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Hi Everyone,
My name's Elizabeth and I'm a intern/writer for the Bicycle Paper with Seattle Publishing.
I'm working on a piece regarding if companies truly do the research to make women specific apparel or bikes.
Do any of you have some companies you'd suggest I contact? Any companies that you think DO or DON'T do the real reasearch for women specific apparel?
Elizabeth what a wonderful idea! I give you two thumbs up and can not wait to read the article. When I went looking for a bike I was frustrated at 5 feet (and not just 5 feet but very short legs and normal torso) I had trouble. Every shop said look at Trek. In my opinion they are a joke, a dumbed down bike with the WSD name. I ended up with Kona because they make a wide range of sizes and are a small and local company. I would of bought from Terry if they had more mountain bike designs, but I love and support them by buying clothes. That is just my 2 cents worth. By the way I am in Conway, WA about an hour from you. Best of luck.
Elizabeth - check with Terry Bicycles!
I'm only 5 feet -- and Kona had what I needed without getting a kids bike! (Fire Mountain)
what a great idea!
ok, i have a trek Fuel 90 WSD. I wanted a full suspension and had very few choices. The Kona small standover height was too much for my 5 foot 1 body. I think the Specialized might have been an option but wasn't going to be available in North America. and the Santa Cruz was a bit too $$$$$.
I LOVE my TREK. Everyone keeps telling me how i look so comfortable on it, and it was made just for me :D
It's a great cross country FS which is exactly what i wanted. It climbs well handles the bumps and allows me to perform on the downhills.
Happy riding
Han
Elizabeth,
I would guess that Pearl Izumi does their research. I say that because their women's chamois is truly different then the men's model (it's *perfect* for me). They also make shorts in modest lengths - not just the 5 inch inseam variety. They also offer nearly as many clothing options for women as men. One thing that nobody has been able to do yet is make bib shorts for women. I always wear mens, but the straps do require some creative sewing on my part. I hear castelli is offering a women's bib, but I have yet to see any reviews. I think that Zoic (http://www.zoic.com) also does some research. They make jersey's without the dreaded tight elastic hem! And their stuff is subtly stylish...not like that garish primal stuff. And it probably goes w/o saying, but Terry does research as well.
Shoes are another thing that I think manufacturers miss the mark on. "Built on a women's specific last" is a phrase you see often (Lake, Sidi). To me all this means is incredibly small and narrow!
Hope this helps!
The cycling world still doesn't get that women are active in the sport and we have $$$ too. I went looking for shoes recently. While Shimano, Sidi, Time, etc, make lots of different styles for men, they usually offer one style for women AND bicycle shops only carry a few sizes. Extremely frustrating!!!
As for bikes themselves, I ended up having a custom bike made eight years ago because my 40 year old back complained every time I got on my Trek. The handlebars are narrower, the geometry is narrower (I can only get one water bottle on my downtube...not good in the desert!) and the gearing is set up so that I don't lose pedal when I'm going downhill chasing bigger, heavier guys.
I hope you folks have different experiences, but I feel like I'm still not treated seriously in most bike shops. They're run by young kids (guys) and when they see a middle aged woman come in, they probably envision a bike with the fake fur seat, basket in front & Toto in the basket. As a result, they don't spend time looking for what I need ("No, I said I needed presta valve tubes, yes I said I need the cyclometer that shows cadence..").
I just hope I meet them on the road....<evil grin>
Coming from an industry background I will say it's a real catch 22. It's not cost effective to make a big selection for women, if people don't buy it. There's a good discussion of this at mountainwoman.com. It takes a lot of bucks to develop a line with no guarantees that women WILL buy from a selection offered. Or,what they DO develop will not have what YOU were looking for...
Some niche companies (look at Title 9 amd moving comfort) have had some success catering specifically to women, but look at their prices too... they have to keep them up in order to maintain the margin.
note: I think you need to find a new bike shop where they treat you better.
Penny S
I understand that if there isn't a market, it isn't cost effective to make the product. I just wanted to whine a little. It is better than ten years ago when no women's shoes were made and I had to make men's jerseys fit.
Oh, the bike shop that sold me my shoes didn't manage to get one of the cleats on properly. It was falling off after a couple of miles. (I thought, "wow, this pedal has a lot of float!") Grrrr! Next time, I'll check their work (although I won't be going back there anytime soon!).
I think that a lot of us may not support the "women specific clothing/ equipment/ whatever" because we remember the days when the quality of women's equipment was so poor compared to the men's. 10 years ago I was afraid to buy women's camping gear and climbing gear because I was sure it would fall apart. So I bought the men's because I knew it was made better. Nowadays most companies are making at least close to equal quality. But it's still hard to get over those old prejudices and habits.