What is the difference between a womans and a mans mountain bikes ?

Question

What is the difference between a womans and a mans mountain bikes ?

Answer 1

one has a bar and the other doesn't, lol

Answer 2

One has a bar the other doesn't. There really isn't a difference. I ride a man's bike, like most of the girls I ride with, but some of us do have a women's specific bicycle. They ride the same, but the women's seats have a tad more cushioning.

Answer 3

For mountain bikes the women's frames are just altered a bit so the geometry is more comfortable and practical for a woman's specific build.  The components should be the same but the frames will just be slightly different...the top tube may be a bit shorter for instance...just suited better to a woman's body.

Answer 4

The design for a woman's bike that has no top tube is obsolete. Any manufacturers making a bike like this are doing it for marketing reasons. It's interesting that a good bike maker, Cervelo, claims that a woman's specific design is nothing but marketing hype.

The woman's specific design bikes I've seen had brake levers sized for a woman's hand and saddles that better fit their anatomy. Other than that, any other changes are aesthetics or marketing driven.

HTH

Answer 5

Frame size, handlebar size (if its a Trek or Fisher WSD or Genesisters), pedal arms, pedals.  Seat is different to accommodate a woman's anatomy.  Of course color too.

Answer 6

A bar...is missing on the ladies...Tagger

Answer 7

There are what I call "ladies"  and "womens" frames.  

Generally the swooped bar, or no-top tube bicycles are 'LADIES' bikes and generally more of a casual bicycle.   These bicycles are also ideal for people with hip issues that cannot swing their legs over the wheel or the top tube of the bike.

A 'WOMANS' bike is more about the geometry and physical attributes of the female body.  In general women have longer legs and shorter torsos, then do men--women have the gams! (there are exceptions).   A girl friend of mine who is the same hight, has legs that reach to my belt line, but our shoulders are at the same height, as an example.

To compensate for this, women's frames, such as Trek's WSD's have a shortened top tube(STT) (running from the seat to the handlbars) creating less of a reach to the bars from a seated position.  

Other minor changes are a woman's saddle, women's pelvis's are slightly wider so the saddles compensate for this, the stem is shortened for the aforementioned reason as the STT.  The brake and shifting levers are are modified for smaller hands, and some models have narrower handlebars for the narrowere shoulder widths of women.

HTH