The gist of the article was that the industry markets to men. Advertising is peppered with rain, dirt, agony, sweat and misery. Just the kind of stuff that makes men want to buy! And typically the kind of imagery that turns women off.

Elysa Walk from Giant Bicycle noted ,”The visual cues that trigger emotional response in men and women are different. We market to men.”

I flipped through some magazines and picked out a few ads that speak to this issue.

Apparently the only part of this rider not ripped to shreds is his crotch, thanks to his saddle.

Who doesn’t like Spartacus? But will this really attract the newbie rider who thought cycling was going to be about enjoying a jaunt with friends?

Even the sunglass companies have jumped on the pain bandwagon…and the gram bandwagon.

Here are some ads from companies who seem to “get it”. If the bicycle industry is indeed leaving $2 billion on the table by failing to appeal to women, as the article states, then these companies see the payoff.

Norco is a Canadian company. Two women, one man. How daring.

This is one page of a two page ad by Felt. Woman and men feature equally — just enjoying a good ride through some beautiful country.

SRAM’s ad shows their recognition of the fairer sex. Every woman can relate to this cyclist.

Will the bicycle industry ever figure this out? Maybe they fear losing their male audience if they produce ads that appeal to women. I think they can have their cake and eat it, too. It’s just a matter of willpower. Something that seems to be in short supply.

Schnaubelt Shorts lives on today under a new name — Aero Tech Designs. They still make their apparel in Pennsylvania and it’s the same great value it was when Cathy first started the company. And just as much fun.

When I went on the hunt for a hi vis cycling jersey, I figured Cathy probably made one. I wasn’t disappointed. At the risk of making fashionistas everywhere cringe, visibility trumps style in my book any day of the week. Fortunately, Aero Tech knows how to put visibility and good looks together in a women’s jersey. I am not only visible, but I look presentable as well!

Aero Tech offers two women’s hi vis cycling jerseys. Each has a 3/4 zipper, raglan sleeves and an elastic free hem.

One is a fluorescent yellow club nylon/lycra jersey, with three back pockets.

The other is a neon green Wickaway poly jersey with a single zipped pocket in the back and two small gel pockets on the sides. A great idea — fishing around in a zippered back pocket while riding is frustrating. Stuff your gels in the side pockets, zip up the phone or car keys in the back pocket and forget about it.

How visible is visible? Here’s a comparison of the fluorescent yellow and neon green jerseys with a plain yellow jersey. The photo was taken under a cloudy, but bright sky. The fluorescent yellow is clearly the most vibrant. Neon green doesn’t scream quite as loudly, but it’s more visible than plain yellow.

The sizing of the jerseys is true. I’d call the cut a club cut — not racing tight, but certainly not loose. The jerseys are cut to feel comfortable when riding in the drops. The length was spot on.

If you’re coming to the Wild Goose Chase this October, you may have a chance to browse all of the great apparel made by Aero Tech Designs. They exhibit at many cycling events. Hopefully the Goose will be on their list this year!

The Details:
Website: www.aerotechdesigns.com

Women’s Fluorescent Yellow Club Bike Jersey
Price: $39.95
Sizes: S – XXL

Women’s Neon Green Cycling Jersey
Price: $34.95
Sizes: XS – XXL

The Road Holland brand should be on every cyclist’s radar. Their Aalsmeer women’s cycling jersey ticked every box on my “must have” list: great fit, technical fabric, appealing color, classic good looks and worth the price.

Let’s start with the fabric: a lightweight 39% merino wool/61% polyester blend. Focus on that word “lightweight.” It finally warmed up enough where I live to test this jersey to see if wool could really be lightweight. Based on a weekend of riding, I won’t hesitate to wear this jersey right through the summer.

Not only is it lightweight, but the texture of the fabric feels very natural next to the skin. The soft merino wool is on the inside of the jersey; the polyester is on the outside. Forget that “wool makes me itch” line. Those were the bad old days. This is now. I bet if this wool were just being introduced in cycling apparel, it would be hailed as a miracle fabric. Go with it.

Now — the fit. At last! Not too tight, not too loose. Ah. Just right. Confidence building. I look like a cyclist.

Is it VW who says that if the car’s cockpit is designed properly, the driver never needs to take her eyes off the road when she’s reaching for things like the climate control, coffee cup or the audio? That’s how this jersey is designed. Reach back for a gel and the pocket (one of three, plus a small zipped security pocket) is right where it should be — no fumbling around because it’s too high or too tight. The zipper (full length, yeah) is easy to tweak up or down. It just works. You’re reading this from someone who can destroy zippers in an instant. This one passed the Georgena test.

The details are subtle, but classy: a nice lining on the inside of the collar; contrasting stripes on the sleeve. A lot of thought went into this design.

The Aalsmeer jersey should be part of your cycling wardrobe. I can’t imagine any cyclist who wouldn’t love it.

The details:
Fabric: 39% merino wool/61% polyester
Made in the USA of imported fabric
Colors: Milky White, Carolina Blue, Royal Orange
Sizes: XS – XL
Price: $120.00 (currently on sale for $75.00)
Where to find it: http://roadholland.com/collections/womens/products/the-aalsmeer

Thanks to the overwhelming success of Great Britain’s cyclists on the road and in the Olympics, the podcast world is brimming over with offerings. I’ve selected some of my favorites. Download them from iTunes and enjoy!

The Cycling Anthology
Savory talk about cycling history as featured in an evolving series of books by the same name. The first episode was apparently recorded in a pub somewhere in England. Despite the clank of plates and overtones of other conversations, it was quite engaging — possibly because I felt I was at the table too. Pass another cake, please.

Eurosport Cycling Podcast
Ah — who hasn’t loved every minute of the Eurosport television live feed of every major cycling race, thanks to steephill.tv? Every week or so, two of their correspondents cover the happenings of the latest races. The best part of this podcast is trying to understand the English language. Trust me, when a Scotsman speaks, you need to listen very carefully!

The Fredcast Cycling Podcast
An American favorite. Not periodic, by any means, but a nice wrap up of topics of interest to all cyclists. It covers news you won’t hear anywhere else.

ITV Tour de France Podcast
Seasonal, to say the least! The Brits gather around the mike to review each day’s racing in the TdF. Clever Brits they are. Love that sense of humor.

The Rouleur Podcast
Rouleur is a very coffee table kind of cycling magazine. The last issue was a hefty 265 pages, beautifully produced with writing to match. Again, it’s from our friends across the pond. The podcast is a review of each issue of the magazine. The talk is always enlightening thanks to a moderator who keeps everyone on track. The magazine’s excellent editorial standards are reflected in the podcast.

The Unofficial, Unsanctioned Women’s UCI Cycling Show
Ah — so close, yet so far away. Sarah delivers a delightful run down of women’s racing abroad and in the States. How long have we waited for something like this? Women’s racing is just as exciting as men’s racing. The only puzzling thing about this podcast is why some guy named Dan is part of it. His inane comments just detract from Sarah’s enthusiasm. Sarah, dump Dan. You’ll do women everywhere a big favor!

Velo Club Logan
Another review of the pro cycling world. Pleasant banter that’s fun to listen to when you can’t get enough cycling.

Velocast – This Week in Cycling History
Just what it says — the history of the sport tied into a current race. That Scottish guy is back again in this one … and still a challenge to understand.

We Have Pelotonitis
Back to the States. This is the kind of conversation you might have with your buddies about cycling races. No one’s a super expert, but they’re all avid fans. Two women and a guy. No egos about who’s going to hog the microphone (Sarah — take note); just pleasant chat.

The Spokesman Cycling Roundtable Podcast
The Fredcast on steroids. This podcast covers cycling business and news in detail. Most of the participants are active in the cycling industry and bring an informed point of view to the discussion. Very well done. A nice way to learn about a side of the bike business most of us never see.

Last summer, I met the person who several years ago was in charge of putting together a line of women’s bikes for a major bike brand. I asked her why that brand recently stopped offering 650c wheels on their smaller bikes. “Pushback from the dealers” she said. “They just didn’t want to stock another tire.”

How strange.  Dealers have no qualms at all about stocking “29-er” tires, the “new” 650B tire which has morphed from its randonneur heritage into a mountain bike tire, and tubeless tires.  And this on top of the standard tires they already offer.

At the Summit, another industry employee, was queried about her company’s abandonment of 650c. Her response? They didn’t make a profit on the 650c bike. Different fork, different geometry …

When in doubt, punt.  Don’t get me wrong — if a product doesn’t contribute to the bottom line, it’s hard to make a case for it.  But my question is: does their complete women’s line make a profit? If, in the aggregate, the women’s segment is profitable, what’s the problem? Wouldn’t it better to offer a properly designed, complete line of bicycles that fit correctly rather than compromise the line just for the sake of a couple of sizes?

This corporate “doublespeak” does such a disservice to our wonderful sport.  In a grab for market share, marketing blather has been permitted to prevail over design, not only with respect to women’s bikes, but all bikes.  ”Stiff is out. Comfort is in.” “Stiff is back in.” “Narrow tires are faster.” “Wider tires are faster.” ” Aluminum is harsh.” “Aluminum is no longer harsh.”

Wasn’t it a former executive at GM who said, “By God, they’ll buy what we build”?

Hmmm…this sounds uncomfortably familiar.

If the top tube is higher than you are, i.e. you have “negative” clearance, you’re an accident waiting to happen. Landing hard on a piece of steel, aluminum or carbon fiber tubing isn’t going to be a pleasant experience. You won’t “get used to it.”

Feet firmly on the ground with room to spare over the top tube!

Even if you just graze the top tube when you stand over the bike, you may still run into problems. The road surface isn’t always smooth. If you stop and put your foot into a divot in the road, you’ll be that much lower and you’ll run into the top tube. I know, you can always “lean the bike over”, but if you’re stopping unexpectedly, will you always remember to do that?

It’s too bad so many manufacturers neglect the petite rider. After all, she’s serious about her sport too and deserves the same good equipment as everyone else. Occasionally, a customer comes to me who is still an inch or so shy of fitting my smallest stock design. Ah, the beauty of a custom bike. Since I build to order, tweaking the geometry to fit that rider isn’t a problem, nor does it cost any more. You can’t put a price on your health and safety, so if you’re in the petite fit boat, consider a custom bike.

“One Woman Copes, wherein Pearl Rides the Tour de Palm Springs”

It is some time since we heard from Pearl which means that she is due for a disaster. Here is the latest installment of “One Woman Copes”.

Pearl and Elbert, as usual, signed up for the annual Palm Springs bike ride, the Tour de Palm Springs. Unlike last year, temperatures were pleasant for riding and there were no gale force winds. There are several rides ranging from 5 miles to 100 miles and they are staggered so that 10,000 riders aren’t starting at once. Pearl and Elbert elected to do the 25 mile ride; so did a couple of thousand of others. At the start of their ride, cyclists stretched along the street for 6 blocks. The band played and they were off. Elbert likes to be at the front; Pearl prefers the social group at the back so they don’t ride together, but meet and compare notes after the ride.

Pearl was having a good ride. She made all of the hills with no problems and didn’t even run out of gears, she passed a few people even. She stopped at both sag stops for a drink, PowerBar, and potty. By the time Pearl was coming down to the last few miles, the 55 and 100 milers were also finishing. Clubs riding in pace lines of 10-15 people who don’t grasp that this isn’t a race scream by. Police officers yell at the hot shots not to blow through intersections on yellow lights, a Post Office van stopping at mail boxes pulls in front of cars and bikes. A pace line cuts in front of a driver who is trying to be courteous. Things are a little hairy.

A few blocks from the finish the 55 and 100 milers are shunted onto a different street, but some of the 25 milers also think they are Lance on steroids. Pearl stays far right as slower riders are asked to do. 1 ½ block from the finish and Pearl thinks she has it made. She looks to her left and sees a rider rather close so she plans to move farther right to give him room. At that point, she realizes that a @#$%!!! idiot is coming up on her right to pass her. Pearl has time only to say “look out” and goes down. Two riders ask if she’s OK and help her up. She walks across the finish line, collects a T-shirt and souvenir key chain and limps to the LBS kiosk where they give her water and a chair and she waits for Elbert to meet her.

But wait! There’s more! Given Pearl’s advanced age, that she has landed on her right hip and has a bum back on a good day, she decides to get checked over. The local Kaiser clinic is closed on Saturday, of course, so she decides to go to the ER in Joshua Tree. She reasons that given the number of climbers who fall from rock climbs in the National Park, they know bones.

Elbert decides to change out of bike gear into civvies before driving to the ER so he climbs in the back seat. Shoves his leg through his jeans and hits the metal part of the seat. He now has a broken toe.

At the ER, Pearl takes much teasing about her fall–many assume she was on a dirt bike or quad ATV, but gets some respect when they learn that the old gal just did 25 miles on a pedal bike. X-rays are taken, a co-pay forked over and the Doctor calls Pearl and Elbert to look at the X-rays. He says you have spondilythesis (tell Pearl something she doesn’t know), you should be doing yoga, and says her back is sprained. He writes a prescription for a drug that has 8 pages of warnings and side effects. Pearl goes home and takes heavy duty asprin. Elbert tapes his toes and tries Advil.

Next day, Pearl and Elbert must drive 2 hours to Long Beach. She is grateful that they paid the big bucks and have heated seats in the SUV.

Pearl rests, ices, heats and takes aspirin, but decides to visit own doctor. After lengthy discussion he prescribes a short course of low dose steroids. You too can ride like Lance.

It is now 10 days since the crash. Pearl is still limping, bitching, taking aspirin and bored out of her skull, but improving. Elbert’s toe is no longer multi-colored and he is back to his morning walks.

Pearl has decided she probably won’t sell her bikes, but the Tour de Borrego in 2 weeks looks iffy.

My most recent bike, a nifty custom conglomerate of Coto Doñana Tour (most of the components), Coto Doñana Vagabond (the frame and fork) and (the still in its prototype stages) American Dipper, landed at REI in Tempe under the watchful eye and skilled hands of Master Technician Tyler Schettler.

How nice it is to work with a dealer who appreciates the bike and respects the customer. Tyler kept me and the bike owner in the loop throughout the building process. I felt like I was in the shop! Kudos to REI for setting the standard.

You probably want to know more about this bike. Its rider will be doing loaded touring on paved and dirt roads. She’s the average American woman height-wise, but much more slender. She knows a lot about her riding style and her preferences in bicycle components. As a result, her bike is made from the slightly lighter tubing used on CD Vagabond, but with the touring components of CD Tour. The wheels are all-American: Phil Wood 36 hole touring hubs with Velocity’s Aeroheat rims (now made in Florida). The saddle is the tried and true Brooks Team Pro. (Steel frame and fork plus Brooks saddle — these will last for decades with care.) The package is topped off in Iron Ore metallic, a custom color.

I’m looking forward to working with my next customer and hoping an REI is her town, too.

1). Multiply your barefoot inseam by 0.883. Adjust the saddle until the distance from the top of the saddle to the center of the bottom bracket is this length. This method is a good starting point for setting your saddle at the right height, but it doesn’t take into account the length of the crank arms, the shoes you wear or the pedals you use.

2). Using the same barefoot inseam length, multiply it by 1.09. This should be the distance from the top of the saddle to the pedal platform, when the pedal is at the bottom of its stroke, not when it is in line with the seat tube.

3). Put your bike on a trainer and get into your normal riding position. Put your heels on the pedals and back pedal. Raise the saddle height until you just start to rock side to side on the saddle, then back it down a tad. You can also just go for a ride on your bike to do this. With the sun at your back, you can watch your shadow to see when you start to rock.

I can pretty much guarantee if you try all three of these methods, you’ll come up with three different saddle heights. The third method, though, is the one that will probably get you on the way to a good fit faster than the other two. That’s because it’s addressing the “real” you on the bike. A measurement is just a number; it doesn’t know if your build is slight or your feet are big.

So start with the last method and set the saddle height. To tweak it from here, you’d be well advised to follow Andy Pruitt’s advice. He’s the hands down expert. When your pedal is at the bottom of the stroke he suggests a saddle height that will give your knee a bend of 150 – 155 degrees. Note that the angle of a perfectly straight leg would be 180 degrees. We want a slight bend to the knee. He uses anatomical landmarks to measure the angle, from the hip (greater trochanter) to the knee (lateral condyle) to the ankle (lateral malleolus). It’s tough for a novice to locate the landmarks accurately, so if you go this route, work with someone who can help you.

What you’re ultimately trying to achieve is a position that won’t tweak your knees, those precious commodities that put up with a lot from a cyclist. When they aren’t happy about the saddle height, they’ll give you a shout and you’d best heed it. If your knees hurt at the front, try raising the saddle a bit. If the back of your knees hurt, try lowering the saddle a bit.

Which shop?

• First, find a shop that specializes in the kind of bike you’re looking for. Some shops sell lots of road bikes, but not mountain bikes, and vice versa. You want the shop that sells the type of bike you’re planning to buy.
• Take some time to browse as many shops as you can. Are you comfortable with the shop environment, the employees, the “feel” of the store?
• Some women feel more comfortable working with a female salesperson. Other women have no preference. Which are you?
• Talk to your biking friends. Which shops do they like?

Once you’re in the shop.

• Forget about your price point. Try bikes that are more expensive and less expensive just to see what they’re like and why they cost what they cost. If the person waiting on you doesn’t have the patience for this, try another store.

• Make sure the test ride is enough of a ride to give you an opportunity to really assess the bike.
• The test ride is critical! Just sitting on a bike while someone holds it up for you tells you next to nothing.

• If you can, on the test ride, wear the shoes and clothes you usually wear when you ride. Think of it as Linus and his blanket. Eliminating as many unknown variables as possible will help you better evaluate the test ride.
• If the shop employee who’s waiting on you is good, he/she will make sure the bike is adjusted properly before you test it. This means adjusting the saddle height/tilt/fore-aft position and the height of the handlebars. If the shop is really accommodating, they’ll swap out stems if necessary to really dial in your reach. If the bike’s not adjusted for you, it may feel uncomfortable and you may pass up on the perfect bike and never know it.
• Let comfort be your guide. If you don’t feel comfortable on the bike and the shop can’t adjust it to make it feel comfortable, try another bike. And remember — you define comfort. It doesn’t matter how good someone says you look on the bike. If you don’t like it, it’s not for you.

Where are you coming from?
All the things you like and dislike about your current bike are clues you can use to make sure your new bike is indeed your dream bike. Take measurements of your current bike so you can compare it to the new bikes. For instance, if you feel too “stretched out” on your existing bike, look for a bike with a shorter reach to the handlebars.

Do your homework.

• Read up on different frame materials and component groups. Check out reviews of the bikes you’re considering. Talk to other riders.
• Don’t overload on information. Information is good, but it can have the effect of paralyzing you if you get too caught up in it.
• Watch my video series on bicycle design.




Good luck on your search. Find that perfect bike and ride a few miles for me!