To be angry about the names of these bikes in Halfords?

[CalmConfident]

In Halfords this week getting essential car stuff...and had a look at the bikes. I was a bit taken aback to see these ladies bike names from the Apollo brand. Entice & Virtue. There was also Jewel.

AIBU ? If so, any suggestions who to shout to about it

The male equivalents were slant, phase and evade.

@NotMeNoNo

Of course it's trivial but these things add up. Someone sat in a room and thought these were a good idea. It's a bit like the Victorian names like Chastity and Prudence. It just seems unnecessarily behind the times. Although to be fair I expect they were thinking of the enticement and virtue of exercise.

But then that would mean that men are supposed to phase, slant, and evade exercise

I think jewel is ok but don’t like the other two.

@cushioncovers

*Entice - entice you to go for a ride Virtue - feeling virtuous when you've been for ride.*

So it should be equally ok to put these names on a bike designed for men then.

I'm sure it is, but they came up with equally daft names for the mens.

@Balhammom

Maybe just give it a break for 5 minutes and let girls be girls.

Most of us, and our children, are quite happy without being dragged into these silly, imaginary battles.

The fact that women are annoyed about this means there is a problem.

Not everyone is the same. Grow up and deal with it.

It should be equally okay for some to have a problem and for some to not have a problem.

That's the problem - when some want others to feel/not feel the same way.

Actually Virtue makes a lot of sense to me for males or females. Most Halford bikes go to kids & kids are hugely idealistic. The military is a very male environment and talks about Virtue constantly to their recruits they may call it 'Honour', but pretty much same principles.

thanks for explaining 'Entice' -- that makes more sense!

Evade (to me) means Evade reach of people you're racing against. Cool.

Halford's should definitely be invited to do some market research on MN, as long as the rad-fems don't take over, and Hlfds can get a broader more representative sample.

I wouldn't get worked up over some names for bikes...

Yabu. Silly names but certainly not offensive

Don't you just choose the frame size and bike you want

No, or at least you probably shouldn't, a decent women's bike will have , women specific saddle, different stem length , different bar width, different length pedal cranks.

OMG! WTF is wrong with this world?!!

Looking at the pictures they are more than obvious ladies bikes by the angle off the crossbar .
Pretty std in marketing you aim the product at the audience it's made for saying that Entice,Virtue and Jewel don't jump out as gender specific to me .

My oh's (men's) bike is called a scab

So when we go out for a ride she has a scab between her legs

Dear god I've got more important things to worry about....

@StCharlotte

They sound like rejected team names off The Apprentice.

I'm surprised bikes even have names (apart from the Chopper and Chipper of course).

I was thinking the same 😆

You are right though OP. I'll bet there was one called Chastity somewhere.

We live in a highly gendered commercial society where women are sexualised. Unfortunately it’s not new news!

I have jewel bike and I felt the name was so cringey, all I wanted was a black small framed bike, but couldn’t find one.. I now have a plain purple bike, as I took the sticker and the name of off the bike.

It’s so cheesy and dated isn’t it

What about - mountain ranges, famous routes, races, challenges, international names for speed/fun/endurance/energy... there must be so many better options

Halfords if you are reading this do better it’s 2021

@TinkersRucksack

Dear god I've got more important things to worry about....

And I'm certain that some of your 'worries' would seem trivial to us, and to the OP. Because everyone's different, aren't they? I mean, fine if you disagree, but why do so many people feel the need to belittle and sneer?

More broadly...

I reckon they tested 'Jewel' etc. with females & found that females liked it. They would eagerly have a simpler marketing campaign if it worked just as well to sell things.

I am half wondering what products to MNers think it IS ok to market separately by gender. Leave out the items that have true biological function issues (like menstruation) or jockstraps.

Shoes? Perfume/colognes? Hair removal products? Don't we know that men are fast to rule themselves out of 'feminine' marketed items while women will see most products as potentially suitable for themselves, regardless of gender-hints in the marketing.

The OP is identifying yet another example of entrenched sexism. The same sexism that limits and affects the lives of women everywhere.

The name of a bike is a small thing and doesn’t hurt the OP but systemic misogyny affects women every day and throughout our lives. These stupid names are a little reflection of the reality of that.

If you can’t see that, look harder.

Mine is called Victoria, so is DH's bike.

Mines called the Aphrodite Swan 😂 not sure she didn't much cycling

@CorianderBee

Mines called the Aphrodite Swan 😂 not sure she didn't much cycling

The swan bit makes sense: Perfectly calm in the upper body; legs working like hell.

The 'male' names are pretty silly too. What sort of bike gets the name "Slant"?

@DdraigGoch

The 'male' names are pretty silly too. What sort of bike gets the name "Slant"?

Missing the point a bit...