Have you ever wondered why......

[Buck Masterson]

Ok, I know I do too much thinking sometimes, but have you ever wondered why girls bikes, are girls bikes, and boy bikes, are boy bikes? If you really think about it, it seems like they are backwards. If a girls slips off the seat, there would be less damage on the cross bar since they don't usually have frank n beans! This was just something that came to me last night while working on my girls ross and some old clunkers I have out in the garage. Does anyone know the story of how this came about :?:

 

[musclebikes]

I have an idea why its that way..... because back in the day it wasnt right for women to wear pants. So when bikes first came out the frame had to be designed for women wearing dresses. It wouldnt be right for a girl wearing a dress to ride a boys style straight-bar....she would just show too mutch when she was riding.

 

[12bcruzin]

Yeah, in the 30s, it wasn't considered "ladylike" to throw a leg over a bike. Remember that "lady's" rode horses sidesaddle in dresses. Can't ride a bike sidesaddle so the step through frame was developed to help the the dresses. Then the sixties came along and its all been downhill for the step through ever since...

 

[salvagebeast]

Also the reason for skirt guards. Girls' bikes had skirt lacing at the turn of the century and were later replaced with stamped steel skirt guards. After the fifties, the skirt guards went the way of the Poodle Skirt.
Gee, come to think of it, I miss skirts, especially on a windy day...

SB

 

[CCR]

Just look at tina fey on the breeze, its the dress

 

[TheFlyingDingo]

I have allways wondered that myself...i knew it had something to do with the stepover thing.

 

[Rodland]

I always knew why the girls bike was made the way it was, but always wondered why a boys bike was made the way it was. I often wondered this while laying on the ground and groaning. This happened most often while riding my friends 3 speed,(what we called an English racer). It had a habit of knocking the breath out of you. :lol:

 

[2manybikes]

It might have something to do with the strength of the frame. A boys frame is a lot more rigid than a girls bike because of the top tube.

 

[12bcruzin]

Yeah, had to do with strength. Take a look at the old bike frames from the 30s and 40s, hard to find one that hasn't been rewelded a time or two. That and the rough old roads and trails of the day-it is just amazing that anything survived.

 

[salvagebeast]

Not to mention how hard boys are on their bikes in the first place. Not too many girls "ghost riding" their bikes, or jumping stumps and dirt piles. Mountain bikes got their start this way. A couple guys stripped ballon bikes down to frame, wheels, and preferably a springer fork. Then in my generation we did the same thing to muscle bikes and ushered in the BMX scene. I don't remember any girls getting involved in those scenes when I grew up.
Funny thing is.... Girls bikes are still made the same way. You see a lot more girls riding boys bikes nowadays, but the manufacturer still makes girls bikes with the lower top tube. Wonder what the reason is behind that?

SB

 

[lurker]

This is just an observation, I can't back it up with cited evidence, but in other countries, especially in Asia, almost all old traditional bikes are step-through.

 

[schwinnmesa]

You guys are all right. Also, in the old days, girl bikes are like how they are because the women would where dresses and it wouldn't require them to lift their leg up high to get off the bike. Therefore some pervert wouldn't see under the girl's dress when she lifts her leg up, unlike if she was on a road bike lol.