The main differences between women’s bicycles and men’s bicycles

Today’s professional bike manufacturers point to a clear difference between women’s models and men’s models. According to them, bicycles differ not only in design, but also from a constructive position. What is the reason for such differences, because, in principle, a lady who knows how to ride can easily drive several kilometers on a male model.

So, what is the difference between bicycles for different genders.

Anatomy

The main factor that influenced the emergence of the idea of ​​creating women’s bicycles was the fact that, in terms of their anatomical constitution, the fairer sex is largely different from men.

Growth

According to statistics, on average, women are ten centimeters lower than men. Naturally, the seating position, as well as the position of the steering wheel, cannot be convenient without taking this into account.

Body length

Women, even with the same height, have on average a couple of centimeters shorter body than men.

Arm length

As in the case of the body, this indicator is very different from the male one. Manufacturers take this into account and make the handlebars in women’s bicycles closer to the body.

Shoulder width

Even athletes have much narrower shoulders than men, and therefore a bicycle handlebar should be designed with this feature in mind.

Palm size

Ladies have smaller hands and palms, so wide handlebars on the handlebars will create additional discomfort and may even cause nasty blisters.

The weight

Females usually weigh significantly less than males. Even with the same height and average build, ladies are lighter due to their high content of adipose tissue (which is known to weigh much less than muscle tissue) and a light skeleton. Weight naturally affects strength. Therefore, a bicycle with an aluminum frame should weigh significantly less in itself than a man’s. This will allow, using less effort, even the most slender and delicate ladies to ride it.

Body type

The peculiarity of the female physique, as we noted above, is wider hips and narrower shoulders. What is the solution for the leading women bike manufacturers?

Ladies’ models are equipped with a wider and lower seat. This allows the girl to get comfortable on her iron horse and get tired less. The distance from the seat to the pedals is also shorter than that of men, although this mainly depends on the height of the lady.

 

But the pedals themselves in all best women road bikes models (with the exception of purely sports ones) are made in a completely different way: they are wider.

The low seating position serves another purpose: thus, a woman can wear a skirt of any length and still not have to raise her leg high to sit on the bike. In various forms, it will be comfortable to ride in any clothes.

When did individual women’s bicycles begin to appear?

In order to fully imagine the differences between women’s bicycles and men’s, one should understand why this concept has become fashionable at all, because for a long period of time people did not attach much importance to these differences. The only thing that underwent changes before the introduction of a separate women’s bike was the seat position (it was lowered a little for ladies). Everything else did not seem to prevent any lady from moving even on bad rural roads.

The concept of “women’s bicycle” itself became widespread and publicized in the early eighties, during the so-called “boom in healthy life.” Every now and then, advertisements began to appear, stating the impossibility of riding on mens road bikes under 500 models for women, about the harm and subsequent problems.

It was at this time, when the bicycle became not only a way to quickly get from one place to another, but also a tool for maintaining physical fitness, it became obvious that male models greatly complicate fast trips for women. It was then that bicycle manufacturers began to consider options for simplifying the frame in order to reduce weight and make it more lifting.

During this time, folding bicycles began to be widely used. It was especially convenient to store them, because in the conditions of busy city life, even a couple of centimeters saved in the corridor can play a significant role in creating comfort.

The manufacturers have made the following changes:

• made adjustments to the geometry of classic bicycle models, significantly lowering the frame and narrowing the handlebars;
• extended the pedals;
• made them from a more non-slip material;
• extended the seat;
• reduced the height of the hitch.

But there was another problem as well. Bicycles with this geometry were completely unsuitable for normal sport riding. That is, it was possible to simply lose weight on them, but it was impossible to play sports, they simply could not cope with such stress, and the light frame did not allow gaining speed. In addition, purely female models were not suitable for mountain driving.

m paths or roads.

So sportswomen and lovers of normal riding had to ride men’s bicycles, which were still not comfortable. Until one of the manufacturers presented to the court a real female model of a sports bike.

This model fully met the standards of professional sports equipment, but along with this, all the features of the female body and strength were taken into account. It seemed that the manufacturers realized that raising the leg higher and sitting in a normal seat is quite possible for many women.