Bicycles intended for men have a top tube that always hits me on that embrassing part when I brake.
Conversely, women's bikes often don't have a top tube. Why is this?
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30I'm totally leaving the tag for bearings.– Criggie ♦Commented Jul 17, 2016 at 4:17
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43The question that strikes me is... exactly how are you nutting yourself on the top tube when braking? Nearest I've come was my front wheel stopping in a pothole while braking, and I was insufficiently braced, slid forward and struck the stem. To hit the top tube you'd have to be moving forwards off the saddle and then downward. Can you please expand? I suspect your braking technique could be better.– Criggie ♦Commented Jul 17, 2016 at 4:20
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8I suspect he's braking to a stop and putting one or more feet down.– andy256Commented Jul 17, 2016 at 5:33
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9Unless you're in Scotland, men don't wear skirts. And if your bike is properly sized you should have few problems with it striking you in an unpleasant spot.– Daniel R HicksCommented Jul 17, 2016 at 12:09
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4Men also ride bikes that have "step through" geometry. Calling such a geometry a women's bike is kinda silly but understanable. This geometry is popular for city/utility bikes because it makes mounting/dismounting slightly easier because you don't have swing your leg over the seat from behind. Obviously this becomes more important for riders who are wearing a pencil skirt but it can be appreciated by folks wearing pants too.– AngeloCommented Jul 18, 2016 at 19:34
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3 Answers
Frames designed for women do have that part - its called a top tube.
Historically women wore skirts, so a lower frame in the middle made it easier to mount and dismount, and was less likely to accidentally show too much of their leg.
This picture shows a modern "woman's frame" with the top tube paralleling the downtube, and attaching to the seat tube lower down.
Positives:
- Skirts
- Ease of mounting
Negatives:
- Bike is flexier because of fewer triangles
- Bike is built heavier to reduce flex
Another frame designed for with these positives is the Mixte frame, where the top tube is replaced by two separate tubes similar to chainstays and seatstays. These pass around the seattube and terminate at the headtube and the rear dropout, increasing the stiffness of the bike. They're still heavier than a normal Diamond Frame bike.
Here's a photo of a Peugot showing the twin tubes.
Finally - there's absolutely nothing wrong with a woman riding a DF bike frame. The main differences now are about proportions, not whether the rider wears a skirt. There are situations where a man fits a "woman's frame" better than a "man's frame"
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1Actually, the Mixte is only marginally heavier than the equivalent diamond frame. The main problem with the design is that it's too stiff. Commented Jul 17, 2016 at 12:11
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1Of course there's also an in between frame (common on women's MTBs) with a single "top" tube on a similar angle to the twin tubes of the mixte (sloping but not as much as a step-through)– Chris HCommented Jul 17, 2016 at 12:26
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1@ChrisH True - all variations on the same concept of "lowering the top tube"– Criggie ♦Commented Jul 18, 2016 at 20:12
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3@ChrisH Why it is too stiff? Or how can it be stiffer than men's diamond-shaped frame?– CrowleyCommented Jul 19, 2016 at 16:09
Back in the day, women primarily wore dresses, and getting the dress over the top tube was difficult and awkward. So the women's bike was developed with a slanted or sloped top tube so women could step though with their dresses and ride without their dresses coming up.
Although the top tube shouldn't be hitting you in that "embarrassing part" when you're braking, regardless of it being a men's bike or women's.
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39This woman must be doing an impressive track stand, considering how long photograph exposures were!– Criggie ♦Commented Jul 17, 2016 at 4:32
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3@Criggie Good point! And all this while looking totally relaxed... Or it was some early occurrence of Photoshop ;-) Commented Jul 17, 2016 at 9:26
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9The first "snapshot" exposures were around 1878, but she might be bolted to the wall I suppose. Commented Jul 17, 2016 at 10:38
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2@BenediktBauer: yeah, but it wasn't that easy back then... that's clearly a greenscreen backdrop, but they couldn't be bothered to edit it out completely. Commented Jul 17, 2016 at 22:28
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6There are wires and anchors holding the bike up; you can see the left-side anchor in the background immediately behind the front wheel. You can see where the right-side wire was painted out (because they were hardcore then and did the “photo shop” directly on the originals!) by looking for the line of fuzziness between the rear hub and the fold in the dropcloth nearest the left edge of the photo. Commented Jul 19, 2016 at 15:15
Women's bicycles have the front tube designed to curve down for their skirts, else while moving fast against the air may cause embarrassment whilst in public.
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A girl with short skirts on a bicycle ( men's design with straight front tube) against heavy wind may be embarrassed. Commented Jul 18, 2016 at 20:43
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5Similarly, men should avoid excessively loose fitting shorts (or indeed skirts or kilts) when on a recumbent. Especially near bees.– armbCommented Jul 19, 2016 at 14:40
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@armb oh how I wish I could +100 that response! Gold! LOL Commented Mar 7, 2018 at 23:41