"Men's" vs. "Women's" bicycles

There is a question that bothers me. I am a man, and a heterosexual
one at that, but yet I prefer women's bicycles, all other things being
equal. They are easier to use for me. Easier to get on and off etc. My
question is, why are not all bicycles made like women's bicycles, do
men's bicycles offer any technical advantages or not.

i

Dans le message de ,
Ignoramus4707 a réfléchi, et puis a
déclaré :
There is a question that bothers me. I am a man, and a heterosexual
one at that, but yet I prefer women's bicycles, all other things being
equal. They are easier to use for me. Easier to get on and off etc. My
question is, why are not all bicycles made like women's bicycles, do
men's bicycles offer any technical advantages or not.

i

If the bikes you like make you want to ride more, and you've tried others
and not liked them, why change ? Wear out some tires !
--
Bonne route !

Sandy
Verneuil-sur-Seine FR

On May 29, 10:26 am, Ignoramus4707
wrote:
There is a question that bothers me. I am a man, and a heterosexual
one at that, but yet I prefer women's bicycles, all other things being
equal. They are easier to use for me. Easier to get on and off etc. My
question is, why are not all bicycles made like women's bicycles, do
men's bicycles offer any technical advantages or not.

Are you talking about a "mixte" style, i.e., where there is no top
tube? Well, if you got the $$$, Rivendell has a "mixte" style bike for
MEN and women. The MEN"s version is called the Wilbury; the women's
version is the Glorius:

http://www.rivbike.com/bikes/mixte

I saw one once, the guy was riding around the parking lot of a coffee
shop. Not sure how far he rides on it, never seen one on the road, but
I'm sure its fine for tootin' around. Check it out!

On Tue, 29 May 2007 19:41:11 +0200, Sandy wrote:
Dans le message de ,
Ignoramus4707 a réfléchi, et puis a
déclaré :
There is a question that bothers me. I am a man, and a heterosexual
one at that, but yet I prefer women's bicycles, all other things being
equal. They are easier to use for me. Easier to get on and off etc. My
question is, why are not all bicycles made like women's bicycles, do
men's bicycles offer any technical advantages or not.

i

If the bikes you like make you want to ride more, and you've tried others
and not liked them, why change ? Wear out some tires !

I actually agree and have no plans to change my bicycle, despite
having gotten a 80's steel framed Peuegot for free recently. It is
just a question that I wanted to ask.

i

On 29 May 2007 10:43:00 -0700, bfd wrote:
On May 29, 10:26 am, Ignoramus4707
wrote:
There is a question that bothers me. I am a man, and a heterosexual
one at that, but yet I prefer women's bicycles, all other things being
equal. They are easier to use for me. Easier to get on and off etc. My
question is, why are not all bicycles made like women's bicycles, do
men's bicycles offer any technical advantages or not.

Are you talking about a "mixte" style, i.e., where there is no top
tube?

Yes, in my bicycle, there is no top tube, there is a bottom tube and
two "higher" tubes that also go down.

Well, if you got the $$$, Rivendell has a "mixte" style bike for
MEN and women. The MEN"s version is called the Wilbury; the women's
version is the Glorius:

http://www.rivbike.com/bikes/mixte

I saw one once, the guy was riding around the parking lot of a coffee
shop. Not sure how far he rides on it, never seen one on the road, but
I'm sure its fine for tootin' around. Check it out!


Looks similar, except mine has two "top" tubes that are downsloping.

i

Ignoramus4707 wrote:
There is a question that bothers me. I am a man, and a heterosexual
one at that, but yet I prefer women's bicycles, all other things being
equal. They are easier to use for me. Easier to get on and off etc. My
question is, why are not all bicycles made like women's bicycles, do
men's bicycles offer any technical advantages or not.

i


If women didn't wear skirts we all would ride 'men's bikes' I think. A
'men's' bike frame is .....eh..... stiffer. Do a full loaded tour on a
women's bike, you will notice. But for most of the time this isn't a
problem. So ride what you like. My grandpa kept riding his 'women's'
bike till he was 85 years old.

Lou
--
Posted by news://news.nb.nu (http://www.nb.nu)

On May 29, 12:43 pm, bfd wrote:
On May 29, 10:26 am, Ignoramus4707
wrote: There is a question that bothers me. I am a man, and a heterosexual
one at that, but yet I prefer women's bicycles, all other things being
equal. They are easier to use for me. Easier to get on and off etc. My
question is, why are not all bicycles made like women's bicycles, do
men's bicycles offer any technical advantages or not.

Are you talking about a "mixte" style, i.e., where there is no top
tube? Well, if you got the $$$, Rivendell has a "mixte" style bike for
MEN and women. The MEN"s version is called the Wilbury; the women's
version is the Glorius:

http://www.rivbike.com/bikes/mixte

I saw one once, the guy was riding around the parking lot of a coffee
shop. Not sure how far he rides on it, never seen one on the road, but
I'm sure its fine for tootin' around. Check it out!

Are you on salary with Rivendell, or are you paid per pro-Rivendell
troll?

On Tue, 29 May 2007 20:00:42 +0200, Lou Holtman wrote:
Ignoramus4707 wrote:
There is a question that bothers me. I am a man, and a heterosexual
one at that, but yet I prefer women's bicycles, all other things being
equal. They are easier to use for me. Easier to get on and off etc. My
question is, why are not all bicycles made like women's bicycles, do
men's bicycles offer any technical advantages or not.

i


If women didn't wear skirts we all would ride 'men's bikes' I think. A
'men's' bike frame is .....eh..... stiffer. Do a full loaded tour on a
women's bike, you will notice. But for most of the time this isn't a
problem. So ride what you like. My grandpa kept riding his 'women's'
bike till he was 85 years old.

I see. I do not do full loaded tours, at most I have a 40 lb kid in
the back seat.

i

On May 29, 12:26 pm, Ignoramus4707
wrote:
There is a question that bothers me. I am a man, and a heterosexual
one at that, but yet I prefer women's bicycles, all other things being
equal. They are easier to use for me. Easier to get on and off etc. My
question is, why are not all bicycles made like women's bicycles, do
men's bicycles offer any technical advantages or not.

i

They're usually much stiffer. Mixtes can be pretty stiff compared to
regular wimmen's bikes, I've had a nice mixte Frenchie bike that I
liked a lot. Stiff matters when you're whanging on the cranks hard, or
descending quickly.

That said, my flip-flop (shoe) bike is a candy apple red drop tube
Raleigh. It's great for what it's intended for, and people tend to
wave at me while I'm on it like I'm in parade. Take it over 25mph
downhill and it feels sketchy, so I don't do that.

Drop frame bikes are popular for both genders in most of Scandinavia,
Hollad, Germany and likely other places that use bikes for urban
transport. They still have men's bikes, but there's no social stigma
to riding a drop tube frame, that's a pretty uniquely American thing.

Ride yours and I'll ride mine. I'm so comfortable in my masculinity
that I ride mine often in wooden clogs while ringing its bell. Try it,
motorists will give you LOTS of room if you do. ;^)

"Ignoramus4707" wrote in message
...
On 29 May 2007 10:43:00 -0700, bfd wrote:
On May 29, 10:26 am, Ignoramus4707
wrote:
There is a question that bothers me. I am a man, and a heterosexual
one at that, but yet I prefer women's bicycles, all other things
being
equal. They are easier to use for me. Easier to get on and off etc.
My
question is, why are not all bicycles made like women's bicycles, do
men's bicycles offer any technical advantages or not.

Are you talking about a "mixte" style, i.e., where there is no top
tube?

Yes, in my bicycle, there is no top tube, there is a bottom tube and
two "higher" tubes that also go down.

Well, if you got the $$$, Rivendell has a "mixte" style bike for
MEN and women. The MEN"s version is called the Wilbury; the women's
version is the Glorius:

http://www.rivbike.com/bikes/mixte

I saw one once, the guy was riding around the parking lot of a coffee
shop. Not sure how far he rides on it, never seen one on the road, but
I'm sure its fine for tootin' around. Check it out!


Looks similar, except mine has two "top" tubes that are downsloping.

i

Mixte frames from most European (especially French) bike makers came with
a pair of parallel sloping tubes 12mm to 16mm in diameter (1/2" to 5/8")
instead of a top tube. On the continent, men as well as women rode/ride
mixte frame bikes, especially anyone who may have had problems swinging
their leg over the top tube.

Chas.