Do female-specific bikes really make the difference?

[MarieV]

I totally agree with Owlie that it all depends. In general, women tend to have longer legs and shorter torsos, so most WSD bikes usually have shorter top tubes relative to the men's/unisex bikes of comparable size and the WSD bikes are available in smaller sizes. I've had six road bikes in the last 2 1/2 years, four were WSD and two weren't. The first was a WSD 45cm Kona Lisa RD which was comparable to a 48 cm Specialized Dolce and just too big for me since I'm only 5'2". I was never comfortable on that bike, probably because of the size, so I sold the Kona and bought a 44 cm Bianchi Vigorelli (not a WSD bike), a smaller bike with a steel frame compared to the Kona's aluminum frame. The Bianchi was slightly too big, but after swapping the stem and handlebar, it fit well enough for me to comfortably do 50-mile rides, and I've ridden it for the last 2 1/2 years. I just recently got a 44 cm WSD Bianchi Eros Donna with a shorter top tube that fits even better.

Once I started riding hillier, 50+-mile rides with my husband riding his carbon bike, I wanted a carbon bike to keep up more easily. I test rode a half dozen carbon bikes (Colnago, Specialized, Cannondale, Giant, Ridley, etc.), including a few WSD bikes. I really liked the Colnago Ace (43 cm non-WSD), but it sold while I was trying to decide if I wanted to pay that much for lower end components. Since I have a thing for Italian bikes and because it was the most fun to ride, I ended up getting a unisex XS (47cm) Wilier Izoard XP. Again, I swapped out the handlebar and stem, and I could easily ride the Wilier up to 50 miles with no problem. However, when I started doing more metric century (100 km or 64 mile) rides, I started getting knee pain in my right knee. My PT figured out it was an overuse injury, probably due to my carbon bike being slightly too big. She recommended I get a smaller bike, or I'd keep experiencing the inflammation in my knee.

I researched carbon bikes and found out the smallest, non-custom carbon bike was the WSD Colnago CLD size 40s. I've always drooled over the highest-end Colnago bikes hanging in my LBS, and once I got into biking, I dreamed of having a Colnago. Fortunately, I have an awesome husband who's a randonneur, so he's used to spending a lot of money on bikes. He was all for me getting the Colnago if it meant I would ride more and enjoy going on longer rides with him. In the year I've had the Colnago, I've done 5 century rides and about a dozen metric centuries, and no more knee pain. In the last month I've also noticed on the longer rides I'm finally engaging the butt (gluteus medius) muscles I'd only ever felt when my PT made me do clam exercises to address my knee pain. I never realized how much difference good bike fit makes, and now I'm totally convinced.

When I sold the Wilier, I sold it to a guy who was 5'3", so only an inch taller than me. He asked why I was selling it since I'd only had it a year. When I explained that the top tube was too long for me, he was wary of getting a bike that was too big for him since he was only an inch taller. We took the bike to our LBS, so the staff at the LBS could check him out on the bike. I actually had more clearance over the top tube than him, so his legs were shorter than mine, but his torso was several inches longer. The guys at the LBS thought the bike fit him really well and didn't think he needed to change out the stock stem or handlebar.

I think the smallest WSD bikes are critical for the most petite women, 5'2" and under, mostly because of top tube length. For riders taller than 5'2", it depends on the length of torso relative to legs. Riders with longer legs relative to their torsos will probably prefer the WSD geometry while the riders with relatively shorter legs and longer torsos will prefer the men's/unisex geometry. Then there's also the geometry differences between different brands (e.g. Specialized vs Trek vs Bianchi, etc.). That's why the best thing to do is test ride several bikes and do long enough test rides to decide which one fits the best.

[Koronin]

IMO it totally depends on the person. I'm 5'0". My road bike is a Felt F-5 unisex bike. I did try several WSD bikes and the ONLY one that I was even mostly comfortable on was the Specialized Ameria. The Felt fits me great. I love it. The only thing I swapped out was the saddle and that was for a different men's saddle. (I also don't have kids and the men's saddles seem to be more comfortable for me than the women's are.) My cruiser type bike is a WSD as is my mountain bike. The mountain bike we've had to make several adjustments to the handle bars to get it feel better, the cruiser is pretty good the way it came. I'll look at WSD bikes for anything that is not a road bike. I will not look at WSD road bikes because I feel to cramped on them. I feel much better on the unisex road bikes as long as I can find them small enough for me to ride.

[IBrakeforPastry]

IMO it totally depends on the person. I'm 5'0". My road bike is a Felt F-5 unisex bike. I did try several WSD bikes and the ONLY one that I was even mostly comfortable on was the Specialized Ameria. The Felt fits me great. I love it. The only thing I swapped out was the saddle and that was for a different men's saddle. (I also don't have kids and the men's saddles seem to be more comfortable for me than the women's are.) My cruiser type bike is a WSD as is my mountain bike. The mountain bike we've had to make several adjustments to the handle bars to get it feel better, the cruiser is pretty good the way it came. I'll look at WSD bikes for anything that is not a road bike. I will not look at WSD road bikes because I feel to cramped on them. I feel much better on the unisex road bikes as long as I can find them small enough for me to ride.

Thank you for typing out most of my experiences! I'm 5'0", long torso, short limbs. I bought a Specialized Dolce last year that fits reasonably well. But this year I tried a petite Felt that seemed to fit even better. The dealer explained that at that small size, the proportions are less WSD (even though it's a women's bike) and more unisex. I don't know if it was a sales pitch, but the bike did feel good. A fitter who helped me with the Dolce said I would probably do fine with a men's bike, it's just that there are very few that are small enough.

I'm not sure if my problem is with men's vs. women's bikes, or just that I'm really hard to fit. I may just go back to the straight bars.

[Seajay]

I'm 5'0", long torso, short limbs. A fitter who helped me with the Dolce said I would probably do fine with a men's bike, it's just that there are very few that are small enough.

I'm not sure if my problem is with men's vs. women's bikes, or just that I'm really hard to fit. I may just go back to the straight bars.

The issue is partly the fault of the manufacturers who are stocking such ridiculously short stems on WSD bikes. We get it all the time people who want to go UP a frame size to get a longer reach. This is such a huge mistake and bikes end up looking like the attached pic. A bike set up like this will NEVER be able to achieve a normal upright riding position. Much better to put a normal stem length onto the proper fitting frame.
Secondly customers need to be willing to change STOCK parts on production bikes rather than getting "freaked out" that it doesn't fit straight off the shelf.
The other issue is the plethora of incompetent people who call themselves "fitters"

[IBrakeforPastry]

The issue is partly the fault of the manufacturers who are stocking such ridiculously short stems on WSD bikes. We get it all the time people who want to go UP a frame size to get a longer reach. This is such a huge mistake and bikes end up looking like the attached pic. A bike set up like this will NEVER be able to achieve a normal upright riding position. Much better to put a normal stem length onto the proper fitting frame.
Secondly customers need to be willing to change STOCK parts on production bikes rather than getting "freaked out" that it doesn't fit straight off the shelf.
The other issue is the plethora of incompetent people who call themselves "fitters"

I'm not sure if the part I bolded was directed at me, but I have changed out the stems and the handlebars on two of my bikes already this summer. And I don't "freak out". As a matter of fact, I really dislike that term and usually roll my eyes when I hear/read it.

I'm not sure of the different "fitting" programs out there, both the men I spoke to seemed very knowledgeable and competent (and had a few certificates on the wall). I have a quasi engineering background and we had some interesting discussions.

Interesting what Muirenn said about the no-offset seatpost. Something for me to consider.

[IBrakeforPastry]

Offset is only used for KOPS (knee over pedals), the stem is corrected afterwords. If you have the wrong offset, it may damage your knees. Be careful.

Are your femurs short compared to your overall leg length?

I think so. I started to suspect it when one of the fitters said, "Wow, you have short femurs!" But I don't think it's dramatic. My KOP alignment is good now. No knee problems. I just find the whole bike engineering discussion very interesting, whether or not it applies specifically to me.

[Seajay]

Please don't take offense IBFP. Wasn't intending to make any comment about any one person in particular. I chose your quote because I found it very shocking to hear a fitter say that someone who is 5'0" could fit on a bike made for someone who is at minimum 4 inches taller than you.

[IBrakeforPastry]

Please don't take offense IBFP. Wasn't intending to make any comment about any one person in particular. I chose your quote because I found it very shocking to hear a fitter say that someone who is 5'0" could fit on a bike made for someone who is at minimum 4 inches taller than you.

Not a problem - I didn't take any offense. What he meant was given my proportions, I could fit a men's bike, if there was one small enough.

Anyway, I'm very comfortable in the cockpit. My lower body is fine when I'm riding. I'm just very sensitive to any upper body discomfort. I have arthritis in my neck, and some weird structural thing in my shoulder. I'm not saying I'm "special" - we are all unique - it's just that I've dealt with headaches my entire adult life and try to do everything to help minimize the risk.