the design has advantages (ease of going on/off) and drawbacks (added weight or loss of rigidity).