Racersykkel til dame

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 I have built a couple of bike for female riders, and also have shared the trails with many females that got their bikes on their own...

I have studied may models of "women's bikes", and even from reputable brands I often find that the only meaningful diference is in the saddle.

Another difference that can really mean something is that some makers size their frames "Small", "Medium", "Large" and "Extra Large" rather than giving a size in inches, so it may happen that for some brand "Medium" for male means 17" and for female means 15". Outside that, the rest of specifications in the geometry for the same model of frame are usually the same, or small enough that are negligible.

At least in my country, the people has too many different sizes (because we have such a big mix of races in our ancestors) and while it's true that women have different proportions than men, it is also true that there can be huge differencies among males as can be among females. For example, given two people of the same gender and height, one of them can have longer legs than the other, this can hold true both for women or men. These two people clearly can not ride the same bike without some sort of adjustment.

Frame size and geometry is only one step in bike fit, you still have seatpost length, stem length, stem angle, steerer tube length and the corresponding steem spacers, handlebar style and size and saddle fore/aft position and saddle angle. As long as my experience recalls, adjusting these variables is enough to achieve a proper fit (as long as your frame is not too far from the ideal size) regardless of your gender.

However, there are a few tips that usually can narrow your search for components:

Saddle: As I said before, this is the only area where I have seen that there are real diferencies. First, while it is true thar female anatomy is diferent from male anatomy, it is also true that there can be huge differencies from one person of one gender to another of the same, so not every woman will be O.K. just with a woman's saddle.

The female riders I know are usually fine with wider saddles than a man of similar size, remember women ussually have wider hips. When the saddle has a cut groove in the center, females usually have a saddle that has a wider groove towars the front, while males are fine with a saddle that has a groove of uniform width. Also, when using a saddle that does not have any grooves, women tend to "nose down" the saddle angle.

This remembers me that the most reasonable "woman's saddle" design I have ever seen, rather than having a longitudinal groove, had a curved depression that begins roughtly and inch behind the tip of the nose and ended there the "wings" begin to spread.

Grips: Women tend to have smaller hands, so a thinner grip (resulting in smaller overall diameter) can be more suitable. Also adjust brake lever reach so the lever is closer to the grip.

Handlebar: Its width is related to the rider shoulder to shoulder width, but then you have to account for riding style and technique, so I dont take the bait on women's handlebars. For any rider, if a narrower-that-can-be-bought MTB handlebar is needed, it is fine to simply cut it off (just cut the same length from both sides). I have also seen womens handlebar marketed as such because they have smaller diameter at the ends, but, unless you buy the corresponding grip, you wont be able to use it. That's why I rather recommend to buy thinner grips (or thicker if that's the case) that provide the same final result. And unless there is color and decorative design involved, you don't necesarily need grips to be designed for women to be thinner (smaller outer diameter), there are smaller grips at te same price of regular ones, you just have to find them.

Sources: The wife, the sister, a couple of female rider friends and 3 racer ladies.

Damespesifikk geometri? Hvor viktig er dette?

Unlike many companies in the bike industry, Cervélo does not build a frameset specifically for women. "I really can’t ride the women’s bikes as they’re made by the mainstream companies," I commented. "That’s because you are a woman," quipped Vroomen. Vroomen has strong feelings on this subject, and recognizes that he is working against the grain. "It’s based on the theory that women have long legs and a short torso. The only problem with the theory is that it’s just not true," said Vroomen of the approach to building women’s bikes adopted by many companies in the cycling industry. The framesets designed for women tend to have a shorter, steeper geometry and an upright position. "That’s not performance cycling, that’s riding around and going to the bakery," argued Vroomen. Sometimes, you need a bike to get to the bakery.

But the bakery is not a bike race. "The women’s geometry, it makes some sense for people who aren’t that serious about the sport," noted Vroomen. He conceded that the marketing is very powerful all the same. "It’s such a strong story, you go to someone and you say we made this bike just for you." Still, building a bike for a small person is the same whether that person is a man or a woman, according to Vroomen. "If you look at a guy that’s 5’5" and a woman that’s 5’5", they have the same ratio." Vroomen called his bikes "small person specific." A smaller size frameset is simply different than the bigger sizes. After all, "that’s why we have sizes."

We need to "debug the myth" that women need separate bikes, Vroomen believes. Some women may want a more upright riding style, as may some men. But that preference is separate from dialing in bike fit for women. In fact, he worries that the current marketing narrative may actually turn some women away from the sport rather than helping to build it. This set of ideas, "it’s completely destructive to women in cycling," he said with only a touch of hyperbole. Certainly, sponsoring a women’s team offers Vroomen a tangible way to make the case for his approach. Garmin-Cervélo team rider Emma Pooley stands 5’1" and rides a 48 cm Cervélo S3 frameset.

Noen fabrikanter, f.eks Trek, har egne damemodeller hvor det er tatt hensyn til at damer ofte har behov for en annen geometri.

Det må vel bare innrømmes at racersykler til en som er 160 høy er ikke det største markedet... Rosa er nå litt fint også ;-).

Er det ellers noen som har noe å si om gir - er shimano 105 veien å gå, eller går det fint med litt billigere versjon? Hva med SRAM Apex? Her må det være noen med sterke meninger, ikke sant! Carbon vs. ALU, er carbon noe must?

Cannondale CAAD 8 eller 10 ........ Og prisen har vel vært rundt 10.000,- for en 10er med 105-gir. Kanskje Sportsbua har noe igjen på lager? Verdt en tur innom..........

Du kan gjøre mye med styre og stem i forhold til sittestilling

Man kan gjøre mye med styre og stem, men ikke med sittestillingen?

Bill.merk forvirret og grammatikkbevisst kverulant.

_____
steinar

Ja, jo, mulig du har et kverrulativt poeng der ;p
Hvilket ord er foretrukket, O'store norsklærer???

Det er vel ingen forskjell på dette på "herre" sykler, det vil si rammestørrelse 60 har samme type styre som rammestørrelse 44. Dette mener jeg blir litt feil, det skulle produseres sykler med forskjellige størrelse på komponenentene ut i fra rammestørrelse.