Women's Specific Mountain Bikes | Do We Really Need Them?!

If you're a woman and you're in the market for a new bike, chances are you've wondered, do I need a women's pursuit bike? What does that even mean? Is it marketing BS? Well, let's do a deep dive. Now, the term shrink it and pink it has been batted around for many years now. That came from a time when industry would just make a smaller version of the men's product or men's bike and paint it pink. That would be a women's specific bike. Then the women said that they wanted more and that wasn't good enough. Quite rightly so. There are some women out there that aren't small and they don't like pink, so they needed more. Let's not forget that there are some women who are small and do like pink. Which is it? For example, my gravel bike last year was a Canyon Grizzle. That was an extra, extra small and it was in pink, but it wasn't even a women's specific bike. Some women's specific bikes are pink and some are not. Some unisex bikes are pink. When did color become so divisive? Anyway, I guess we should be grateful that companies offer multiple choices and companies like Orbea even offer custom color as standard. Enough about color, let's talk about women's specific geometry. There are some brands out there that are completely dedicated to women. Some will use women's specific geometry and some will just recolor and use different components than their men's specific frames. That's absolutely fine, but what is women's specific geometry? Canyon say this, we don't design bikes specifically for women. In fact, we don't design bikes specifically for men either. However, we do consider several factors that align closely with the needs of female riders. Companies creating women's specific models and changing the frame to tailor it towards a woman, what they're generally doing is aligning the frame with the needs of a particular group. Often, that group is a smaller rider, so sizes may go down to 3XS, which is extra, extra, extra small. Also, that smaller, lighter rider tends to need different weight and stiffness levels from a frame. For example, me, I may be the same height as a guy, but I tend to be 10 or even 20 kilos lighter. That means I might actually get away with something that's a little lighter and not as stiff, and perhaps that might be an even more comfortable ride. I've not chosen a women's specific bike for my trial bike because the geometry meets my needs. If the geometry and the color and the price tag meets your needs, you shouldn't be ashamed in picking a women's suspension. That's not to say that suspension needs to be gender-specific, but if that bike is aimed at smaller sizes, smaller riders that are lighter, then a light tune on suspension is really handy. Now, let me explain. A very basic explanation going on here is that there are shims in your suspension, in your rear shock and your fork, if it's air sprung, and they will go through oil. Now, generally speaking, if you have bigger shims in there, it will be harder to go through the oil. If you have smaller shims, it'll be easier to go through oil. This is where we get a light, a medium, and a heavy tune. A women's specific bike will often come with a light tune as standard on a full suspension bike or even on a hardtail with a fork having a light tune. The thing is, you can actually get this aftermarket. I've actually gone to a service center. I went to Fox UK and asked them to give me a light tune. I do have suspension that is set up for my body weight. It's not a gender issue here. I think I suggest that every rider, no matter what weight you are, you are setting up your suspension for your weight. Here we go. Now, even if the bike you're looking at is not women's specific geometry, but it is aimed at women, it will usually have women's specific components on it. For example, it may have slimmer grips for smaller hands. It may have shorter cranks. For example, 165 instead of 175 so that it fits a shorter leg better. It may even have a women's specific saddle on it. Now, all of these things can be bought aftermarket. For example, I've bought the slim fit on my Ergon grips to fit my small hands. I do often change the cranks on my bike to 165 or even smaller. Some of my bikes have 155 and 145 on them. The most important thing, I think, is the saddle. Let me explain that a bit more. Women's specific saddles. Now, they are designed to meet the particular characteristics of the majority of women. Women do tend to have different hips and different sit bones to men. On general, will have wider pelvises, which means wider sit bones, which means a man's specific saddle, which is designed to support a sit bone that is X-wide, might actually be too narrow for most women. If your saddle is too narrow for you, not only will it be uncomfortable, but your sit bones may actually fall over either side. That means your hips will rock and you'll get lower back pain. General rule of thumb is a saddle may not be comfortable, but it shouldn't be uncomfortable either. If you're on a unisex or a men's specific saddle, then maybe you do need a women's specific saddle that is wider and will support you better. The only way to know for sure, and this is not gender-specific, every rider should do this, is to go to a bike shop and get yourself measured. There are some shops that will have devices that you can sit on and work out how wide your sit bones actually are, and then go and buy yourself a saddle that actually supports that width. Anyway, let's go to the cafe. I'm pincered. I'm pincered. Yes, I'm fine. It trapped me. That didn't work out. and it will be great for some women, and it might not be great for others. What women's specific kit is trying to do is to meet the demands of most women's sizes and shapes. For example, this is a women's specific coat. It's narrower in the waist, and women tend to be wider in the hips, so it counts for that. Also, this is a women's specific camelback because, as you can see, it moves around certain assets, and it's also narrower in the shoulder. Men's specific camelbacks tend to be a little too wide and too long in the body for me, so that's a good tip. There's also women's specific shoes. Now, you may have women's specific shoes in normal life, so why not women's specific riding shoes? They'll tend to be for a narrower foot than men's. They'll be slightly different sizes. If you're wearing small sizes and women's specific shoes, then you might want to size down into a smaller pedal because, as you can see, this is a large pedal, and sometimes there's a bit of overhang. If you're wearing flats, you might want a smaller pedal. Other than that, protection is one of those things that doesn't often come in women's specific sizes. Knee pads, I wear just extra small. If I was to wear a vest, I will go for a women's specific fit because of my curves, and they are tailored much better. When it comes to helmets, women's specific helmets are out there, but it's up to you whether you want something that is ponytail compatible or just smaller and pinker often, but this is not women's specific. These may look it, but they're not women's specific, but they are for smaller faces. If you do have a typically smaller face or a narrower set vision, then maybe a smaller set of glasses is good for you. Other than that, my advice to you is to seek out a knee-specific bike and knee-specific kit. You know you the best, so think about what you want from your bike and what you want from your kit and go and seek that out because there's so much choice out there. I applaud companies for making women's specific stuff available. If it's right for you, great. If it's not, don't worry about it. Anyway, let me know down in the comments below, have you bought anything that is women's specific? Do you swear by it or do you not bother? Let the future GMBN community have some advice or something down in the comments below.