31
Way back when safety bikes were becoming popular, women wore skirts. Skirt lengths were to the ankle. The dropped top bar made getting on possible while maintaining respectability. Women were considered too fragile to risk hitting the top tube, hence the slanted bar. The trend continued even long after women stopped riding in long skirts.
Modern WSD (women ...
29
This would have to be
one of the most opinion-based questions we could possibly have, and
one of the most important to deal with in a sensible manner.
Firstly, it must be said that what is safe depends on the woman's own behavioral history, and the state of the pregnancy. She certainly should not be taking up new active sports.
Some competitive sports ban ...
17
For MTB I have observed that many bikes marketed as woman specific are almost a scam, they are only the same frame with different colors and lower grade transmission parts (I remember one where the male model was 9 spd while the female was 8 spd, but the frame had pink patches... )
Before any feminist starts pointing out that I'm a male rider, let me state ...
16
Unlike riding horses, there are no body movements that are dangerous for pregnant cyclists in any stage of pregnancy when riding on roads. Mountain cycling is not as safe and I would certainly talk that over with a Dr or midwife.
The risks are mostly the same as any other road user in your area. How do car behave around cyclists and how safe are the roads ...
14
Yes, Males have a significant advantage over females, on average, for the kinds of activities society turns into sports. Males are typically larger, taller, have greater lung capacity, larger hearts, and larger oxygen carrying capacity. Male and female bodies have different ratios of muscle and fat even for two average adults of the same weight, with males ...
11
You've got two things going against you:
Height: I'd suggest avoiding 700c wheels and going for 650b (pricer) or 26" wheels. For short riders (I'd say shorter than 5'5"), these provide better fit. Surly, for example, only makes their small bikes with 26" wheels.
Weight: You're going to have to check each manufacturer's weight limit. Generally, hybrids and ...
10
If you and she are willing to throw down on a custom, I can personally recommend Violet Crown Cycles. Otherwise, consider the Rivendell Betty Foy/Ivan Gomez or building up a Soma Buena Vista... but she might actually do fine picking up a mass-market step-through that fits well (Electra, Jamis, and Trek have models worth looking at) and upgrading the ...
7
Except for differences in size (because women tend to be shorter than men), women's frames are no different than men's frames, really.
Although "step-through" frames have typically been marketed as women's frames in the USA, they're ridden by both men and women elsewhere. This type of frame is very convenient for utility and commuter bikes in urban areas ...
7
Your height might be more challenging to fit than your weight; your weight is well within tolerance for most bikes, steel or aluminum. Don't buy a too-big bike; it'll make you unhappy and might even cause injury.
Especially at first while you're still getting used to cycling, you will likely be more comfortable with a fairly upright position in the saddle. (...
7
The other answers answer your specific question of buying interruptor brakes. Interruptors are fine, but they only work when you're riding the bars and you can't shift on the bars. You should really fix the main problem which is comfort and reach when riding the hoods, which is where most people like to have their hands when road biking. It's both a safety ...
7
Some components have clearly been replaced, but it looks a lot like a 1970's Schwinn Varsity Sport
More info here
The fork rake didn't look quite right, so I kept on googling and found an ebay advert with what claims to be a 1983 model that looks an even better fit
7
The shoes and pedals that are appropriate for road cycling are the ones you feel comfortable using.
Almost all MTB shoes come with a "plug" over the screw-hole recess that you could just leave in place. Make sure that's the case with any pair she has her eye on, if she decides to go that route. These probably won't be ideal, as they're still designed to ...
6
In many cases, the difference is just related to the scent.
However, some standard chamois cream has menthol or some other "icy hot" chemical, which some women find a bit "strong" for their sensitive bits. Many women's creams use something milder, like peppermint oil.
Mad Alchemy lists some of the major ingredients in their chamois creams:
http://www....
5
Women have different leg/arm/torso ratios, so if a frame truly has a women specific geometry, you're going to typically see a shorter effective toptube and longer seat tube & headtube. For really small women's frames (and men's for that matter), the geometry starts to get really wonky because the wheel size and BB height typically don't change. I won't ...
5
For a given level of fitness, wattage is proportionate to weight: that is, a 50-kg rider who can generate 4 W/kg could be considered to be at the same level of fitness as a 75-kg rider who can also generate 4 W/kg.
When riding on level terrain, though, your power/weight ratio doesn't determine your speed, it's your raw power output. So the 75-kg rider (...
4
My mother was a similar build before she lost a lot of weight. She is the expert I turned to in order to answer the question... in her opinion a women's Electra Townie, 7 speed with 24 inch wheels is "Great for stability and the size is perfect for a 5"2' frame." She owns one, and rides often. Good luck.
4
A steel bike built to take a load (touring) and big (soft) tires. I don't like to recommend a specific bike but something like a Troll or MARRAKESH with flat bars. Troll is 26" wheels so an XS is small.
Or go with an older nice used steel mtn bike no shocks. They go for like $300 as they are very popular with refugees coming to the US. In case you are ...
4
Honestly, the back brake contributes so little to braking that its not worth fitting a dual pivot.
I'd simply change the brake pads to Kool Stop, maybe run a new inner and outer cable, and leave that single pivot in place. Clean the rim's braking track too.
Dual pivots tend to be more speed orientated, which means racing frames and cables that go in the ...
4
If the bike fits, ride it.
The average woman has different dimensions to the average man, so the make bikes with different dimensions to better suit the avenge woman and call it an womans bike (and, as you have noticed, they paint them a different co lour). Problem with all these averages is very few people (if any) are average and the range of sizes of ...
3
I would say that whether a bike is Unisex (men's) or women's specific it is of fairly little relevance. What matters more is an individual's fit on an individual bike. Tall people need big bikes, short people need smaller bikes, regardless of gender.
As it says here: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/h/option/bikesizeguide#women-bike
A women's bike is built to fit ...
3
I sold Specialized bikes for a lot of years, they do make gender specific frames, women's bikes have shorter top tubes relative to the seat tubes, this is because women on average have shorter backs and longer legs than men do, they also come with womens saddles, and sometimes women specific grips (for feminine hands). The Sectour is considered a men's frame....
3
Several options:
Public bikes - has several frame styles with step through design
Linus bikes - has several frame styles with step through design
Soma Buena Vista - a nice mixte frame style, available as a frame or complete bike.
May want to consider adding fenders with a skirt guard if she frequently rides with a longer skirt.
3
The first thing is style. There are the conventional step through/lady frames:
and
mixties
which have the same sort of clearance as step through frames but are stronger. Then there are women specific geometry bikes.
In general, both mixtes and step through bikes are inferior to the standard diamond frame due to reduced strength and stiffness, increased ...
3
Saddle comfort has many variables, addressing all of them can be scary or "drowning" for the new rider. One variable is obviously particular anatomy. As it is true that women differ from men, there can be huge differences among riders of the same gender. Also, even though there are women specific designs, a women's saddle is not radically different from a ...
3
I think a bike fit is in order at your LBS. You may need to adjust the saddle height, saddle of appropriate width, saddle angle, stem height, stem length, handlebar angle, figure out if the top tube length is appropriate, etc.
Saddle discomfort is not isolated to just the saddle, but also geometry of riding. Most road bikes force you to sit on your "sit ...
3
Thank you for advice. Thought I'd post what happened to us in the end.
My wife is still cycling (at 27 wks) from time to time although of course being more tired makes public transport more appealing.
We spent New Year in the Netherlands, as it happens, and I enjoyed seeing the child-carrying solutions there. Of course, Dutch cities are planned around ...
3
The three stars are the logo for "Malvern Star" which is an Australian brand that has been operating since 1902.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malvern_Star
http://www.malvernstar.com.au/
3
I'm not going to discuss whether she should be using full clipless instead here – that's another topic. I guess you've already tried to convince her for it?
Seeing that she doesn't: why exactly did you choose clipless shoes at all? Those don't make sense if not using clipless pedals too. For flat pedals, you want normal rubber-sole shoes, or special flat-...
3
This is exactly what I have done with my girlfriend.
Large flat pedals
Toe cage (without side straps), I picked this particar one because it's made from a pretty strong plastic/nylon so it doesn't flex much. Zefal MT 45 These imrpove pedalling efficiency from just flats and don't get in the way when the rider wants to unmount.
If she wants to consider ...
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