frame style for women - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

09-08-2003, 06:38 PM

Why are women's style frames designed with the super sloped top tube?
I am looking at bikes for my wife and cannot figure out why women's
bikes are stilled designed like the rider is going to wear a skirt.
How many women out there are riding a hybrid male designed frame?

09-08-2003, 08:22 PM

> Why are women's style frames designed with the super sloped top tube?
> I am looking at bikes for my wife and cannot figure out why women's
> bikes are stilled designed like the rider is going to wear a skirt.
> How many women out there are riding a hybrid male designed frame?

*Some* women's bikes are designed like that, not all. In the old days,
sure, the idea was that you could wear a skirt and ride, but the main reason
*some* women prefer that style today (as well as some men, but most resist)
has to do with the ease of getting onto and off of the bike... no lifting
the leg over the top tube to get on.

Generally you won't see "women's" road bikes built with such a
strongly-sloping top tube, because the design isn't quite as strong as the
traditional double-diamond frame, and road frames typically have much
thinner tubing. But hybrids and low-end mountain bike frames don't have
this problem (because the frames are relatively heavy and overbuilt), so
that's where you'll typically see such designs.

What type of bike are you looking for?

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

09-09-2003, 04:38 AM

rfford1 wrote:
> Why are women's style frames designed with the super sloped top tube? I
> am looking at bikes for my wife and cannot figure out why women's bikes
> are stilled designed like the rider is going to wear a skirt. How many
> women out there are riding a hybrid male designed frame?

Actually, I looked at both men's and women's hybrid frames this spring
and opted for the women's frame because I ride in a skirt sometimes.
This bike was bought for primarily commuting and it just made sense to
have the option, despite the weight penalty.

Next bike will undoubtedly be the diamond frame because it will be a
touring bike where riding in a skirt won't be a concern and the weight
vs strength aspects of the bike take on more importance.

--
Insanity has its price -- Please have exact change.

>--------------------------<
Posted via cyclingforums.com
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09-09-2003, 07:41 AM

"Brunswick_kate" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:3f5dce5b$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].au...

> rfford1 wrote:

> > Why are women's style frames designed with the super sloped top tube? I
> > am looking at bikes for my wife and cannot figure out why women's bikes
> > are stilled designed like the rider is going to wear a skirt. How many
> > women out there are riding a hybrid male designed frame?

> Actually, I looked at both men's and women's hybrid frames this spring
> and opted for the women's frame because I ride in a skirt sometimes.
> This bike was bought for primarily commuting and it just made sense to
> have the option, despite the weight penalty.
>
> Next bike will undoubtedly be the diamond frame because it will be a
> touring bike where riding in a skirt won't be a concern and the weight
> vs strength aspects of the bike take on more importance.

The traditional "women's" frame is also handy when carrying bulky items, like
surfboards, or baskets full of baguettes.

Whether you carry a surfboard vertically on a rear rack or under your arm, it's
easier with a step-through frame. Where I come from, real surfers ride girls'
bikes. Note that under-the-arm requires a coaster brake too, so the hot setup
is one of those kick-back two or three speed coaster brake hubs.

When I was a kid there was a one-armed surfer in my neighborhood, who rode all
the way to the beach no-hands, carrying his surfboard. Quite a feat, really,
3-4 miles through heavy traffic, and down/up one pretty good hill.

Matt O.

09-09-2003, 10:03 PM

Tue, 09 Sep 2003 19:12:06 GMT,
<aCp7b.4903$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].com>,
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].org> wrote:
>
>I wear not skirts on my velocipede Sir!
>
>I can never decide which one goes with the paint scheme on the OCR-2.

Titanium goes with everything, dear.
--
zk

09-10-2003, 11:42 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] wrote in message news:<4cd7e555.0309081838.b50e97f@posting.google.c om>...
> Why are women's style frames designed with the super sloped top tube?
> I am looking at bikes for my wife and cannot figure out why women's
> bikes are stilled designed like the rider is going to wear a skirt.
> How many women out there are riding a hybrid male designed frame?

Fret Not! And be patient, Grant Petersen/Rivendell is planning on
coming out with a "mixte" lugged, steel frameset/bike soon. Not sure
if it will be a Riv custom, in which case the frameset will cost
between $2300-2500; or maybe it will be a japanese made frame only ala
Riv's Rambo, which will cost in the $1,000 range; or maybe a complete
bike like their current Romulus, in which case the bike will cost
*around* $1700-1800 complete. Not sure how much demand there will be
for this type of frame, but that 1/1000 of 1% of the cycling
population will no longer be ignored.

Further, Grant/Riv states they're going to come out with a *new* mt
bike that will have a standard steel fork - none of that sissy
suspension stuff for those guys AND a frame that will take
*centerpull* brakes. Yup, Grant got Dia-Comp/Dia-tech to make him up a
batch of the old centerpull brakes found on most bikes from like the
1960s or 70s (before Campy sidepulls started dominating). Hey, it
worked in 1978 or was it 1982, so why not now?....

09-11-2003, 09:10 PM

<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>Zoot Katz <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
>> Tue, 09 Sep 2003 19:12:06 GMT,
>> <aCp7b.4903$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].com>,
>> <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].org> wrote:
>>>
>>>I wear not skirts on my velocipede Sir!
>>>
>>>I can never decide which one goes with the paint scheme on the OCR-2.
>
>> Titanium goes with everything, dear.
>
>Forsooth! This is just the kind of reasoning I need to use with the
>SO. "But Sweetie! I *need* another bicycle, the Titanium will match
>with anything!". And then I can use the appeal to authority argument
>and say Zoot said it twas so.
>
>If only I could work Fabrizio into the line of logic somehow...

Please don't use his name and the word "logic" in the same sentence.
He gets testy.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Home of the $695 ti frame

09-12-2003, 03:41 AM

On Fri, 12 Sep 2003 05:10:19 GMT, Mark Hickey <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
>> If only I could work Fabrizio into the line of logic somehow...
>
> Please don't use his name and the word "logic" in the same sentence.
> He gets testy.

Yes, and logic itself gets downright angry.

> Mark Hickey
> Habanero Cycles
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
> Home of the $695 ti frame
--
Rick Onanian