Quote Originally Posted by Koronin View Post
I'm 5'0" with short legs so I do have a hard time finding bikes to test and typically WSD bikes just don't fit me right to start with. No one ever stocks the small men's bikes ever, those are what seem to typically work best for me.
I generally stay away from these conversations...but my button has been pushed.
I hate to see someone avoid the best bike for them simply because they are angry that the bike industry dares create some difference between bikes that are MARKETED for women. It's MARKETING.

All I know is the bike shop and bike riding used to be a very lonely place for women. Now, there are TONS of women riding. I fail to see the huge problem.
Maybe the industry needs to change the name of the bikes designed for 5'6" and under people.


Many of today's women's bikes are coming stock with REALLY short stems. This is a marketing move so they can show off a very short cockpit. It has NOTHING to do with the way a bike SHOULD be set up.

My customers frequently ask for a larger size to get a more appropriate cockpit length. Often the better fit solution is to take the silly 60mm stem off and replace it with an 80 or 90.
What we try to do is ride both sizes then take the cockpit length off the larger bike and "build it into" the smaller bike.