Bike for Ladies

hothead

Hello,
My wife is thinking about getting a road bike, does she have to look for Ladies bikes or will she be o.k looking at normal bikes, she is 5ft so maybe junior bike would be o.k?

Any advice please

allaction

Generally ladies bikes have narrower bars and are adjusted for the female torso. That means the top tube and possibly cranks will be better suited to a female geometry. You should be fine with a juniors however as it is down to personal fit. Just go and try a few and see which she likes best.

BeaconRuth

Women-specific design racing bikes are a fairly new invention I believe, with women making do with small versions of 'men's bikes' in the past. I've personally never bought a bike that was specifically designed for women - though your wife at just 5ft is going to struggle to find an adult 'men's' bike to get even close to fitting her. There may be WSD bikes that small though. I agree that looking at good quality junior bikes would be a good idea. But as Allaction says - fit and comfort is everything to don't get hung up on who the bike was designed for.

Ruth

Alex_Simmons/RST

Here's a couple of items of interest on bike fitting for women:

http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf%20fin ... issues.pdf
http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf%20fin ... issues.pdf

TomF

I am due to be collecting Mrs TomF's new bike on Saturday: a 39cm Giant SCR3. It's women's specific and, because she's only 4'10", the extra small frame means it has 650c wheels (which I think is fine - all she wants to do is join me on some rides and get herself fit).

It may be worth Mrs Hothead going somewhere to be measured on a jig (Mrs TomF went to see Paul Hewitt in Leyland - cost £25 for over an hour of his time). It will give an idea of what bikes are realistically in her range - after all, she's much more likely to ride it if it fits!

Tom

suze

I have to agree with Ruth here. I too have never rode a womens specific bike in 30 years of riding. Though at 5" I'm sure your wife will need to either look a women specific or bikes designed for juniors. As Ruth says don't get hung up on who the bike was designed to fit. If it fits your wife then it probably right for her. I would go further to say get her to try lots of bikes before she chooses the one for her. Also get along to a reputable dealer who'll give you great advice, I can vouch for Brian Rourke in Stoke.

pedalrog

Mrs Pedalrog recently had a Trek wsd and I have to say, it's brilliant! It fits her far better than a standard mens bike.

Melpro

I didn't want to have to get a women specific bike either but as I'm only 5ft I didn't have a lot of choice as the top tubes on may frames are too long. However, I ended up with a Trek Madone 5.2 and I have to say it fits perfectly and I can even reach the brake levers without any adjustment required.

With regards to trying a few different types, unfortunately in my case this wasn't possible as many bike shops only keep ( in-store) the standard sizes. If your wife is able to get a proper bike fitting I would advise doing it.

From my recent experience the makes with smaller frame sizes and women specific are Trek, Specialized, Giant, Cinelli and Orbea.

Good luck finding one.