How to get more women into cycling

[Owlie]

This makes me nuts. I am 5'10" and get steered towards WSD in shops. I don't fit WSD anything. Unfortunately many shop employees look at a female customer and instinctively point her in that direction. It's great that there are so many options available for women in the sport, but education around what FITS, vs. what the marketing hype is about would go a long way.

SheFly

* Normally if a woman comes in and wants a road bike, I start with the WSD frames, but I will certainly try them on unisex frames if it looks like the WSD doesn't fit.

I think it works the other way around too, especially with women just getting into it. I hear "I need a women's road bike" from someone who looks like she'd have better luck with the unisex frames quite a bit. I'll show them the women's stuff, of course, and then try to persuade them that they look cramped and perhaps suggest that they try a unisex frame. It doesn't always work.

I don't know if it's the paint scheme ("But I want the fun colors!") or an ingrained preference for the "appropriately-gendered" item (and marketing playing on that), or what.

[SheFly]

I think it works the other way around too, especially with women just getting into it. I hear "I need a women's road bike" from someone who looks like she'd have better luck with the unisex frames quite a bit. I'll show them the women's stuff, of course, and then try to persuade them that they look cramped and perhaps suggest that they try a unisex frame. It doesn't always work.

I don't know if it's the paint scheme ("But I want the fun colors!") or an ingrained preference for the "appropriately-gendered" item (and marketing playing on that), or what.

Yeah - I can certainly see that as well, based on marketing. Good point Owlie! I forget about that power since I try not to buy into it (and it doesn't work for me anyway) . I'm glad to hear that you try to find the RIGHT bike that FITS, regardless of the target market for the bike itself.

SheFly

[Biciclista]

uh, Seajay, don't argue with me about height, read the statistics: I didn't make it up

http://www.disabled-world.com/artman...ht-chart.shtml

[Owlie]

Thanks, SheFly! I do try.

And then of course there are the taller women who DO need WSD frames (like the woman who came in to the shop the other day looking for a road bike who was 5'9" with a short torso and short arms), and there's not much out there for them either. I think Trek and Specialized go past a 54 in WSD, and maybe Fuji does too, but no one ever gets those sizes. I did try to see if she could manage a men's frame in one size smaller, but then the saddle-to-bar drop would have been too steep. (She didn't like the color, either. Just as well.)

I think we can all agree that geometry and the individual's build determines what we should ride, regardless of label. I just wish bike shop employees (as a whole) were better educated on the matter, but I think many of them either drink the marketing kool-aid, just get lazy, or are male and have no clue because most of what's on the shop floor will work for them, or some combination of the above. I do love where I work, because there are four women who work there and we each have different fit needs--one NEEDS a WSD road frame (though she's fine with unisex mountain bikes), two of us can ride either as long as we get the measurements right (and we're different heights), and one who absolutely can't ride WSD frames at all, so we have real-life examples if need be.

SheFly, can I come ride with you? (I'm slow, and doubly so on my cross bike, just as a warning. ) I'm the slowpoke in the group I ride with, and although most of the time they're good about matching my pace or pushing me just a little bit, I feel bad for slowing them down, so I ride alone much of the time. I'm in awe of the women who ride with the fast group of guys, and I can see how that would be intimidating to the average woman, but let them ride their ride and you ride yours. (I know it's easier said than done. Been there.)
Of course, where I work, we tried to make the shop rides more...beginner-friendly, I guess. Less for hammerheads-only. And then no one turned up. I tried to see if they'd be willing to do a beginner-friendly bike path ride separately, but to no avail.