Women’s bike

Photo by Hans Vink

The first thing before start to ride is choosing the right bike for you: not every bike fit for women’s anatomy, and this because all bikes are designed by men using the male anatomy as the yardstick to create a frame’s geometry for women.

There are precise physical differences. When there are women and men of the same height, men have longer torsos and arms, but women tend to have longer legs. Because of this, men need more cockpit space on a bike, and many bikes feel too stretched out for most women. But this doesn’t mean that every woman need to buy a bike with women’s geometry, infact some women fit also with a men’s bike.
As a rule, the average size of a women is smaller. Furthermore, they usually have smaller hands and feet, and this means that average women’s bikes should have shorter stems, smaller brake levers, narrower handlebars and shorter cranks for a more comfortable riding.

One of the more important thing is the choise of the right saddle. In comparison to men, women’s pelvises tend to tilt forward, putting weight on their pudenda. This means that a comfortable saddle should be with a shorter, well-padded nose.