How do you deal with this?

[CatGirl]

I'm hoping to commute more to work. Thing is... most of my work clothes are skirts! How do you smart ladies deal with this? Do they make "girl's" bikes anymore? I'm always willing to shop for another bike.

[Cyclo Kitty]

I've experimented with a few ways to wear skirts on bikes, since pants that fit a hard to find.

1. Shorts under skirts. Tilt the bike down and step over it. This does not work with pencil skirts or jeans skirts. I change out of cycling shorts & into regular underthings at work. This works very well with knit skirts, and is only possible because I work for a very flexible non-profit.

2. Ride in comfort, pack a change of clothes. There are multiple ways to do this, as in drive in with a bunch of outfits on Monday, change when you to work...works best with showers and changing rooms. Not always so good in the rain, as you can arrive quite wet. Helmet covers are very helpful in maintaining dry-ish hair.

3. And yes, they DO make "girls bikes," AKA step-thru frames. Felt, Electra, Raleigh, Giant, Cannondale all make commuter-friendly step-thru frames. (As do Pashley and Fuji). I would love to link to all the sites as I did a lot of research on this earlier, but I have to go run errands.

If you do go for a step-thru, you should include fenders in the wish list, and ideally a skirt guard. European bikes often have these-- they keep your skirt from getting caught in the rear spokes.

Jean skirts and pencil skirts are still not so great, even on a girl's bike, at least IMO.

Shopping for a new bike-- way fun! Riding to work looking & feeling great-- even better.

[OakLeaf]

Trek makes mixtes also. My commuter is a Navigator 200 and I wear a skirt to church or out to dinner now and then. But it's only a couple of miles. Years and years ago I used to commute in a skirt on a diamond frame bike.

Even on a mixte, fuller skirts work better - but not so full that they'll get caught in your rear brake!

[GLC1968]

I have an old mixte frame that I commute on. I wear skirts occasionally, and it works just fine.

I do have one issue though - wind. When the wind really whips up, I find myself snatching that skirt back down too often for comfort. It's dangerous. Anyone have any ideas? I'm thinking of tying some type of weight to a clothes pin. I could clip it to the edge of the skirt and let it hang between my legs when on the bike to keep my skirt down?

[chakra]

You could wear cotton or bamboo capris under your skirt - I don't have to worry about the skirt flying up then!

And I really like having a chain guard on my bike, though that doesn't work so well with a triple - I'm not sure you can get a chain guard that would fit over a triple - my bike (Townie 8) has nexus gearing.

On the surly LHT (diamond frame) I wear capris over fuller, shorter skirts, and that's worked fine so far, but I much prefer a mixte frame for skirts.

It's making me want a Rivendell Glorius, dammit!!

This forum is altogether dangerous, cos there are just too many nice bikes to want

Chakra

[Cyclo Kitty]

Capris/leggings are better than shorts, absolutely. I wore too-short shorts one day with a very "flippy" skirt. I wasn't flashing anything, but it looked like I was. Hard to ride with one hand pulling down the skirt...
My favorite is really The Pashley Princess but I ride a San Jose in a skirt just the same.

[chakra]

Ooh, yes, that Pashley is V. nice.

A Skirt guard!! That's what I need!

Wonder if one would fit on a bike with caliper brakes though?

Chakra

[malkin]

With a long enough full skirt, you can tuck the middle of the back hem into the front of the waistband and it will make sort of pantaloons.

Sometimes with a billowy dress I'll tie it in a knot over my knee or wrap a hair tie around a bunch of it.

[uforgot]

I have a mixte and a regular step through also. Skirts with shorts or pants under them work perfectly on these. You can usually find a mixte on ebay or craigslist for very little. Check out this thread.
The current "modern" mixtes are pretty pricey (and by the way, those bikes by Trek are not considered mixtes). You can get a classic, however, and they are perfect commuters. Outfit it however you like. Baskets, moustache bars, etc. Once you look at that thread you will have to have one!

[shootingstar]

I'm sure you'll find a bike solution..also cycle-commuting alot in the future might change your fashion style ..to consider certain dress/ skirt styles that you don't/hardly wear.

I just went to a bike art gallery showing.last night and there was a fun bike fashion show. The models were cycling on bikes..in their chic outfits.

As for me, cycle-commuting has changed me alot in terms of my work clothing and fashion sense. But I don't bike in skirts/dresses. I'm more basic and do still wear short skirts several inches above my knee.

I care less about dresses/skirts...and I'm someone who used to sew 80% of my wardrobe prior to cycling passion. I just enjoy watching fashion shows and window shopping now.