Women's specific road bikes: do you really need one?

The difference between women’s specific road bikes and unisex road bikes isn’t immediately obvious, so it can be hard to know whether you’d benefit from a women’s specific bike.

To separate fact from fiction, we’ve outlined the main differences between unisex bikes and women's specific bikes, so you can make an informed choice.

What’s the difference?

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Step through frames used to be common on womens' bikes

A few years ago, it was easy to spot a women’s specific road bike. They had top tubes that dropped down low that you could step over, allowing women to ride in skirts and dresses. But besides that, and maybe a pink or purple colour scheme, they were identical to men’s bikes. These days, the difference between women’s bikes and unisex bikes is much more subtle. It all comes down to geometry and bike fit.

To understand the difference between women’s bikes and unisex bikes, let’s break down the three approaches that the bike industry takes to build bikes for different genders and body types.

1. Fully female specific

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Liv are one of a handful of brands that make fully women-specific bikes

Some brands insist that women and men need specific bikes from the ground up. Brands like Liv (the sister company to Giant) produce bikes with female specific geometry, and design the entire bike around the needs of women.

Practically, this means that the frames are often shorter, due to an assumption that most women have proportionally longer legs and shorter torsos than men. These bikes will also be fitted with components that are more suited to female proportions, such as smaller brake levers and female specific saddles.

Increasingly, we’re learning that this generalisation about proportions isn’t true for many women. But nonetheless, if that describes your body type, then a womens’ specific frame might be the best solution for you.

2. Unisex frame, gender specific finishing kit

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Narrower bars and smaller brake levers can make a men's bike fit better

Some brands have abandoned the idea of gender specific frames, and instead focused on getting the finishing kit and components right. Generally speaking, that means narrower handlebars, female specific saddles, shorter cranks and smaller brake levers.

These bikes save female riders the hassle and expense of having to adjust and adapt a ‘unisex’ bike to fit them. They will come with brake levers designed for small hands, handlebars designed for narrow shoulders, and saddles designed for the female anatomy.

3. Unisex everything

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Canyon don't gender their bikes, instead offering a wide range of sizes

Finally, the approach that is increasingly common these days is a totally standardised, gender-blind approach to producing and fitting out bikes. Some brands produce incredibly wide ranges of sizes to encapsulate the needs of women and men and call it a day.

Whether this works in practice is another matter – producing bikes ‘for everyone’ usually means producing bikes ‘for men’, forcing women to make the necessary adjustments to the contact points of the bike.

Generally speaking, with a unisex bike, women either make do with slightly ill-fitting gear, or make the kind of component adjustments that come as standard on female specific bikes, like narrower bars, smaller brake levers or female specific saddles.

Sometimes, though, the unisex bikes fit comfortably straight out of the box, and often it only requires a couple of adjustments to fit right, which anyone of any gender should expect to do when buying a bike.

Do you need a women’s bike?

If that breakdown of the differences between men’s and women’s bikes hasn’t made it clear enough: no, you do not definitely need a women’s specific bike, and you certainly shouldn't restrict your choice of bikes to the ones that are labelled as ‘for women’. The main thing is to find a bike that fits you properly, and for some women, that means choosing a women’s specific bike. For many, many others, that means choosing a unisex bike and making a few component changes to make it work for them.

If you’re a new rider, and don’t want the complication of swapping out parts, a women’s bike can be tempting. It’s nice to think that your bike will work for you, straight out of the box. However, there is still a chance you’ll have to change a few things, so even a purpose-built women’s bike might not have the ‘plug-and-play’ ability that you’d expect. Like with most things, it’s best to try out a few options and see what feels right, regardless of the label on the box.