More Attention Being Paid to Women’s Biking Needs

By Tom Meade, The Providence Journal, link to original article

For generations, bicycle saddles were more like medieval torture devices than comfortable seats.

Then medical researchers determined that bike saddles had caused some cases of erectile dysfunction, and things changed, said Reed Caster, owner of Caster’s Bicycle Center in Warwick, R.I.

“Women have been complaining about bike seats since the beginning of time,” he said, “but it wasn’t until a man’s penis stopped working that we actually addressed the issue. Guys went, ‘Whoa! We’ve got a serious problem here!'”

Not only did saddles for men and women change, but so did everything else in cycling design.

“About 10 years ago companies like Trek and Specialized began addressing the women’s market in a meaningful way,” Caster said. “The engineers they hired to design or oversee the different product groups—bicycles, saddles and clothing—were women. They were going to design the products they would be using as opposed to the old days … where you’d have 60-year-old guys in suit jackets who’d be outside at lunchtime, smoking cigarettes.”
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The new designers and engineers changed the geometry of women’s bikes to be proportionately correct, Caster said. Typically, a woman has a shorter torso and reach but longer legs than a man of the same height. Her shoulders may be narrower, too.

When bike companies started hiring women as designers, top bars became shorter and handlebars narrower. Women’s bikes became lighter.

Saddle designs and sizes changed to accommodate women’s anatomies, removing “sit bone” pressure. “When you find a comfortable saddle, hang onto it when you buy a new bike,” Caster advised.

Bike dealers began to do “dynamic fitting,” matching each bike to each customer’s body and capabilities. For serious cyclists, women’s high-performance bikes “suddenly” became comparable to men’s high-performance models, Caster said.

A women’s high-performance bike can cost anywhere between $700 and $5,000, he said.

Bike racer Georgina Terry has designed women’s bikes as well as new apparel, including maternity tops and shorts and “skorts” for women cyclists. In their women’s department, Reed and Mindy Caster also stock Terry’s Capri pants with padding for women cyclists and wrap-around skirts that match padded riding shorts. “Nothing is more revealing than Lycra,” said Reed Caster, but the material is comfortable and cool for riding. “It’s nice to have the wrap-around when you stop at the convenience store,” he said.

Shoe companies are designing riding shoes with narrower heels for women. And helmet companies are introducing more attractive models that fit women better.

Next season’s new products, for women and men, are better looking than traditional riding gear, said Caster. (He admitted that he still prefers traditional, “geeky” stretch tops and padded shorts for his own riding after he tried a pair of more stylish baggy shorts with paddling inside. The cool-looking shorts were too hot, he said.)

Women’s cycling apparel is prettier than ever, he said. Colors are brighter and prints more stylish.

Most of next season’s new products were unveiled at Interbike, a national trade show, in September. Like the new bikes, accessories and apparel on display, the show looked and felt entirely different from bike shows of the 1980s.

Much of the new gear had a woman’s touch.

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