Why is it that bicycles are designated as "boy" or "girl" specific?

Question

Back in the day girls wore dresses so i understand where the lowered top tube design comes in, but now adays girls are wearing the pants......so why still gender specific frames?????

Should'nt a frame be designed with strength in mind???

Answer 1

Remember men's body and women's body differ from each other so there are different bike design to fit those to for the comfort of riding.

Answer 2

It's because some girls still wear dresses or skirts, so if all bikes were made without that distinction then where would it put those girls?

Answer 3

normally men are taller than women, also has to do with marketing. Women/men would feel better about buying a bike that they thought was made for their gender.

Answer 4

There are two different types of bikes targeted at women.  One are the Mixtes or girls bike, with the super low top tube, and the other are WSD, or Women Specific Designs.

Mixtes are basically entry level bikes that just have the top tube sloped because it's sort of what expected at a girls or women's bike.  

Now, WSD are another thing entirerly.  They are more oriented toward performance, and consider other things rather than women wear skirts thing.  Things like body proportion, are usually lighter than the standard bike, maybe shorter cranks, narrower bars, etc..  But they have a standard top tube.  Also, because it's more a geometry thing than what you wear issue, some WSD could fit some guys better than a starndard bike (well, he probably won't buy a baby blue frame with flowers), for some taller women, a standard bike might fit a lot better.

Answer 5

I always thought it was backwards anyway.  Unless it was a tight skirt - which would cause other problems - a skirt could easily drape over the horizontal bar.

And the danger of a painful landing for a boy slipping forward on the bike seems so much greater than for a girl

Answer 6

i don't know but chicks normally ride mens bikes