What Women Want

110| What Women Want
B
What Women Want
Though quite clearly not a girl, Chipps looks at the tricky world of bike
browsing, shopping and buying for women, at the risk of offending everyone.
Pics by Chipps
oys are geeks.You need only listen in on any post-ride
conversation to hear ‘…swapping out the 80mm for
a 70mm and then adding another inch of rise’, ‘Super
tacky 60a on the front, 100ml of sealant and 32psi’,
‘325m of climbing in a 24x27, who’d’ve thought it?’
Most women, meanwhile, would rather talk about the ride itself, the
fun had and the people involved.
Writing a women’s bike test feature, especially as a bloke, is asking
for trouble, but I volunteered for the job because I reckon there are
a lot of things that need to be said that both men and women might
not have thought to say. And I also knew I could rely on Singletrack’s
panel of women riders to actually ride the bikes and give us some
honest feedback.
I’ll start by saying that some of the best bike-mechanics I know are
women; they’re thorough, efficient and rarely resort to beating things
with a hammer. But, generalising here, hopefully without patronising
too, most women riders are less into actual bike spec than overall
fit and performance and they’re generally immune to the blokemisconception that throwing money at a bike necessarily makes you a
better rider.
Herein lies another problem, though: how do you make sure
women are getting a bike that fits them properly? Women are not just
smaller men, after all. There is a fundamental physiological difference
between men and women that means that the best fit on a bike will
also be different. Women have a different pelvic structure than men:
it’s more forward and tilted. With everything else, the end result is a
difference in centre of gravity placement. For women, it’s in the lower
back, for men, up around the sternum. Hence, putting a woman in
the same riding position as a man means that her centre of gravity is
forced to bear weight, and she’s typically too stretched out. This leads
to lower back pain and neck and shoulder pain, which most women
Orange Diva
Price: £2199.95
From: www.orangebikes.co.uk
Size: 14in
Weight: 30.5lb
If the Orange Diva looks familiar, it should. It’s based around
Orange’s very successful Five platform. However, the Diva model
(and there is only one) is a 14in frame that has been tweaked to
fit smaller riders better. The cockpit is a full 2in shorter than a 14in
Five and the big kink in the top tube allows for great standover. Our
5ft riders got on fine with it, though Jo was happier (and ended up
buying) the men’s 14in for extra reach.
The Diva has the same 5.5in rear travel as the Five, using a
simple single pivot and a ProPedal Fox RP23 shock. Not the cleverest
system in the world, but one that ranks high on the combined good
performance and reliability chart. It was heartening to see that there
was no dumbing down of components and the Diva comes with
the same spec, bar the saddle, as the regular Five Pro model. There
are also no flowers to be seen and the bike comes in one mid-blue
colour that got the thumbs up from everyone.
Everyone commented on the good fore/aft balance of the bike
and the light, clicky feel of the Hope hubs. The suspension can be
set up softer for a playful feel, or harder for a more efficient ride, still
allowing full travel on the descents. The non-adjustable-length forks
mean you have to keep an eye on the bike on the climbs, but this is
made up by a bombproof feel on the descents.
While it is one of the most expensive stock bike on test,
everything on it is built to last (including the frame) and it’s likely to
last more than a few seasons of fun. If you can afford it, then you
don’t even need to justify it.
112| What Women Want
Titus MotoLite
just accept and don’t realise is an issue with their fit.
This is why some manufacturers change the frame geometry of
their bikes. By shortening the top tube, women are placed in a more
anatomically correct riding posture and pressure is removed from
the lower back. By elevating the front end of the frame, the reach
is decreased and pressure is removed from the neck and shoulders.
Sounds complicated, but isn’t really.
What are you on about?
The idea was to get six bikes and six riders together for a weekend of
test riding, in what turned out to be markedly different conditions,
swapping bikes and comparing notes. Unlike many of Singletrack’s
bike tests, where we get a bunch of 18in frames in and nearly
everyone can make do, our women’s test bikes varied from the tiny
13in Titus Motolite to the ‘guys can ride it’ 16in Trek and Juliana
models. But with some tape measuring and pedal swapping, everyone
got to ride a couple of bikes each and report back on the findings.
Keeping with my sweeping generalisations, the majority of girls
that I’ve seen riding off-road seem to make do with a bike that’s
the wrong size, or the wrong fit. This is due to many factors – the
lack (until very recently) of decent women-specific designed bikes,
the trend of partners to pass on their cast-off bikes and the idea that
women only need cheaper bikes.
Regardless of power-to-weight, women tend to weigh less than
men. If a guy rides a 30lb bike, it’s probably less than a fifth of his
weight and adding or subtracting a few pounds won’t make much
difference to his overall performance. For lighter girls, that same
bike could be getting on for a third of their bodyweight. That would
translate to guys riding bikes weighing 50-60lb. Now we start to see
what some of the fuss is about.
Apart from the obvious differences, women are proportioned
differently. They are more compact overall, with shorter limbs,
smaller hands, even women’s ankles are narrower (leading to some
manufacturers to finally make some decent women’s performance
riding shoes).
The various bike companies have different philosophies on how to
get a bike to fit women better and, while they all get to roughly the
same kind of position, like anything, some bikes will fit one person
well and not another. So the more bikes you can try the better.
This, then was our idea for our weekend of testing. Working on the
fact that you need a good few hours on a bike to make your mind up
about it, we picked the entertaining trails at Dalby Forest. The riders
went from moderately experience up to full professional and the bikes
ranged from 13in up to 16in. We managed to pick a weekend that
featured sleet and rain on one day, and glorious sunshine the next.
Riders picked a bike that fit them, set it up to the preference and
adjusted suspension according to the manufacturers’ guidelines. And
then we all went out riding…
Mexican food heals all.
The first afternoon of riding was too grim for photos, and the
Dalby red silt had covered everything and everyone by the time the
riders returned after their loop. It hadn’t dampened any enthusiasm
though, and everyone then made off to see Jez from Kinkybikes in
Scarborough, where a huge Mexican feast awaited. If there’s one thing
that unites the sexes, it’s great food.
The second day dawned much brighter and allowed a much bigger
loop, with plenty of climbing and singletrack fun to be had. Before
that, over coffee at the Purple Mountain Café, we swapped bikes for
this second loop and also ran a challenge to get riders to put the bikes
Kona Four Lisa
Price: £999
From: Paligap www.konaworld.uk.com
Sizes: 14, 16,17, 18.
Weight: 31.5lb
The pinkest of our test bikes, the Four-Lisa is a 4in front and rear trail
machine. It comes in a wide variety of sizes and the 14in fit our two
5ft-zero riders.
The Four Lisa uses Kona’s proven ‘faux bar’ linkage, sprung by a
Rockshox Ario shock at the back and a coil-sprung Dart fork at the
front. Other components are mainly Deore apart from the Hayes
Stroker brakes which allowed quick, tools free adjustment of the
lever-reach. Top marks for that, and the small diameter Lisa grips
too. The forks, however took two blokes to move.
Having initially ignored the Lisa due to it feeling heavy and coming
with cheaper suspension, test riders riders quickly warmed to the fit
of it. The best comment about it was that the fore-aft balance of the
bike was spot-on, helping riders keep the bike where they wanted
on climbs and not being too scary on descents.
At the end of the day, this is not a light bike and you’ll never come
in first in any races, but you if you don’t want much of a jump in cost
from your old hardtail and you are up for the challenge of a heavier
bike, then open your mind and get this one on a swooshy, twisty
stretch of trail. It’s a delight to ride.
Price: Frame only: £1450 built from £2,350
From: Titus UK 01387 850 305
www.tituscycles.co.uk
Sizes: XS (25.3in standover) S, M, L
Weight: 29.3lb as tested
The Titus Motolite wasn’t officially a test bike as it was Sue’s own
bike, but we asked her to bring it as an example of a frame-up
custom build that would show how a rider can build up their own
bike. Sue’s main concern, being 5ft, when buying a bike is standover
first, suspension and then components.
Titus has always made tiny bikes and if you’re not vertically
blessed, there’s scant choice for you down at the teeny end of
the store. The Titus Motolite, however, is a four or five inch trail
monster and tarty enough to get every boy around wanting a spin,
just because it looks so great.
Sue’s choice of Gripshift was interesting. Many women riders
find the analogue nature of Gripshift far easier to get used to than
push-button shifters. The other advantage is that they work well for
smaller hands and don’t force you to take a hand off the bars to shift.
Riders reckoned that the Titus felt very light and nimble and the
Fox TALAS forks helped keep the front end in check for climbs,
though they were usually left on full travel. Decent wheels and
light tyres added to the light and manoeuvrable feel of the bike.
Interestingly, the Titus was only a pound lighter than most bikes on
test – which shows how much effect light wheels, and the visual
suggestion of a small bike being lighter, can have.
For very small riders, the Titus is an essential bike to try out, just
due to the great standover. For taller riders too, though there’s no
specific women’s model, they’re still a great bike that you can build
into your own trail monster.
114| What Women Want
Kona Four-Lisa
Orange Diva
Santa Cruz Juliana
Scott Contessa FX-15
Scott Contessa FX-15
Trek Fuel EX-8 WSD
Titus Motolite
in order of weight. There were more than a few surprised faces at the
results reading off the digital scales. With the exception of Jac’s Santa
Cruz Juliana, the other bikes were all within a pound or so of each
other – even with prices differing by nearly £2000.
With the coffee and faffing out of the way (there’s less faffing on
girls’ rides I should mention, not to mention more chat and better
snack-stops) we were away and up the first of several big climbs.
All in the thumb
The big constant in women’s specific bikes is a shorter overall reach
and more of an upright riding position. If you’ve only ever ridden
a guy’s bike, then the difference is marked, and often off-putting.
Persevere with it though and it starts making sense. ‘Unfamiliar’
doesn’t necessarily mean ‘wrong’. There’s a better weight distribution
between the wheels, steering is easier and more immediate with
shorter top tubes and stems (even men’s bikes have lost inches of
reach in the last ten years) and the overall ride is more ‘heads up’ and
Trek Fuel EX-8 WSD
easier on the breathing, bum, neck and hands.
One thing I’d not noticed before is that women shift more often
than men. While men will happily grind away at a too-high gear, or
stand up and muscle, women tend to sit, spin and shift a lot more. This
makes gear shifter ergonomics take on a much bigger role in their
riding. In fact, the whole cockpit is more sensitive to adjustment then
the average bloke’s. Brake levers that can be adjusted for reach as well
as bite are vital for power and preventing fatigue. Grips that are as
small as possible while still cushioning are great too. And shifters need
to be smooth and reachable.
Several riders had strong adverse reactions to bikes, dismissing
them as ‘unrideable’ because of problems with components. The
Orange had a stiff front shifter (especially for small hands) and the
Kona’s forks were far too stiff. Although these were irritating and
compromised riders’ enjoyment, they could easily be sorted out. The
message here is ‘Don’t write off a bike on a technicality’.
Several of the riders were asked to ride bikes that they’d initially
Price: £1600
From: Trek UK 01908 282626
www.trekbikes.com
Weight: 29lb
Trek’s Fuel EX-8 WSD is a great example of girls getting the
same quality of bikes as the boys. No dumbed or watered down
components, just a cockpit designed for women and sizes down to
14in.
The Fuel EX uses Trek’s new XC suspension design where the
rear wheel axle becomes a pivot for the frame, reducing brake
feedback. The rear rocker is a chunky, forged thing and the whole
bike has a good and robust feel, while still being the lightest stock
bike on test. Fox forks and rear shock really help dial the bike in for
the riders’ weight. It’s also good to see a bike with a pretty neutral
colourscheme. It pleased both sides of the ‘Make girls’ bikes look
different’ argument.
Riders said they really liked the position on the bike - upright
and not too stretched which helped with controlling the bike. The
ride was very predictable, which might have lulled some testers into
thinking the bike wasn’t doing much, but the reality was that the bike
did a great job of soaking up trail chatter, as well as the bigger bumps
– and with 130mm travel up front and 120mm at the back, the EX
is going to handle a huge range of riding challenges, from smooth
singletrack to sizeable bumps and drops.
The only downside to this is a slight sluggishness on climbs, eased
a little by the ProPedal lever, but a full lockout might make paranoid
riders happier their precious energy wasn’t being wasted.
As one rider put it “It was very comfy and just kept going like a
lovely little pony, dealing with whatever happened on the way. It
really came into its own on longer rides. No sore back, no sore arms
and still lots of fun.”
Price: £1499
From: Scott UK 01670 712129
www.scott-sports.com
Sizes: S, M, L
Weight: 30.5lb
Scott’s Contessa FX-15 is based around their popular Genius
suspension system, used by many an XC racer and mountain rider
alike. The clever bit of the Genius system is the three-position lever
on the bars that gives you 130mm full travel, well damped mid
travel for climbs and full lockout for those endless road hauls in the
mountains. The simplicity of this system was liked by all, while the
‘baroque’ gold leaves over pewter paint job gained more mixed
reviews.
Up front is the 100mm Reba SL fork, also with lockout (though
fortunately not on the bars, you only have so much room up
there) and the rest of the components are very capable LX level
components. The look of the bike is that of a short in length, but high
off the ground machine and a zip with the tape measure confirms it
to be a little taller than many of the other medium bikes. Once on
the bike though, this feel disappears pretty much.
It’s a good job that the three position lever is simple to grasp,
because the rear shock certainly isn’t. This isn’t a bike you can just
get on and go. The shock has two chambers that need to be set
up to rider weight (in kilos and bar, while the forks use lbs and psi,
typical…) and the three position switch also needs to have its cable
just so or it won’t give you all three positions.
On the trails, the Contessa was well liked, but no one came
back raving about it. The three position switch went down to two
positions a couple of times and there was a great deal of headscratching in setting the bike up for different riders.
In conclusion, the FX-15 requires more fettling and shock
geekery than most boys would want to give – if you’re a ‘get on it
and ride’ rider, then you’re not going to love it.
116| What Women Want
not liked.Yvonne, one of our 5ft-nothing testers had looked at the
Kona Four-Lisa when she’d been shopping for bikes before and
dismissed it having looked at the weight (31.5lb) and spec. But having
actually ridden it, she found that the fit of the bike was better than
anything she’d ridden (or bought) in the past.
Many of the early dismissals were based on looks (fair enough,
we all do that) and an in-store or carpark ‘sit and bounce’, and this is
where many sales are lost. The Kona came supplied with coil-sprung
forks that took two guys pushing on them to get any movement out
of them. This is where economies shouldn’t be made when shopping.
It’s going to be far cheaper in the long run to look at the next model
up, with better, easier to adjust (air) suspension than saving a bit of
cash in the shop and having to junk the forks and buy spanky new
ones in a month or so. Or the grim alternative of ‘learning to live
with it’ – and then wondering why you don’t want to go out riding
that much.
The refreshing thing to see on the ride, though, was that any
riding is better than no riding (though some riders enjoyed their
bikes more than others). And all of the riders, regardless of fitness
or bike, managed to have a fantastic day on the trails, all differences
and adjustments forgotten. Which is how it should be. In my humble
opinion, there should be a great deal of painstaking effort made to
get the bike to fit exactly, to get the suspension dialed (and settings
recorded), brake levers and shifters moved, saddle of choice fitted
and then – just ride. A good bike shouldn’t need constant fussing
over – just a bit of air-pressure checking and a touch of oil, hence my
insistence on getting the best, and best fitting bike you can as soon as
you can.
Thanks to our great Singletrack Women’s test squad of Amy, Emily,
Jac, Jo, Sue and Yvonne. Thanks to Jez and all at Kinkybikes for
fantastic food and hospitality and thanks to the manufacturers for
letting us get their bikes truly muddy.
Santa Cruz Juliana
Price: Frame from £949. Complete bikes from: £1749
From: Jungle 01423 780 088
www.santacruzbikes.co.uk
Sizes: 15, 16.5, 17.5
Weight: 27.2lb (as tested)
Again, this was a ‘model’s own’ bike brought along by Jac Strachen
for the weekend. It’s not a current model as the new Juliana frame
has been revamped along with the rest of the Superlight range. Apart
from missing out on the swoopier back end and general stiffening up
of the chassis, Jac’s Juli’ still gives a good idea of how one can be built.
The Juliana is a 4in travel single pivot bike based exactly on the
successful Santa Cruz Superlight. The only difference appears to be
the ‘Juliana’ name and the (welcome) addition of an XSmall size.
Apart from that, a small Juliana is the same as a small Superlight.
Another frame-up build, Jac’s Juliana was by far the lightest bike
on test, nearly 2lb lighter than the Trek and it elicited the kind of
‘Ooh’ responses that only a noticeably light bike will give you. It also
had the no-longer-made smaller diameter grips and handlebars that
used to be offered for Julianas. With a shortish stem, it was still longer
than comparable sized bikes, but it suited riders who favoured more
of a stretched-out machine (generally women who’d grown up riding
men’s frames).
Judging by the grins of delight on riders returning on the Juliana,
the overall ride, combined with the noticeably light weight, made it a
winner in everyone’s books.