Frames and Geometry

Since mountain biking requires a lot of time up and out of the saddle, and less of the repetitive steady motion of road cycling which can lead to injury if the sizing and fit isn’t just right, geometry between unisex and female specific mountain bikes is generally not as different as it is between unisex and female specific road bikes.

Standover height, which is how low the top tube sits above the ground, used to be a factor as a low standover was a selling point for women’s mountain bikes. However, most MTBs are now being designed with a lower standover anyway. Women’s MTB models will tend to run to smaller frame sizes than the unisex equivalents.

Saddles

For both men and women, the saddle will be designed to cushion the bum when the rider is sitting in a more upright position. As with road saddles though, the exact shape, areas of cushioning, holes and depressions will be different between saddles for men and women to accommodate those different anatomical features.

Brake levers

As with road bikes, these will tend to be the same on both unisex and female specific bikes. However, many women opt to adjust them to sit closer to the handlebars as it’s much more comfortable and easier to control your braking like this if you have smaller hands.

Wheel size

For some brands, where they offer a 29 inch wheel range of women’s specific bikes, they may spec the smallest size frame with a corresponding smaller wheel size. This is partly because those big wheels can be hard to find in a small frame, and also because it’s thought that smaller riders won’t feel the benefit of larger wheels, though other brands disagree and improvements in design are being made all the time.