Helpful Tips for beginners

What to look for when buying or fitting a road bike – women’s-specific edition.

This article supplements the general road bike buying and road bike fitting guidance available in the Beginner’s section of this website.  Knowing the general advice will make it easier to follow the nuances of the women’s-specific info shown here.  If you are unfamiliar with the names of the parts of a bike, please check out the “anatomy of a road bike” page.

Different brands take different approaches to designing bikes for women.  Some brands design specific frames proportioned to the differences between women’s and men’s bodies, while other brands provide unisex frames with enough adjustability to accommodate those differences.  Both solutions can work.  A rider with a shorter torso will generally go for a smaller frame than a rider with a long torso, even if they're the same height, as most of their length is in the leg (saddle height is much more adjustable than reach).  Any reputable seller will allow you to go for a test ride.  Bear in mind when testing unisex bikes that wider handlebars and the stock saddle might be affecting your perceptions of the overall package, but these things can be swapped out.

Note:  Victorian style “ladies” bike frames with their top tubes sloped sharply or bent down toward the bottom bracket (or absent altogether) to leave space for a large hoop skirt are not as stiff or structurally sound as modern women’s road bikes, although the design is still common in the lighter-use hybrid bike category.  Moderately sloped top tubes are increasingly common on modern road bikes, both to reduce standover height (making it easier to get on and off) and to increase seatpost length (which improves comfort).

No top tube         Horizontal top tube   Moderately sloped top tube

Bike types

There are three main categories of bikes:  road, mountain, and hybrid, and within each category there is further specialization.

Road bikes are designed for fast and long distance riding on pavement.  They have lightweight frames, narrow tires, and drop style handlebars.  Within the road bike category are racing bikes (lightweight and aerodynamic, snappy handling, more aggressive rider position), endurance bikes (more comfortable/upright rider position, easier gearing, more compliant, more mounting points for accessories), and gravel/adventure/cyclocross bikes (really 3 further sub-categories, but all characterized by more rugged construction, and knobby tires suitable for use on unpaved roads, turf, and mud).

Mountain bikes are built for off-road use but can still be ridden on road (albeit more slowly than road-specific bikes).  They have flat handlebars, wide tires, and may have front and/or rear mechanical suspension.  There are many sub-categories of mountain bike ranging from cross-country to downhill.

Hybrid / urban /city bikes usually have flat handlebars and an upright riding position.

This article is focused on road bikes.

Bike Sizing

Some brands use “Small”, “Medium” and “Large”, while others use numerical sizing (e.g., 48cm, 50cm, 52cm, etc.) usually referring to the center-to-center distance of the top tube (or “virtual top tube” in the case of a sloping top tube bike) or the distance from the center of the bottom bracket to the top of the frame’s seat tube.  Sizing is not standardized; to make comparisons find each brand's sizing chart on line.  Brands’ size guides typically recommend a size based on rider height, but this should be only be considered a ballpark starting point.

Touch Points and Adjustability

Many shops will facilitate substitution of components at the time of purchase, often at a discount reflecting some credit for the swapped-out parts.  If you are buying used, or already have a bike, it is possible to adjust it to make it fit better.  This is important if you’re going to be riding a lot; small irritations can turn into big discomfort, or even injury, over time.  Many of the common changes for a better bike fit do not require special tools.

• Fitting a women’s-specific saddle

Many riders (men and women) will swap out the stock saddle on their bike early on.  Women’s bikes usually come with a saddle designed to be comfortable for female riders, but saddle selection is a personal thing; don’t be afraid to try several before deciding.  Spacing between the sit bones means the average woman might generally prefer a wider saddle compared to a male rider.  Sensitivity or numbness can often be relieved by using a saddle with a cutout.  Saddle shape interacts with riding style – the same saddle might be more or less comfortable depending on whether you prefer a more forward-leaning or a more upright position.  The amount of padding on the saddle is a personal preference; more experienced riders tend to prefer less.  Note that seemingly disconnected factors such as handlebar height and reach can affect perception of saddle comfort by altering the angle of your upper body and the percentage of your weight supported by the saddle.  

• Reach adjustment - Swapping the stem

“Reach” is the distance from the saddle to the handlebar.  Women’s-specific bike frames may have shorter reach than otherwise equivalent men’s or unisex models.  This can result in a more upright position for the rider.  Unisex frames spec’ed for women will usually come with a shorter stem to decrease the reach.  Stems of different lengths can be swapped easily, but changing more than ±20mm from stock may affect the bike’s handling.

• Swapping in narrower width and/or shallower drop handlebars

Handlebar center-to-center width measurement should be similar to the distance between your shoulder bones.  Women generally have narrower shoulders than men, so women's bikes usually have narrow handlebars.  The handlebar drop dimension is the distance from the top of the bars to the drops.  Shallower handlebar drop results in shorter reach when holding the drops.  There are many available handlebar designs, and handlebars are easy to swap.

• Adjusting the reach of the brake levers

Brake lever reach is different from “reach”.  Brake lever reach refers to the distance from the handlebar to the lever that has to be spanned by your fingers.  Most modern brake levers have adjustable reach, either by inserting rubber shim pads, or turning a dedicated reach adjustment screw.  Women’s bikes are often sold with the levers adjusted to the shortest reach to accommodate the average women’s relatively smaller hands.  While easily overlooked, brake lever reach is not just a comfort issue, but also a safety concern.

• Changing to shorter cranks (special tool required)

Reducing the length of the crank arms allows smaller riders to reduce the leg extension needed around the pedal stroke, which reduces strain and makes pedaling easier.  For very small frames, the cranks must be short to prevent toe overlapping the front wheel when steering.  On new bikes, cranks arm lengths are usually proportional to frame size.  170mm, 172.5mm, and 175mm are the most common standard sizes.

• Changing the gearing (special tool required for the cassette)

The ratio between the number of teeth on the chainring to the number of teeth on the sprocket at the rear determines how hard it will be to pedal.  If you find even the lowest gearing on your bike too difficult, component swaps can be made to change the gear ratio.

Women's bikes often feature a so-called compact chainset (50 tooth big ring, 34 tooth small ring) and wide ratio cassette (around 11-30).  The lowest gear in that setup being 34/30, meaning that for one complete turn of the cranks, the rear wheel turns just over 1.1 times.  Unisex racing bikes might come with a standard chainset (52/39) and cassette (11-25).  The lowest gear being 39/25, so one complete turn of the cranks results in nearly 1.6 revolutions of the rear wheel.  To reduce gearing, chainrings can be swapped for smaller sizes, and cassettes for larger sizes.  Be aware that compatibility across different brands and models can be an issue, and derailleurs typically have limitations on the number of gear teeth and ratios they can accommodate.  Seek advice before spending on components.

• Changing the seatpost

Seatposts made from carbon fiber do a better job damping high-frequency road vibration than their aluminum counterparts.  Carbon seatposts are standard on many (even moderately priced) bikes today, but if your bike came with an aluminum seat post, you can swap in a carbon one.  Make sure to buy the correct diameter, and make sure to clean inside the bike’s seat tube to remove any leftover grease before installing the new post.  Use a torque wrench to avoid overtightening the seat post clamp bolt, which could damage the new post.