Ladies' bikes - question to the ladies

[SyncSA]

So a normal bike then?

 

 

I didn't want to call it a "normal bike" as that would then indicate that ladies bikes are not normal. You know - politically correct stuff an all.

[Uni]

I vote you dont cut any bars.

Ride it 1st (and not just around the parking lot) before you make such a decision.

I ride 760mm and love it!

 

do people seriously just take a hacksaw (or the like) and cut bits that are too big / too long?

i'll see how much i can twist the arms of the guys at my LBS to really get the difference between a 26er and 29er and all the other cool stuff.

after the comment about new 2014 bikes coming out and 2013 bikes going on the cheap, I'm not in a rush to buy right now, but it will be before the end of the year, but it's going to come down to buying a brand my LBS - or being brand loyal and going to a BS that sells that brand.

 

I'm getting excited about the whole process though :-)

[Raab]

So my wife wanted a girly frame, bought a Ghost Miss RT frame from the distributors and built the rest of the bike myself, 80% of the fun is sourcing the parts yourself and getting the spec you want from the start.

[Marge]

I know right what's wrong with just black?

 

On my previous bikes (Merida, Silverback, and then a Scott scale) I was never comfortable and always had some back pain until I bought the Specialized Era (second hand on the hub, can’t afford it new).

 

Most comfortable bike ever, front wheel doesn’t lift on steep climbs and no more back pain so I can only assume it got something to do with the women specific geometry?

 

And the black paint is a bonus....

http://www.specializ...a/eracompcarbon

Edited August 6, 2013 by Marge

[slowpoke]

 

 

do people seriously just take a hacksaw (or the like) and cut bits that are too big / too long?

i'll see how much i can twist the arms of the guys at my LBS to really get the difference between a 26er and 29er and all the other cool stuff.

after the comment about new 2014 bikes coming out and 2013 bikes going on the cheap, I'm not in a rush to buy right now, but it will be before the end of the year, but it's going to come down to buying a brand my LBS - or being brand loyal and going to a BS that sells that brand.

 

I'm getting excited about the whole process though :-)

 

Yep. My mtb was highly uncomfortable till I took about 2cm off each side. Do just ride a bike as is a bit first before you start cutting stuff... You can't un-cut if you take too much off ;-)

[Uni]

So my wife wanted a girly frame, bought a Ghost Miss RT frame from the distributors and built the rest of the bike myself, 80% of the fun is sourcing the parts yourself and getting the spec you want from the start.

If I knew he and I had the time

If I knew how and I had the time I imagine that would be fun having a custom built bike that you put together yourself, but it's going to have to be stock standard off the shelf for me.

 

On my previous bikes (Merida, Silverback, and then a Scott scale) I was never comfortable and always had some back pain until I bought the Specialized Era (second hand on the hub, can’t afford it new).

My LBS stocks Specialized, I'll ask them about it.

 

Yep. My mtb was highly uncomfortable till I took about 2cm off each side. Do just ride a bike as is a bit first before you start cutting stuff... You can't un-cut if you take too much off ;-)

There's little chance of me cutting anything. The guys at the shop are just gonna have to get it right

Edited August 6, 2013 by Uni

[janneman72]

Me and my lady team mate ride a lot and are quite competitive as a team with races like the S2C, J2C, GR300 etc etc. I've been sourcing/building up her bike and here are my 2c worth:

- Girls are normally lighter so get as light bike as possible, a bike which is lighter than 15-20% of a womans body weight in ratio with a guys body weight is better to ride. You can't expect a lady who weights 50kg to ride a DS bike that weight 16kg which comes to my next point.

- If you are planning to ride MTB, rather go for a Hardtail than a dual sus. Ladies have normally less power than men and dual sus bikes climbs harder than hardtails. If you do long races like J2c, I normally inflate her tyres to about 1.5-1.7 bar which gives her a comfortable ride, no pains afterwards(girls are lighter so they normally dont need dual sus as deflating the tyres works like a charm)

- If the bike shop tells you that a mens small or medium 29er is too big for you, just trust your instincts and buy a 29er. Easier for the climbs, you can run a lower pressure in the tyres and you will do just fine on it. My girl/partner up'ed her game instantly by 2kmh average more and are riding with the A group men of well known mountain bike clubs as the only girl who can keep up.

- A ladies saddle is absolutely NB, you are built differently than us and a very good ladies saddle is really important for those long races/rides.

- Girls normally prefer shorter handlebars and stems, but like mentioned above, start wide and cut off 5mm at a time, not 50mm and end up too short.

[Uni]

Me and my lady team mate ride a lot and are quite competitive as a team with races like the S2C, J2C, GR300 etc etc. I've been sourcing/building up her bike and here are my 2c worth:

- Girls are normally lighter so get as light bike as possible, a bike which is lighter than 15-20% of a womans body weight in ratio with a guys body weight is better to ride. You can't expect a lady who weights 50kg to ride a DS bike that weight 16kg which comes to my next point.

- If you are planning to ride MTB, rather go for a Hardtail than a dual sus. Ladies have normally less power than men and dual sus bikes climbs harder than hardtails. If you do long races like J2c, I normally inflate her tyres to about 1.5-1.7 bar which gives her a comfortable ride, no pains afterwards(girls are lighter so they normally dont need dual sus as deflating the tyres works like a charm)

- If the bike shop tells you that a mens small or medium 29er is too big for you, just trust your instincts and buy a 29er. Easier for the climbs, you can run a lower pressure in the tyres and you will do just fine on it. My girl/partner up'ed her game instantly by 2kmh average more and are riding with the A group men of well known mountain bike clubs as the only girl who can keep up.

- A ladies saddle is absolutely NB, you are built differently than us and a very good ladies saddle is really important for those long races/rides.

- Girls normally prefer shorter handlebars and stems, but like mentioned above, start wide and cut off 5mm at a time, not 50mm and end up too short.

 

Tax jannerman, a lot to digest there, but very useful. The shop where my current bike was bought won't see me again. My current LBS I've been using for services and the odd spares, so I'm ready to see if they step up and assist someone like myself shopping on the lower end of the price spectrum.

 

My biggest concern is the post ride discomfort, one of those is with the saddle so upgrading that is definitely on the cards, and the rest will be proper bike fit.

 

 

[porqui]

The geometry on the Specialized Jet (ladies bike) is quite a bit different to mens bike - the women I know who ride them rave about them because of the geometry.

 

But Google is your friend.

[=Bones=]

I know right what's wrong with just black?

Nothing!! I have an all black bike and it's damn sexy!!

I used to ride a ladies specific bike and later changed to a mens bike and love it. The ladies bike was a lot heavier. I did have to modify it slight by change the stem to a shorter one. I find it a lot easier to handle and easier to ride. Saddles have never bugged me so it's really up to personal choice. I had dual sus on both, hard tails tend to be hard on my back so I chose comfort over being a bit harder to ride.

 

I also find that you tend to get better specs for price when getting a mens bike over a ladies. Find what's comfortable to you and enjoy!!

[slowpoke]

Just a note on saddles... Test ride and choose what feels best. I get comments about my roadie saddle on my mtb, but I seriously have not found a saddle as suited to me as the fizik arione, even for mtb. I know other girls, though, who prefer bigger fatter softer saddles. Try them all out if you can (I was lucky that my lbs let me test ride a whole lot of saddles to find the best fit)

[Joeboy69]

Bought me wife a 26" Camber with lady saddle and narrower handlebars, very happy with it Paid R15k in March this year with X5/X7 components

[DR ◣◢]

Two really important things to keep in mind. Frame size and proper saddle. Everything else can be chopped and changed to get the bike to fit perfectly.

 

A frame that is too big or too small cant be fixed without replacing.