Yes, it's true, women and men differ physically.  For those of us who've been on the planet for a couple of years this does not come as a shock, yet most major bicycle manufacturers still haven't figured it out.  The folks who make saddles (a.k.a. seats)  got a clue several years ago, mostly because of the news that some of their products could cause nerve damage in men.  They responded by redesigning gender specific seats for both men and women.  YAY!  Seriously, that was a good thing.  It took a little longer for major manufacturers to get around to redesigning frames.  Now why women and men might need different seats doesn't take a great deal of imagination, but different frames?  Yep, different frames. 

The basics go something like this: Women generally tend to have slightly longer legs and slightly shorter torsos than men.  So in general, women need bikes that are taller from the ground to the seat.  But they also need a bike that has a shorter reach to the handle bars and this is the exact opposite of what happens with standard frames.  If the bike is taller vertically, it is also longer horizontally, meaning that women have to choose a frame that is too low or too long.  Either way, not comfortable and likely to cause strain.  If the frame is too low you have to crank the seat waaaay up there to get enough height to take the strain off your knees, but because you're now higher above the handlebars than intended, you have to ride bent over in a less natural way, and the weight of your torso rests on hands and wrists, not bum and thighs.  If that isn't painful enough, get this, you also have to crank your neck upward to see ahead of you so you aren't just staring at your front tire.   A year or two of that, the novelty wears off, and you just quit riding.  Your expensive bike sits in the basement unloved and you feel guilty for having bought it. 

But it is not your fault!  You just need a bike that truly fits you, not someone's idea of what sizes or proportions a human being is supposed to have.   I don't have "normal" ratios either, and have spent many years trying to find things that fit.

Okay, I know this is getting to be rather a long babble, but stick with me for a paragraph or two more. There are now many "women's specific designs" out there for bikes.  Some of them are pretty darned good, and some of them just have baby blue paint and flower decals on them to appeal someone's idea of what the women of this world want.  The truth is, those baby blue flower bikes appeal to me.  I'd ride one.  I like Hawaiian floral designs and blue.  But that isn't the point.  The point is the fit.

Or is it?  Well, the fit is a big part of the point, but there is more to how a bike rides than how it fits.  One of the women's specific dual suspension mountain bikes I was ogling at a big shop recently had really good proportions, but also featured "less aggressive geometry" and crappier components than the men's models.  The whole point of dual suspension is to ride nearly un-ridable terrain, so less aggressive geometry is not what you want, regardless of your gender.  Less aggressive means slower steering.  Do you want slower steering on tight switchbacks because you are a woman?  Or were you just supposed to shy away from the word "aggressive?"  Again this was someone else's idea of what the untapped women's market share wants. 

So now we get down to it.  Do I build women's specific bikes?  Let me put it this way, I will build you a you-specific bike.  Maybe you fit that stereotype of long legs and short torso, and maybe you don't.   The truth is that there is more variation than we can account for just by dividing the population of the world up into two camps.  If you need a shorter top tube combined with higher standover, that's what we'll do.  If you need it the other way around, then that's what we'll do.  If you also want that bike to be fast steering and aggressive, cool.  If you want a bike that's comfortable for 100 miles or more at a time, great.  These choices are the whole point of a custom bike.  Heck, maybe you want a BMX bike with 24 inch wheels, super twitchy steering, and an ultra short top tube to help you get massive air like Sammy Cools, no problem.  We'll set you up with exactly what you want and need.  And since I am the only employee of Velvet Cycles, when I say "we" I mean you and me.