Woman's Bike Accessories

[bettybike]

Is it me or is there a lack of woman's bike accessories on the market....does anyone know where I can find:

-'saddle' bags (something for under my saddle to store my tube etc) for my bike that are not all in boring male colors?

-instructions for bike maintenance that do not already assume I have a foundation of knowledge? Most of the instructions I see are geared towards men (or even woman) that have grown up with mechanical skills.

Just wondering. Thanks!

[pedalfaster]

Ok as an art teacher and a cyclist I can't resist. The "male colors" thing got me

First of all...a story. Last summer I had all 4 and 5 year old girls in my class. We did "cave painting" in a big cardboard box. When it was time to paint the outside of our cave I asked the group "What color shall we make it?" Six little voices (in unison) said "PINK!".

Well, I have not found any pink seatbags (yet?) but my friend Connie (who insists on calling her seat bag her "purse") is quite happy with her yellow Pedros bag


We often joke about making women's specific jerseys with special pockets for lip balm and tampons too!



Oh and I like the Park Tool site for repair help.

[Surlygirl]

Hey girls,
Check out the New Pearl Izumi Whisper Jacket in pink here at Team Estrogen. Peal Izumi is also coming out with new Road shoes in Milkshake(pink)and Black. Maybe the big guys are finally starting to realize women are out there and we are a huge market.

[kelrunran]

What also really really really bothers me is the quantity/variety of selection of women's cycling stuff compared to men's in most stores! Why do we ALWAYS get short-changed?

I just don't get it!

Kelly

[Surlygirl]

No kidding, I was in the LBS today and the men's gear outnumbered the women's three to one. Forget women's cycling shoes, practically non existent. I've become pretty savy at finding stuff on-line. Don't be afraid to order on-line, most places have a good return policy and you can find some great prices. Try to think a season ahead too. Most sites are trying to make room for their spring gear so you can find good deals on your long sleeve jerseys now for fall.

[Irulan]

baggies are my big beef. one hint for the TE site.. it's great you guys list the inseam length but what would be really cool is to talk about what kind of body type they are cut for... slim-boy hips, big butt, big thigh, curves in general or stick figures.

needless to say I have yet to try on a pair in the store and like them. I was gifted with some cannondales that are very cool, but I had to take them in at the waist.

irulan

[ChainsOflove]

SurlyGirL:

You got it right. I spoke to the Pearl Izumi rep at a recent show and he said male to female sales are 3 to one.

That was his excuse for not making tights in various inseam lengths.

[Surlygirl]

Well how can we buy it if they don't make it for us?????? I bet its 3 to 1 because they just don't have many women's clothes in most LBSs and then women are forced to buy the guys stuff, also inflating the numbers in their favor.
I did get my pink Pearl Izumi jacket today from TE and I love it. Nothing wrong with being strong female and feminine.

[Surlygirl]

Hey girl,
I just realized you are from Boston. I'm in Grafton. So where the heck is spring? If I hear snow in the forecast one more time I'm going to scream!!!!
Tomorrow is suppose to be nice before it rains again so I think I'll head out and do a rail trail. Where do you ride?
Surlygirl

[Dogmama]

When I started riding, men's clothing (including shoes) were the only clothes available. It still galls me that cycling clothes are so expensive. I wonder what the markup is with $80 Perl shorts?

[fultzie]

Cycling is definitely not on the list of "cheap" sports! I swim a lot, and did before I started biking, and used to think that $13 for goggles and $60 for a suit was expensive. Then I started shopping for a road bike... woah. you know you've found a pricey hobby when a set of rims goes for $1500.
A guy on our team claims he hasn't spent more than $800 on any one of his bikes ever (he only keeps two at a time). This same guy was calculating how many bikes a month he could buy with his new salary at Dow
Women's clothes are hard enough to find, but inexpensive ones? I'm almost convinced that they're non-existent. I generally shop for funky/retro guys' jersey's on e-bay... I saw a few for under $10! but a lot of them are kind of ugly...

[Surlygirl]

Hi Everyone,
Here are a few sites and catalogs to try. Like I said try to think a half season ahead. Some have 70.00 jerseys for 25. Also places like Nashbar and Performance are having their spring clearance to get ready for the new stuff.
Sports Basement
Campmor
Sierra Trading Post
Rei (outlet)
As far as components, I swear by Alfred E Bike (aebike.com)
and lickbike.com
Hope this helps

[SnowMouse]

The best knicks I've found are here atGround Effect . The jitterbugs and Witches Britches rock! A beautifully cosy chammy and simple womanly shaped design. And for you Americans it's NZ$ so it's dirt cheap.

Unfortunately everything just went u7p in price by about 10% doh!

[Irulan]

I make my own:

http://www.specialtyoutdoors.com/tips/pgallery.asp

some of you have seen this already.

[SnowMouse]

That is so fantastic Irulan, I didn't realise you made your own! It's such a bummer trying to get feminine gear here in Oz. All my 'girlie' gear has been bought from the States. I'm waiting on the Precaryous 'Dirt Angel' jersey to arrive any day now from this site. Pretty gear and the quilts are lovely too. Where can I order the one you have at the Mt Spokane Ski Patrol?