DosWheelsBtr

Hello,

My gf currently rides a specialized dolce. It is a women's specific. She is looking at some bikes that do not offer a women's specific. Do women really need a women's specific bike? To me it always seemed a little funky, however I am not the one who will be riding the bike. What do y'all think of the wmn specific bike?

Jean_TX

Out of the four bikes that I have owned, my "women's specific" bike (Specialized Ruby) is the only one that has truly fit me well - all the others have required multiple changes in handlebars and stems to get me in a position that is not totally agonizing over the long haul.

Having said that, your GF should try women's specific bikes as well as other bikes, and the one that fits her best is the one to buy.

kevrider

depends upon her build. torso/leg length ratio... shoulder width... hand size.... those bikes usually have shorter/wider saddles, as well, more narrow handlebars, shorter crank arms, in addition to geometry differences. they are not a gimmick. my fiancé has two wsd bikes. she has a long torso, so could probably ride a unisex frame, but she has zero complaints. we have not needed to swap any parts. anyway, getting her what she wants is generally a win.

FlashBazbo

Most women are shaped differently than most men. The proportions -- arms, legs, fingers, core -- are generally different than those found in a man of the same height.


My daughter fought the "women's sizes" thing (in part, because she hated the fact that most women's bikes have pink somewhere on them and she hates pink). She tried several "unisex" and "men's" bikes and none were quite right. But once she found the Trek Lexa SLX, she finally found the bike with the proportions that fit hers. It clicked from the first time she rode one. She bought one and has been very happy with it (except for the dashes of pink here and there).

valygrl

Depends on the woman, and the bike. i have a couple of women's bikes and a couple of men's bikes. they've all required some tinkering to get the fit right. I prefer buying a frame and then picking out parts separately, in order to get all the sizes just right, but that always costs more. If you just have to swap out a couple of things - saddle, stem - it's no big deal, but when it's also bars and crank, then it becomes kind of a wash, and you may as well build it up from a frame.

tl;dr: no reason not to try men's bikes.

DosWheelsBtr

Thanks for the replies

topflightpro

My wife has a Specialized 54 Tarmac SL3 and a 56 Amira SL4. They have different geometries, but fit the same. She likes them both equally.

Psimet2001 

If she's a human then the answer is the bike that fits is the right one. That bike could be a women's specific style of design or a "traditional" geometry. It completely depends on her specific "construction". Don't get hung up on tags.

Garfield Cat

Sounds like its not the frame but the other parts. Even men have the same issues. Maybe we can go to other geographic regions of the world to get some people who don't fit the "average".

I saw this about average height.

https://www.disabled-world.com/artma...ht-chart.shtml

So I looked up Bill Walton because of his height and his riding. That took me to Holland Cycles in San Diego. Custom frames makes all the difference.

https://hollandcycles.com/

kuroba

Maybe not. Depends on her proportions. Women's bikes usually come with narrow bars and special saddles, but are not much different otherwise. However, if she's short women's bike might be the only alternative (not many unisex bikes available in xx-small sizes, I know, I'm 5' tall)

https://totalwomenscycling.com/lifes...specific-bikes

bikejrff

One of my C-Dale SuperSix's is a women's specific bike. Came with 42cm bars and 172.5 cranks, exactly what I ride. Stem was also correct size. Swapped out saddle to my brand and presto, fits perfectly. Bought new old stock for 36 cents on the dollar 'cause I wanted SRAM Red.

Nao_lin

this just popped up on my youtube sub box, a GCN video asking the exact same question

Nachoman

FYI, I was just helping my daughter look for a women's specific bike. We were looking at the following:
Specialized Dolce; Giant Avail; Trek Lexa and Cannondale Synapse.

rumrunn6

Wifey is petite & older & she needed the easy-on, easy-off frame of a Trek Stagger (not a road bike tho). She loves it.

kuroba

I just remembered, Bike Radar did a series of "Best women's bikes" in different price ranges, they have blog posts and videos on their YouTube channel.

Best women's road bike under £1000 - BikeRadar

Madtown Bob

I understand that the major manufactures do as little as possible to create women specific bicycles because bike shops wouldn't care to handle all the extra inventory. But a Terry built bicycle might have something like a 24” front wheel/700c rear wheel design. There are a number of women building custom built bikes for women but they are typically steel frames. I have no idea what all the differences are but I might be able to dig up an article that discussed why women saw an opportunity in building custom bikes for women.

hsuehhwa

Most women have proportionally longer legs, shorter torso, shorter arms, and narrower shoulders. By adjusting stem length, handlebar width, a new saddle, or offset of the seat post, one can fit a female rider on a men's frame. In the end you're likely changing the handling of the bike and the spirit of the original frame design.


As can be seen, these components can cost a lot more than buying a bike with frame geometry, saddle, and handlebar that are perfected for her in the first place

a1penguin

When I purchased a road bike in 2003, they were still horizontal bar bikes. No men's frame fit me right. I ended up with Trek WSD. Some of the items which are different: narrower bars, shorter reach for brakes, shorter stem, shorter cranks, different saddle. Even with WSD, they had to put a shorter stem. In 2012, with the sloping top tubes, most men's frames fit me and I purchased a Cannondale. I tried the Trek WSD Madone and it felt bizarre. My head was way out over the front wheel and it did not feel safe. I too hate pink and hate flowers (they like to tart up clothing, too).

My recommendation is to keep test riding bikes of both WSD and not and find the one that fits. I'm 5'7" so I don't have issues with being petite, which I imagine is a challenge.