Many women's specific models have been designed around a shorter average height - and for that reason their handling can be more consistent. “Off-the-peg manufacturers could make more smaller off-the-peg bikes – so the changes in top tube, or seat angle, would be less dramatic." That means those bikes don’t handle well, but it’s a problem that affects everyone who is smaller – not just women. "If you're not producing many small bikes, the space between the steerer and the saddle needs to be as small as possible, so you can increase it by putting a longer stem on, or more setback on the saddle" says O'Moreau, "so you make a really steep seat angle, and a really shallow head angle. Many brands currently produce fewer bikes in small sizes - and sometimes the smaller bikes share moulds with larger versions - resulting in dramatic jumps in seat and head angle, and discrepancies in handling. What we need is more bikes for smaller people, not more bikes for women." "What you find when you look at anthropometric data sets is that men and women have similar proportions, it’s just that more women are slightly shorter.
This is a position shared by frame builder Adeline O'Moreau of Mercredi bikes: “My personal experience with the men and women I’ve built bikes for is that the differences in reach and saddle to bar drop have all been to do with general fitness, and how much they stretch - it has nothing to do with your gender. So your Q-Factor is greater – which is why some women have knee pain, because their knee goes inwards as they pedal."ĭespite being against women's specific geometry, Prescott does believe that shorter people - and taller people, anyone outside of the statistical norm - in general are not well served by the current market. All bikes come with the same stance width, all pedals except Speedplay, come with the same 53mm axles - but women have wider hips. "The only women's specific parameter is stance width. Does a woman pole vaulter use a women's pole?" But he doesn't think they need women's bikes "I don’t think they exist. The founder of bike fitting services at ' Phil Burt Innovation' believes women are massively under served by the market - in terms of kit, saddles and more. The geometry was designed by Lee Prescott, expert in ergonomics at Velo Atelier, based upon my riding experience, body dimensions, flexibility and strength.Īsked if the bike looked like a women's or a unisex bike, Prescott answers: “your bike looks like a small road bike.”įormer lead physiotherapist at British Cycling, Phil Burt agrees that there's no statistical difference in limbs that required a differently shaped bike. It was created by Werking CC's Andrea Sega, an artisan bike builder based in the Dolomite region of Italy. This year, I was fitted up for a custom bike. What we’re left with is a massive discrepancy in opinion. “We position the women in the same way that we do men on a bike – taking into account the average differences between measurements," said women's brand manager, Katrin Neumann at the Canyon WMN road bike launch. The brand used 60,000+ data sets to determine its approach, concluding that women had a shorter wing span on average, so needed a shorter top tube to get the same ride quality. Its founder Bonnie Tu looked most offended on a recent launch when I referred to ‘unisex bikes’ at all, saying “those bikes are made for men, they’re not unisex.”Ĭanyon also has a range of dedicated women’s bikes. Meanwhile, Liv (the women's arm of Giant) is entirely dedicated to separate geometry for female riders. Lizzie Armitstead's World Champion Specialized Amira
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