i got this bike on sale at wal-mart on the day after thanksgiving. it is going to be my birthday present, but i guess i grabbed a boy bike and my mom said that there is a difference but she wont tell me. well i hope you can help me.
2006-11-26 10:32:20 · 9 answers · asked by lizzy r 2 in Sports ➔ Cycling
boys bikes have a bar that goes straight across to the handle bars in front of your seat the girls bar goes down.
2006-11-26 10:39:11 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Traditionaly, girls' bikes have a sloped top tube (the tube that is highest on the frame), where a boy has the top tube more horizontal. The reason for it is that women use skirts, and they need the extra clearance to ride with skirts ;)
Now, on more pro-lever bikes, there are geometry differences between men's and women's bikes. The usual body proportions between men and woman are different, so the horizontal distance from the headtube (the short almost vertical tube that's in front of the bike that has the fork) to the seatpost is shorter than a frame of the same size for women. Also, the handlebar are narrower.
But those are just guidelines, some men could benefit from a women specific bikes, and some women would benefit from a traditional bike.
Well, I guess I just went off the curb on this. Anyway, if you like your bike, and feel confortable riding it, don't worry about it.
Have fun!
2006-11-26 13:41:49 · answer #2 · answered by Roberto 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A girl's bike doesn't have a top bar between the front fork and the seat stem. This was originally to help a girl wearing skirts to easily get on a bike. A girl could just step into the bike rather than throwing a leg up and over the back of the seat.
A boy's bike has a bar reaching from the top of the front fork under the handlebars to the seat stem. It's inherently a stronger frame than a girl's bike, and will take rougher treatment. Most mountain bikes are boy's style.
If you're going to wear skirts while you ride, then you might want to return the bike for a girl's style.
2006-11-26 10:43:18 · answer #3 · answered by Mmerobin 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Actually, if you are talking about young peoples bikes (16", 20", 24" wheels) the differece is typically only color and cosmetic features.
As one gets past this stage, to "adult" bikes, you'll find yourself in a design transition that started in the early 1990s...
It used to be that womens bikes had a "drop tube" frame, supposedly to allow easier mounting. This drop tube style was actually a throwback to the 1800s when women wore dresses and they could not lift their leg over a top tube without "showing a little". Unfortunately, this "parallel tube" design proved to be much weaker than the typical "diamond" mens frame and so womens bikes had to be built heavier.
Around 1990, some manufacturers realized that very few women wore dresses when they rode, so they started a redesign based on anthropometrics, or the standard measurements of a human body. They discovered that women tended to have longer legs and shorter torsos than the same height man, so they decided to start with a diamond frame and readjust the geometry to better fit a woman.
Then, they introduced the diamond womens frame. Stronger, lighter, and much more stable.
The bottom line is that men and women both have a lot to lose "down there", so the design never had anything to do with genetics. It was, of all things, modesty.
So, as we move on this path, you'll discover that only the cheapest bike brands (plus some traditional, comfort-oriented brand name bikes) will have a drop tube frame. The diamond frame and it's variants are the future of womens frame design.
2006-11-26 11:29:28 · answer #4 · answered by bikeworks 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some bike brands offer WSD (Women-Specific Design) which supposedly have slightly different dimensions, i.e. shorter top tubes and smaller sizes. Mostly, it's a marketing thing because there are already a lot of variations between brands, meaning the women's versions fall in the normal range anyway. Conclusion: buy what fits, regardless of who it's supposedly built for.
2016-03-12 23:32:10 · answer #5 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a girl bike has a top tube that slopes downward to make mounting and dismounting easier. sounds kinda sexist to me... a boy bike does not as high of an angle of this tube, its more straight across.
my advise: keep the boy bike. all "real" bikes are made with that setup, so its good to get used to it now. girl bikes just look gay too. ive never seen a really nice looking girl bike.
2006-11-27 01:48:49 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
NUMBER ONE: Wal-Mart does not sell bicycles. They sell hunks of crap with two round things, and think that 26" is how to size a bicycle.
NUMBER TWO: The REAL difference between men's and women's bicycles is in the frame geometry. Women tend to have longer legs compared to their torsos, so the top tube tends to be a bit shorter for a comparable frame size.
NUMBER THREE: Go to a REAL bike shop if you want a real bike. Bikes come in SIZES, and a shop employee will be more than happy to help you find the correct size to fit your body.
Or you could just stick to the cheap, poorly built boat anchors at Wal-Mart as long as you NEVER complain about it. You have been warned. Don't make me say I Told You So.
2006-11-28 01:51:36 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
the bar that goes from the handle bars to the seat post is usually on an angle on a girls bike... imagine if you fell off the seat... a boys bike you would hit the bar.. on a girls bike you would not... and a boys bike is usually a little bigger.
2006-11-26 10:40:10 · answer #8 · answered by nickcap23 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
boys "top-tube" between handlebars and seat is straight-so that one has to spread legs to get a leg over the seat---people thought that was not "dainty" so girls bike "top-tube" starts at handlebar and goes down near pedals allowing a "step-thru" more lady like approach to getting on and off the bike--no throwing leg over seat like a dude
2006-11-27 01:29:47 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋