corkscrew

You would think that, but look at how the world treats men who wear skirts, vs women who wear pants...

Myself, I don't ride "girls" bikes. I would however rock a proper mixte if I could find one in a 58cm frame.

Case in point, I'm really too tall to ride most "Girls" frames comfortably. Much like I know some taller girls who ride "men's" frames.

Amesja

I've never really cared too much about what other people think -seeing as I find that they don't do it very often anyhow.

fietsbob

Diamond frames , triangles are stronger for the given weight than a design where the top tube
is a sweeping curve, making a Butt Joint low on the seat tube.. is heavier to keep the strength up, thru thicker tube walls and the longer length,

but in the how many ride question \probably Half the population of the Netherlands..

Oma s, step thru frames. make dismounting a lot easier , and are preferable when you have the Child in their seat on the back of the bike.

NB there they have tall frame sizes in step thru frames , because there are some tall women ,
and their mates also transport the children , so can use that one bike..

Tem

The only real disadvantage I can see with "women's" bikes is that there isn't as much room to attach things to the bike. I'm female and I bought a "men's" bike only because there was easily enough room for a water bottle cage, pump and lock bracket. Attaching all those things would have been nearly impossible on the step through bikes I looked at.

hotbike

Maybe it's a social taboo to ride a Ladies Bike, but if anyone says anything, I say "It's my Daughter's Bike".

The ease of dismounting Quickly can save your life in New York traffic, IMHO.

As for the missing water bottle cage, I solved that by mounting cages, left and right, on the sides (outside) of the handlebar basket, using fender washers so the nuts and bolts don't rip out.

NightShift

My girlfriend rode a ladies Magna Glacier Point, for about an hour. The short reach left her with a back ache (and she's only 5'5") and running knobby tires on a bike that's obviously never meant to go off road was like jogging in loose sand. It was the first bike she'd ridden in years, and getting her to ride another bike after that was a real pain.
Not a bike I would recommend.

I work security and have done bike patrol for multiple companies at multiple post. Some companies seem to think guards need big manly bikes, others realize post patrol bicycles have to fit a range of different officers. I may be 6'1", but I've got short legs; no way I'm going to ride a 24" S&W Perimeter. It's a nice bike, but the toptube is higher than my navel. On the other hand I've never had anyone give me grief for riding a sloping toptube frame while wearing BDUs (which by the way are excellent for cycling), a duty belt and a gun.

Monster Pete

I think of them as frame types rather than 'mens' or 'womens', since mechanical objects have no gender. Diamond frames are stronger and so are better for sport riding or touring etc, step throughs are great for around town and hopping on and off- presumably why the're so common in Amsterdam and the like. Like most things in life, I'll use whatever I prefer, and everyone else can deal with it

Norel

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nelson249

If I were all that terribly concerned about what people thought I would have put the 'toys' away the first time a homophobic slur was thrown my way.

BarracksSi

I started to want a step-thru frame the first time I put a basket on my commuter.

Keith99

You are on the small side and it fits? Go for it. Now if you were an uberclyde I'd say be carefull as the geometry is not as strong. That does not seem important, unless yuo are planning on going off jumps with it.

Pobble.808

Yes, there are also plenty of guys of all ages riding step-throughs here in Tokyo. Presumably most of them are running local errands, or on short-distance commutes to/from school or the nearest train station.

Monster Pete

Mine certainly fits me well, mainly due to me having fairly short arms and legs. The low top tube makes dismounting easy. For example, on my route I walk across a footbridge, and tend to hook one leg through the frame while still moving, then jump off once I've slowed to walking pace. The frame is heavier than an equivalent diamond frame due to the tubing being larger and thicker to cope with the compromise in geometry, but unless you're racing it doesn't really matter much.

I never bought into the idea that step throughs are for women, and diamond frames are for men and women. Rather like the similar imbalance with clothing (the Scots had the right idea) step-through frames actually make more sense for men as there's less chance of an injury if you slide off the saddle, since there's nothing in the way.

Norel

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BarracksSi

Sometimes I carry my bike with my hand holding it at the downtube, just next to the crankset. The saddle usually ends up just over my shoulder. A step-thru frame could be carried the same way.

mduck1

My wife and I were in the Netherlands the first two weeks of this month. We rented electric bikes to make the long trek through the tulips - about 30 miles round-trip. I was so impressed with the E-Bikes, I walked into a bicycle shop and bought a Gazelle C360HM E-Bike and it arrived in 5 days - two days ago, and I've been riding it all over the place. It is a step through, or easy on-easy off model, known in the US as a "girl's" bike. The shop owner said he would sell me either style but recommended the step through because it's easier to ride. He said metals are so strong today that there is no longer a need for what I call the "ball buster bar". He also said the majority of men in Holland ride this style bike, like 80% to 90%.

The bike is awesome with four speeds: Eco, Tour, Sport and Turbo and is great for hilly terrain. It also has built-in LED lights, a built in wheel lock with a key that stays in the bike until you lock it and a feature called "walk assist" that propels the bike along as you hold a button down while walking. This is a very high quality bike - not cheap, but probably cheaper in the long run because of the quality. There are more bikes in Holland than there are people in Holland and Gazelle is the oldest bike manufacturer in the Netherlands. I'm like a kid in a candy store on my new bike. And I don't have a problem with it being the traditional "girl's" design. On the contrary, I enjoy thinking outside the box and helping set a trend. I don't know if step through bikes will catch on in the US but I don't really care - I like the convenience of the step through design.

Toch

Freespirit Dinasty 930se

indyfabz

Zombie thread.

Milton Keynes

In a logical world, men would be the ones riding the bikes with the lower top bar.

Maelochs

This person has pierced the heart of the problem and killed it.

I quit cycling because I couldn't figure out if the temples of the glasses I don't wear should go inside or outside the straps of the helmet I don't wear. i couldn't bear to have people think I didn't know, so I just quit. Better safe than sorry, right?

But then, I am male and my main ride was a Dawes Sheila, which is sold as a women-specific bike, so what do I know anyway? Obviously I am confused.

thumpism 

Riding tall frames can present a problem. In addition to having tall road and mountain bikes I have a men's 23" Raleigh Sports and I'm getting older. I also have a ladies' 23" Raleigh Sports waiting in the wings for the day when I can no longer swing a leg over the regular ride. I'd also build up a 23" derailleur mixte if I could find a good one.
Pearl together.jpg

Milton Keynes

That makes sense. I don't know how most step through frames are, but I do enjoy being able to mount a couple of water bottles to my diamond frame bike.

Saitama

Saw a guy in Australia who bought a ladies' Giant Anyroad type bike for his bike tour. BUt it doesn't have that steep downward sloping tube which is th sign of a girl's bike.

Fredo76

This thread must still be relevant! It seems that attitudes MAY have changed since 2006...

When I started riding again, I got a step through because I had hip replacements, the first of which dislocated while mounting my Triumph Bonneville to ride to physical therapy. It dislocated three more times before it was re-done. I still ride my diamond-frame racing bike, but I have to lay it down and step over it to get on safely.

I've never received any comments about riding a 'girl's bike'. Maybe that's because I rode nearly naked all summer - just running shorts and shoes w/o socks. I DID receive a comment about that. I also replaced the Triumph and the Electra Glide motorcycles with a Suzuki Burgman 'scooter'. Funny, but I still get waves from some of the Harley riders in town while on my scooter. Life is good.



Hip replacement bikes

veganbikes

I mean it is a thread from 2006 so not super relevant these days kind of rather outdated. However yes people of various genders are riding bikes and some of those bikes are step throughs and yes those with male genitalia probably should have been riding step through bikes all along.

The whole gendering everything is just silly, bikes are bikes, colors are colors, yada yada yada. Do what is comfortable for you as long as you aren't harming others you are fine. This whole obsession with gender in our society is just silly and shouldn't be needed to define anything.