Now, I can be an argumentative cow, especially when I get the bit between my teeth. Women's anatomy is something as a woman I have an interest in and some knowledge based on personal experience. Being told by a male that I needed a different bike because mine was the wrong build for me having spent months looking for the perfect trail bike was a little insulting.
On my quest for my perfect bike I was told by one sales person that the WSD Cube he was trying to sell me came with 10mm less travel on the rear than the men's bike because women being lighter in weight need less travel. Now I'm no skinny Minnie and some of my male friends weigh considerably less than me, so how does this make sense...
Then there's my personal favourite 'Women have Longer Legs to Body Ratio', as I'm sure most women who have gone to buy a bike at some point have been told this by bike shops, and it's splattered all over the web. There are however many studies that show this isn't true, linky at the bottom of the page if you want to look into this in more depth. But the fact of the matter is Women are just in general shorter, no amazing extra long legs or short torso, females are as a sex just shorter (OK there is the odd long legged exception to the rule). I admit I used to wear 4" heels and bootleg jeans all the time to cover up the fact I'm really a 5'1" short arse, which would of made my legs look considerable longer than my body, but it was fake, an optical illusion, bit like push up bras and spanks.
Now I'm not anti WSD bikes, what I don't like about them is the 'impression' that manufactures give that they are something special and then charge a premium for it. Some bike shops don't help this, by using perception rather than fact, they limit women customers to a range of bikes that might not meet their needs or requirements.
If I'd gone down the women's specific route for my trail bike my only option at the time was an Orange 5 Diva. A lovely bike but not really what I wanted in a bike. If I'd gone down the women's specific route for a DH bike, I'd not be riding DH!
Is the perception of WSD bikes part of the reason females are such a minority in mountain biking in general?
WSD bikes all seem at the lower to middle level of mountain biking, and I wonder if it's because women who ride regularly and are in the know will buy a bike on it's ride-ability not on marketing. Looking at the top female mountain bikers I have met and the bikes they are riding, none are on WSD designs even those sponsored by the leading WSD manufactures. My female mtb friends all have unisex (AKA Men's ) bikes, we just added our own touches here and there.
So bike manufactures, don't aim for women, badly, aim for everyone inclusively.
If your a female looking to buy a bike, don't rule out WSD but don't limit yourself to them. Bikes are like people they come in all shapes, sizes and geometry. What's more important that the stickers on the side is how you feel on it. I'd recommend demo days, a 5 minute ride round a flat car park isn't enough to tell how the bike will handle on a steep technical trail. I've kissed many frogs in search of trail bike perfection. My perfect bike is an apparently imperfect, designed for men Yeti ASR 5, in extra small, however on this bike I have competed in XC races, Downhill Races and a road Time Trial (more on that later). For a bike that doesn't fit, my riding has come on leaps and bounds since buying the little lady, now all I need to do is find the same biking imperfection of a Downhill variety...
My Beloved ASR5, Shrink'd - YES, Pinked - HELL YES, WSD - definitely NOT
Link to one of the many article on women's leg length myth.... Bike shop sales persons please note.
http://www.femininebeauty.info/f/leg.length.polish.pdf
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