Does it really matter if I ride a girls bike or can I ride a mens bike?

Question

Does it really matter if I ride a girls bike or can I ride a mens bike?

Answer 1

If you find the geometry and fit of a particular bike that suits you well, I'd say it doesn't matter if it's a "men's" or "women's" bike.

Whether or not you can spend a long time on the bike without developing discomfort should be your chief consideration.

Answer 2

you can ride mens bikes i steal my brothers all the time:)

Answer 3

It doesn't matter at all.  If the bike fits ride it.

Answer 4

the seat cushions are different

Answer 5

If you are 5'5" or taller you may not need WSD (womens specific design) at all. At any height many issues such as proportions are involved. WSD bikes are nearly identical from "mens" bikes but often have these key differences. Since women often have proportionally longer legs than men of our same height - WSD bikes have shorter top tubes. WSD bikes may have slightly narrower bars for our slightly narrower shoulders ;-) Brifters (shifters built into the brake levers) may be slightly smaller to fit our dainty shell-like hands. Crank-arm length may be slightly shorter because we tend to be shorter.

All the better to ride the legs off the poseur guys who post to this board ;-)

But you must get out there and test ride bikes. Your LBS (that's local bike shop) will fit the bike and make adjustments to it for you. If it's a standard mens frame and it fits you .... it's your bike and therefore a womens bike. 8-)

Answer 6

Girl's bike, boy's bike, women's bike, men's bike, whatever as long as you can ride on it with ease and you enjoy your ride, then, who cares? The only difference is that boy's and men's bikes have a higher top-bar that could hinder a rider whose wearing a skirt.......

Answer 7

If you ride a man's bike... you might turn into a man.  Of course you can ride a guy's bike. Just don't forget there's a bar there if you have to suddenly jump off.