Women Riders of this forum OR those who know women who ride

[Rich34]

Nice story Laz.

For what it's worth, the mountain bikers are having a crank debate at this very moment...

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=173704


Some good points being made.

 

[tonyf39]

Partner never rides bikes (only horses) so when go away with the bikes it's like she's not ridden further than the pub in a year or more

I bought the best bike that I thought would do everything which turned out to be a near new Spesh Globe Pro.
CF rear stays/Forks & Seatpost offered good vibration damping, minute adjustments to stem length & bar width (56cm Syncros EA70 flat) paying a fair bit of attention not to push her too forward so lesser amount of pressure on the wrists/shoulders got her in a very comfy natural position.
Tyres are 700x42 Spesh borough folders which are fast rolling & quite light yet offer good puncture protection and comfort in spades.

The stock Spesh Ladies sportourer saddle she reckons is bob on, even slim ladies have wide sit bones and do require something wider than a men's saddle. I reckon a Rolls probably isn't wide enough but saddles are such a funny thing and you nevercan tell until you've done any distance on them tbh.
Cranks are std Deore 175mm, she's 5ft 5 and finds them fine and rides standard flat cage pedals & no padded shorts.
With a massive range of gears from the 48/36/26 & 11-32 cassette she can get up some pretty steep inclines and do 45 miles straight off the bat without blinking and she's over 40 (sorry hun ) and of average fitness but determined when she wants to be. I reckon she could do a ton in a day if she chose to do so

I think getting the absolute perfect position without stressing shoulders/wrists & plenty of low down gears has to be the starting point.
Here's the bike before I got rid of the ugly S-Works CF bars & change of stem.
Even with the rackpack & bog std wheels it is 11.5kg

 

[Lazarus]

You're a gem Tony, "Thanks Buddy" Really appreciate the info it fills in the gaps nicely my friend. My own missus is in her 40's too, and heavier than she'd like to be (aren't they always :roll: ... not that I care). I guess somewhere in my head I was concerned about "how long distance affects women due to the design of their bikes". Your post really helps.

If I can get this woman/lady throught the first 40miles without noticing too much, then when 80miles is screaming at her, I can only hope the best bike I can build will at least give her a fair chance of doing the last 14miles without A) damaging herself B) burning herself out The first stage is 94miles ... and to make matters worse "there is a time limit". Apparently there is a ferry time to make at Dover. I know that if I can help get her to Dover which is the longest stretch, then the other 3 legs will only get easier.

Thanks again Tony, yours Laz.

PS: Thanks Richie "Sometimes a story does the job better than an explanation" Take care my friend, yours Laz.

 

[tonyf39]

I did my 2nd audax 22 years after the first and 19 years after not doing any long distance cycling (rugby league being my main passion & illness curtailing things) I got a really bad cramp in both quads despite doing everything right & I'm still :? to this day why.

Anyway, from whence it was plain sailing it was nigh on impossible to pedal, I pushed through the pain ( I wasn't remotely tired..grrrrr) & started to break the distance down in my own mind into much smaller segments with little goals for each and a little treat each time.

I think nearly a 100 miles is psychologically a very hard barrier (for those that have not done long distances before), getting around the mental side of things is as much the challenge as the physical in my humble opinion.

I'm guessing it is a somewhere to Paris charity ride.
Good luck with the training and I hope everything goes to plan.
Keep us posted with the outcome!

 

[1duck]

there was an interesting discussion about this subject over at lfgss, they were suggesting opening a woman friendly bike shop and how certain bike shops in london had a woman friendly night where advice was given by women or in a less intimidating environment than normal.


The main complaint seemed to be the lack of advice being offered, the assumption by sales staff that the women were less knowledgable, also that the advice being offered was usually by guys working there who weren't too clued up for a womans needs.

 

[hamster]

Crank length needs to be match to leg length. Short legs = short cranks. Otherwise pedalling with too-long cranks is like climbing two foot stairs.

The leverage issue is a red herring. Of course a longer crank gets more leverage, but there is also a leverage effect from the gearing. If you want more leverage, swap the gear ratio.

For me personally I once bought some very nice cranks in 175mm (only size available) whereas I usually ride 170. I did a tour on them and had continual knee pain from day two onwards. I have never had it since with switching back to 170. For me at least, a lesson learned.

In terms of setting up my wife's bike, then saddle choice is (as ever) a personal thing but somewhat wider is generally necessary. Women with narrower hips need narrower saddles. Typically the nose of the saddle needs to be a bit lower than a man's setup, and a shorter stem.

Get the saddle positioned over the pedals correctly, then adjust the reach, don't correct reach by slamming the saddle forward.

 

[Woz]

Sometime ago I built a "city" long-hauler commuter for a slender tall lady and had similar questions going through my mind. It was a bit of a surprise build since I offered to build something much cheaper and better than what was in the LBS. If it wasn't a surprise, I would have involved the rider directly in the choices when building rather than guessing; it's good to talk about it.

My mother was an avid road and track cyclist with a custom built bike, and I remembered that:
- top-tube is shorter
- shorter reach on the drop bars
- hands are smaller so short reach levers
- a shorter stem to speed up the steering
- a fairly higher more upright position, although somewhere on
the center of gravity is arguably the best. Be prepared for a debate here so choose a range of stems - quill is best here.
- For the saddle - erm I got lucky and just picked a San Marco
retro lady one; nothing special and I wished I could remember the damn name to suggest it, but she said it was perfect. Man or woman, it's not gonna be easy so I would be frank and say it's probably gonna be wrong!
- Fatter tyres to add to comfort
- Strangely higher gears rather than spinning.
- Crank length was 170mm
- The build I did had a low Q-factor but with fat pedals. No complaints.

Why not go to a decent LBS to get some inspiration with the rider? Do a test ride on something first to see what clicks.

 

[monty dog]

On the subject of crank length, it needs to be proportional to leg length - too long and you lose power and your joints / muscles extend beyond the optimum.
My wife doesn't cycle, but I ride/train with some elite women cyclists / triathletes and I've advised a few others on bike fit and comfort:
Levers - STIs are available with adjustable reach for small hands
Grip/tape - large diameter foam grips can be uncomfortable for small hands
Saddle is very much personal preference - few get on with mens saddles
Most don't posses as much upper body strength so can't hold a 'deep' drop position for as long - another reason for slightly shorter reach.

 

[tonyf39]

If it's an inexperienced cyclist I'd say stick with a flat bar set up & rapid fire gears. They are far easier to operate compared to STI levers and you can shift gears far quicker.
Also flat brake levers offer far more options with regard to reach.
The width of the bars make it a far more natural arm position & comfier than drops in this situation. Great hand grips can alleviate pressure far more than any bar tape can.