Does it matter if I get a mens’ road bike?
Tuesday, December 7th, 2010 at
1:09 pm
I'm 5'2 and was sized on a 49 cm road bike. When I sat on the bike I was baaaaaaarely above the frame and it was NOT a women's bike.
Does it matter if I get a mens' bike over a womens'? I can't find womens' bikes in my size.
US $6.99
well
usually girl bikes are smaller
getting men size isn;t that bad though some of the geometry may be suboptimal for high performance
usually a 5′2 person can find a 26″ or even a 700c wheeled bike that fits
it;s not that rare
but an alternative [in road bikes] is a bike with 650c wheels which are smaller
i wouldn;t do that though
lot of reasons
[[unless you are like 4'10"]
wle
A women’s bike will have a shorter top tube, wider saddle and narrower handlebars. Depending on your proportions it may or may not make any difference. There are plenty of women’s bikes in that size or smaller.
The only reason they call them “women’s” bikes is because the frame with that lower bar (a mixte) allowed women to wear long dresses of the day.
Women have shorter torsos so you can generally adjust that with a shorter stem.
48cm and 47cm road frames do exist.
As long as it fits & feels right – makes no difference. Usually a women’s specific bike will have slightly different dimensions – i.e. shorter top tube or smaller handlebars, etc.
I’ve seen women on a man’s bike & men on a woman’s bike too.