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HokiePokie95 OP
Apr 10, 2023 at 10:41 AM ET
Why did they design boys' bikes to have the horizontal bar and the girls'
to have it curve down? Is it a stronger design to handle the usually heavier and more aggressive males or did they just like seeing us suffer if we had to stand it up and our toes couldn't reach the ground? One gets good and balancing, quickly transitioning to a walking stop, tipping left/right or even off the back to a stop. But WHY that bar?????

5 Replies

E
EDGEMAN
Probably the strength of the frame
You can make a bike lighter and stronger by starting with the "men's frame" geometry. Why all bikes weren't made in that manner is another story all together, but if you look at "modern" bikes, you'll see that geometry in both categories. They just make the women's bikes conform to their typical body builds...smaller frames, etc.
FfxStationHokie FfxStationHokie
Unicycle FTW
E
eokhokie
That hurt man!!
S
SteveInBaltimore
In a time where women always wore dresses
the lack of the bar allowed the dress to stay down around the women's lower legs rather than risk exposing much of their legs.
Late 80s Hokie Late 80s Hokie
This. Also, the marketing at least now isn't calling them a girls
bike, but rather the 'girl's' is "Lowstep".