FAIRER SPECS?

Many years have passed since bikes were simply sprayed pink, adorned with glitter, bestowed with an oversize saddle and labelled as women’s models. Most of society, including the bike industry, has moved on from such stark stereotypes. However, brands still take very different approaches when it comes to appealing to and equipping female riders, some of which are more sophisticated than others. There are critics who feel this isn’t necessary and deride the growing market of women’s-specific products, and others who claim this kit makes a real difference.

With lockdown regulations preventing her from taking part in this issue’s Bike of the Year test and soaring demand for bikes meaning we couldn’t get hold of enough similarly-priced women’s models for a full Biketest, as we’ve run in previous years, we tasked MBUK tester Sarah Gamsjäger with investigating the reasoning behind different brands’ approaches and then hitting the trails on two very different women’s-specific bikes to see how they compare to the men’s models she’s more accustomed to riding.

No magic recipe

Many companies – including big-hitters such as Specialized – don’t make women’s mountain bikes at all, arguing that there’s just as much difference in shape between riders of the same sex as there is between men and women. Others take a ‘unisex’ frame – occasionally designed around average proportions of both sexes, but more often just men – and add female-specific parts, such as a wider saddle, thinner grips and sometimes a lighter shock tune. Only a tiny minority customise the chassis itself