Why are men's mountain bikes constructed different then women's?

Answer 1

The traditional difference between a man's bike and a woman's bike is the top tube design. A man's bike would have a top tube going straight from the top of the head tube to the top of the seat tube, while a woman's bike would have a top tube that connected to the seat tube somewhere lower down.

This was originally to make it possible to ride a bike while wearing a skirt w/o exposing any morally offending body parts while mounting the bike.

A consequence of this is that traditional women's frames are torsionally and vertically weaker than men's, which is why performance-oriented bikes all look the same regardless of the gender of the rider.

If you're looking for a performance-based difference, then women often have proportionally shorter upper bodies and arms than men, so some manufacturers adapt to that by building frames with shorter top tubes and other tweaks to the geometry.

Others merely slap a "cute" paint scheme on the smaller sizes of their standard frames and call it a woman's bike.

Do note that the dfference from one person to another can easily be bigger than the differences between the male and female norm.

There are also a few other ways of fitting a bike to the rider, if the frame isn't spot on. Stems and handlebars can be replaced for moderate adjustments of riding position.

While it's nice to have a well-fitting bike, for a recreational rider it's not as critical for a MTB as it is for a road bike. On a MTB the rider spends more time out of the saddle, moving around. Riding a road bike is a lot more static, so the position has to fit better.

And if it's just for pottering around the block, then most riders would prefer a "woman's" bike. They will usually provide a more upright riding position, which is more comfortable for casual riding.

Answer 2

Some are, some aren't. Women usually have proportionally shorter upper bodies and arms than men, so some manufacturers adapt to that by building frames with shorter top tubes and other tweaks to the geometry. Other merely slap a "cute" paint scheme on the smaller sizes of their standard frames and call it a woman's bike. Do note that the dfference from one person to another can easily be bigger than the differences between the male and female norm. The traditional difference between a man's bike and a woman's bike is the top tube design. A man's bike would have a top tube going straight from the top of the head tube to the top of the seat tube, while a woman's bike would have a top tube that connected to the seat tube somewhere lower down. This was to make it possible for the women to ride a bike while wearing a skirt w/o exposing any morally offending body parts while mounting the bike. Men, who were allowed to show their legs in public could get away with the high top tube position. A consequence of this is that traditional women's frames are torsionally and vertically weaker than men's, which is why performance-oriented bikes all look the same regardless of the gender of the rider.

Answer 3

Yes, No, Maybe. Women usually have proportionally shorter upper bodies and arms than men, so some manufacturers adapt to that by building frames with shorter top tubes and other tweaks to the geometry. Other merely slap a "cute" paint scheme on the smaller sizes of their standard frames and call it a woman's bike. Do note that the dfference from one person to another can easily be bigger than the differences between the male and female norm. Also that there are a few other ways of fitting a bike to the rider, if the frame isn't spot on. Stems and handlebars can be replaced for moderate adjustments of riding position. The traditional difference between a man's bike and a woman's bike is the top tube design. A man's bike would have a top tube going straight from the top of the head tube to the top of the seat tube, while a woman's bike would have a top tube that connected to the seat tube somewhere lower down. This was to make it possible to ride a bike while wearing a skirt w/o exposing any morally offending body parts while mounting the bike. A consequence of this is that traditional women's frames are torsionally and vertically weaker than men's, which is why performance-oriented bikes all look the same regardless of the gender of the rider. While it's nice to have a well-fitting bike, for a recreational rider it's not as critical for a MTB as it is for a road bike. On a MTB the rider spends more time out of the saddle, moving around. Riding a road bike is a lot more static, so the position has to fit better.

Answer 4

Depens on if you're talking about performance oriented bikes or bikes for more casual riding. For performance bikes: In many cases it isn't, a woman's bike is often nothing more than a man's bike, size small/medium, dolled out in a "cute" color scheme. It might or might not have a shorter stem, narrower bars and wider saddle. In those cases where there is a difference it usually consists of women's bike having a shorter top tube, to compensate for the average woman having a proportionally shorter torso than the average man. For casual bikes: Back in the days of the early chain driven bikes it was considered ommoral and immodest for a woman to show her legs in public, hence bikes had to be made so that they could be ridden while wearing long skirts. The sideways riding saddle for horses stems from the same era. Today the tradition of the step through frame as woman's specific lives on, despite the fact tha no one will raise an eyebrow at seeing a woman in pants/trousers or otherwise displaying their legs any more. Even some men prefers the step through fram these days, despite the fact that it's functionally inferior to the traditional men's frame.