The Bike Designer's Take
The Bike Designer's Take
Of course, brand reps aren’t involved in actually building bikes – but we know someone who is. James Olsen used to design bikes for Genesis, and now designs HOY and Pinnacle bikes. We asked what data he bases his geometries on…
“I’ve got some sets of anthropometric [human measurement] data and I’ve not found anything there that agrees with the ‘longer leg shorter torso’ thing.
“There’s a lot of variation between individuals of either sex but the averages are practically the same and the individual ratio ranges are also very similar.”
There are some differences -however. He says: “Pelvis dimension differences will affect bike fit a little but so does build and weight distribution and that varies more than limb proportion between individuals of either sex.”
Some logic, but debatable
And his overall opinion on the matter? Olsen says: “I think there’s some logic to an adjusted fit for female riders, it’s perhaps debateable though and it’s not much adjustment, mainly due to female shoulder width and arm proportions for their height more than anything else. The rest is down to the individual not the sexes as a whole.”
Different approaches for different brands
Of course – it’s interesting that Olsen designs for HOY, where the frames are unisex, and Pinnacle, where there are women’s models. Olsen explains: “Pinnacle bikes are designed to be a ‘from the box’ sale -with women’s colour options and comfy saddles, the right bar and stem dimensions. The frame geometries are a little different to the men’s bikes but nothing dramatic, or outside of the range of finishing kit adjustment.
“The changes are to work with a smaller frame, the way women have different mass distribution to men, need for toe clearances, and so on. There’s some overlap between larger Pinnacle women’s bikes and the smaller mens bikes so most average height women can ride a men’s Pinnacle also.
“HOY is a different brand. Sir Chris doesn’t believe in women’s bikes through experience riding with a lot of other athletes male and female and I’m inclined to agree it’s not vital to a brand – so we do a wider size range to include shorter riders and include size-specific parts as well as tubing to prevent the smaller XS and S sizes being too stiff.”