Any women road cyclists out there?

teamtalairan

Any women road cyclists out there? Do you have a men's or women's saddle? Any recommendations?

Rich Hcp

Hi,

Specialized do a whole range of D4W bikes, saddles etc

hilza

I ride a womens' saddle, the extra width is so much more comfortable.

Lady Venom

I have women's shoes and clothing and that's about all. Have no problems riding male bikes, male saddles. The colour of women's bike is dire... i mean lilac and silver, come on!

hilza

Lady Venom wrote:

I have women's shoes and clothing and that's about all. Have no problems riding male bikes, male saddles. The colour of women's bike is dire... i mean lilac and silver, come on!

I hate how women's bikes are always such dull/'feminine' colours- what's wrong with them designing them in Blue, Red, Black or Orange?!
Do you not find men's saddles a bit unconfortable after 10 or so miles?

Lady Venom

hilza wrote:

Lady Venom wrote:

I have women's shoes and clothing and that's about all. Have no problems riding male bikes, male saddles. The colour of women's bike is dire... i mean lilac and silver, come on!

I hate how women's bikes are always such dull/'feminine' colours- what's wrong with them designing them in Blue, Red, Black or Orange?!
Do you not find men's saddles a bit unconfortable after 10 or so miles?

No, I'm generally fine. Only get a bit achy in shorts with zilcho padding. And yes, I looked at women's bike and was offended by the colours.

Namely stuff like this


I mean you're meant to pay over a grand for this bike and there is nothing menacing about it! My bianchi is all black, Iove it.

Ands

teamtalairan wrote:

Any women road cyclists out there? Do you have a men's or women's saddle? Any recommendations?

Hi, I changed to a Bontrager WSD over the summer and am really pleased with it. http://bontrager.com/model/07137 . I had a Selle ladies cutout before which I grew to loathe. I tried a men's saddle (Fizik Arione) for a bit but didn't get on with it.

Ands

Lady Venom wrote:

The colour of women's bike is dire... i mean lilac and silver, come on!

Agree. Orbea have got a wide range of women's frames and the best looking ones are the black ones with a secondary colour. However there is the obligatory pink and white frame, and also a sickly baby blue one! I think the women's FP3 only comes in 2 colour schemes, one of them being pink. I like road bikes to look agressive and slick and baby blue doesn't do it for me!

teamtalairan

Yes I have just bought a Raleigh Avanti U6 Comp from Wiggle (£599 down from £1000) which has arrived and is fantastic and the saddle looks the business, but I think after 80 miles it might not feel the business. I looked at the bontrager saddle recently and thought it looked good - glad to hear a good review.

TheDrunkMonk

I'm willing to put my neck on the line here and talk with admitted ignorance on the subject, but if you can buy frames for a man with any geometry and for every conceivable leg, body length etc, why do women’s' race bikes exist? (saddles OK, I get that) I'm in a house here with a woman and five year old girl, and I'm not a medical professional or anything, but giving them a quick glance over, they don't appear to be a different species, you know two legs, a torso, two arms, erm... green skin, antenae, long scaly giraffe necks and side closing eyelids, like me.

I'm guessing (again) women’s' bikes are more expensive with less choice, like women's specific car insurance.

So with not even the merest pretence of expertise, I say everybody should be able to pick any bike they like and point out the adjustable seat post, range of stem/crank lengths to the person(s) in the local bike shop and see what they can do. If you love pastels and butterflies, they've got those too.

Everything I write seems like a long and pointless rant, but really it's not, it's spoken softly like a camp pontificating guinea pig or like Michael Jackson after a smoking a packet of Camels... my writing voice that is, not my real voice. My real voice sounds like a camel after smoking a packet of Michael Jacksons. Creepy sexy, a touch phlegmy on the higher notes. "Who's bad?"

flite

My most comfortable saddle is a 1993 Selle Italia Flite that I inherited on my Dad's bike - it's more comfy than any of the women's saddles I have tried - and keep trying......
When I was a lass, we all road unisex bikes.
Have you seen Pearson's pink women's bike in their new catalogue? I still reckon they are less likely to get nicked.
There is certainly less choice in women's bikes, especially at a high spec.
Clothes are better - I rather like endura's blue baa baa base layer - but I want it in deep crimson for next year!

To get back to the original question - saddles are such a personal choice. By all means listen to advice, but in the end its trial and error to find what suits you

Joycie

You can get fitted for a Bontranger saddle - three separate widths depending on how far apart your sit bones are...

LittleB0b

teamtalairan wrote:

Any women road cyclists out there?

yes, there's plenty (but then you know that right?)

Do you have a men's or women's saddle?

I started off with a unisex - but moved to a womens after a nasty sore (shudder)

Any recommendations?

I have one of the bontrager wsd saddles - It's OK, still a tiny bit nippy, and need to get up and move around now and then - but much better. It was quite cheap IIRC

Terry seem to have a good rep. (minx girl is a UK stockist)

Do a search for womens saddles to find other threads on the same subject. Also worth checking out the Team Eostrogen forums for very in-depth discussions (although be warned you might be a bit overloaded with info)

leedsmjh

Selle Italia SLK Lady Gel Flow for me

Not perfect but I get on better with it than the Fizik Vitesse

neeb

I'm willing to put my neck on the line here and talk with admitted ignorance on the subject, but if you can buy frames for a man with any geometry and for every conceivable leg, body length etc, why do women’s' race bikes exist? (saddles OK, I get that) I'm in a house here with a woman and five year old girl, and I'm not a medical professional or anything, but giving them a quick glance over, they don't appear to be a different species, you know two legs, a torso, two arms, erm... green skin, antenae, long scaly giraffe necks and side closing eyelids, like me.

The thing is, when you are buying off-the-peg bikes there is usually only one geometry for a given model (although different sizes). This is a compromise, it will be ideal for the averagely shaped person, but if you are at the extremes in terms of ratio of leg length to total height/arm length you may have problems. Women on average have longer legs and shorter upper bodies, so bikes designed for women will usually have slightly shorter top tubes in relation to the rest of the frame dimensions. This will be perfect for the average woman, in the same way that the men's size is perfect for the average man, but any given man or woman could possibly be better off on a bike designed for the opposite sex. I have one female friend who is at the extreme of female proportions, so her saddle height is probably about the same as mine although her reach is probably about 5-10cm less! She would have difficulties getting fitted for any man's bike, although probably most women could manage perfectly well on a man's bike of the appropriate size.

MARKIE METAL HIP

I think female cyclists are great

jibberjim

neeb wrote:

Women on average have longer legs and shorter upper bodies, so bikes designed for women will usually have slightly shorter top tubes in relation to the rest of the frame dimensions.

Except of course, women don't have longer legs and shorter upper bodies, at least not in young adults in south east england, where the studies have it the other way, men having longer legs for their height. This longer legs, shorter upper bodies is a myth, it is true for some ethnic and regional groups, but the UK doesn't appear to be one, where it's men with longer legs. Although the majority of men tend to prefer longer leg to body ratio.

neeb wrote:

This will be perfect for the average woman, in the same way that the men's size is perfect for the average man, but any given man or woman could possibly be better off on a bike designed for the opposite sex.

Indeed, which is the important point, a bike that fits.

neeb

This longer legs, shorter upper bodies is a myth,

Actually, I did see some research supporting what you are saying once (possibly the same research). But it goes against my experience, just walking around and looking at people.. maybe young women in SE England are freaks in some way (essex girls..? )

jibberjim

neeb wrote:

This longer legs, shorter upper bodies is a myth,

Actually, I did see some research supporting what you are saying once (possibly the same research). But it goes against my experience, just walking around and looking at people.. maybe young women in SE England are freaks in some way (essex girls..? )

Remember the attractiveness thing means women often wear heels / dress etc. to make their legs look longer and their torsos shorter, so your eyes might be fooling you.

amyabcd

leedsmjh wrote:

Selle Italia SLK Lady Gel Flow for me

Not perfect but I get on better with it than the Fizik Vitesse

Just to prove we are all different I have both and am the other way round! I'm afraid it is trial and error. I also like the specialized windie but only for rides of 30 miles or so. I hear the charge Ladle is comfy too. It may be worth a go at £25 ish.

andy_wrx

As well as perhaps having slightly different frame geometry, women's bikes will typically have
- a women's saddle
- a shorter stem than a men's bike (the shorter upper body/shorter arms thing debated above again),
- narrower bars (for narrower shoulders)
- short-reach STI's/brake levers (for smaller hands)
- shorter cranks (less muscle power, less torque)
- plus possibly a triple where the men's bike will have a compact (again, less power, less torque, need lower gears...)
- plus of course a pink/white/baby-blue colour scheme !

Yeah, assuming you're what-the-designer-thinks-is-a-typical-woman, this is of course better than a men's bike. But if you're not what they think is typical, it's not. Or some bits might be and others not.

Cos best of all of course, whether you're a man or woman, is a bike which is not only off-the-peg 'your size' but has been fine-tuned set-up correctly for you, your body dimensions, your flexibility, your fitness level, your cycling goals.
A decent bike shop ought to do this when they sell the bike, but many don't.

slowlanejane

I have a mans saddle but cant ride it in anything but uber-padded shorts, so just switched to the bontrager WSD having pikced up from other lady-cyclists on here that its good. I went to bontrager website to find a local stockist & emailed in advance to check they has stock & the sizing doo-dah first.

Was a shade under £50

First ride on it will be today so dont know how successul it will be, but Bonty have a comfort g'tee so am hoping if it doesn't work out they'll offer a solution.

slowlanejane

... and ditto ladies saddles the problems with design of ladies bikes.

While shopping round for the saddle, I noted one of the leading saddle brands (cant remember which) had 20 saddles for men - every size, every function, different ranges, several colours.

ONE for the Laydees, white with pink trim.

Grrr!!!

Some bike manufacturers should log on here for a bit of market research