Girls don't cycle?? What's up with that?

[Himalaya]

As a mother of boys I have vaguely noticed that you don't see many teenage girls on bikes these days.

I cycled to my son's secondary school today to drop something off, and in the bike shed counted 40 definitely boy's bikes, 1 definitely girl's bike and 3 that could have been either.

Being able to get around on a bike gives an important measure of freedom and independence to teenagers IME (as a girl, and as a parent). It seems like just another important, fun, freedom-giving thing that girls are missing out on more than they used to.

Anyone got any idea why? What is preventing more girls cycling? Is it parents being more protective of girls/more willing to drive them places? Cycling (helmets?) having an image problem amongst girls?

sportsfanatic - I completely agree with you about quality of bikes. I bought the exact same bike for my DTs a couple of Christmases ago, except one was purple and the other red. The purple one - despite looking identical was definitely inferior quality (things like plastic screws holding the pedals together, rather than the metal ones on the 'boys' bike. No difference in the price though.

I notice the same thing with girls shoes - less sturdy and certainly less range in girls sporty shoes when compared to boys. As I have twins who are both very active and do the same activities with no distinction for gender, I am uniquely positioned to notice this I think.

My own mountain bike is a 'man's'. It is red and black and I love it and I have matching 'go faster' flames on my helmet.

I love cycling because I want to get there now and in all the cities I lived in as a student I've had a bike, except for Manhattan because I lived a 3 minute walk from work and the traffic on there was a bit scary! But in Edinburgh and Oxford I loved cycling everywhere and I loved being part of a (relatively) cycle-friendly culture. Now I cycle to and from the train station as part of my suburban commute and I think I will be very sad if I ever don't own a bike.

that said, did I cycle anywhere as a teenage girl? Nope. For all the reasons outlined above- crippling body-consciousness, not wanting to look sweaty and manky, wanting to walk chat with my mates instead, and above all, my parents were willing to drive me places rather than have me walk/bike there alone.

Interestingly, my big brother did a cycling-and-youth-hostel holiday with one of his friends when he can't have been much older than 14 or 15. Mum wouldn't have let me do that at the same age. Or at any point until I left home, I think. I think we are afraid of our daughters being out on their own.

As an adult approaching my prime, I LOVE the independence my cycle gets me. DH has to drive to his work, dropping our son in his nursery on the way. I use public transport but can bike for 4 minutes rather than walk for 20. that's 15 minutes more MNing/sleeping time. Result! And on days when I walk from home, I will cycle 3-4 miles to get something from the shop, or 2 miles to the post office, in my lunch hour. My bike stops me from being stranded in the suburbs. It's brill.

Mine was and still is a 'boys' bike. Not something you can base it on imo
I used to live on a bike as a teen and still ride one with a trailer though with four children not so much anymore

A dropped cross bar was to allow for skirts, how many girls wear long skirts to ride a bike anyway these days

Himalaya I've always preferred "boy's bikes" over "girls' bikes", i.e. bikes with a proper crossbar because they're more stable. At the moment road bikes are very popular and fashionable, and they don't come in a "girly" frame by default.

Especially if you're cycling for exercise rather than going from A to B, I'd expect a "boys' bike".

It kind of does show your own prejudice, though - there's no need for a step through frame for women anymore, as wearing long skirts is not default attire anymore.

Widowman -

As I said these were mainly bikes that had 'teenage boy' written all over them - not grown up bikes with a cross bar, but mainly low slung BMX style bikes and bikes with very overtly 'boy' style decoration. I would be really surprised if many of them were ridden by girls.

The few I included in my 'not sure' category were bikes with cross bars but plain styling. But I wouldn't fancy riding a bike with a cross bar in a school uniform skirt.

Anyway, I asked my son if any girls ride bikes to school and he said
'not many'.

a teenager at my house last night - girl - bmx flourescent pink.
dd - bmx
dil - bmx

in fact i know more girls with ikes than without tbh

Oh all right then I'll go down for a field trip at home time one day a survey, ok?

It's cool your DD and her mates BMX - do they do tricks/ramps etc?

So what are "boy graphics" then? Girls who are out and about on their own on their bicycle probably will have outgrown Hello Kitty and pink streamers.

My dd is frightened of cycling on the roads. I cycle every day and it scares me too.

Yesterday we saw a cyclist unconscious on the floor waiting for an ambulance. Maybe boys are not as worried about the risks? Although I haven't noticed any differences in cycling rates between the sexes in my town tbh

Widowman -

Yes you could be right. It could be completely my prejudice and this shed full of bikes that look like they belong to teenaged boys could be 50/50 owned by girls.

It's just I think I would have noticed all these BMX riding girls coming past my house, and at the skatepark (and cheared)

Does anyone remember that French and Saunders spoof advert...

"Because you're you. And because you're special. And because you have your cycle....... Cycle clips!!"

... and instead of sanitary protection DF holds up cycle clips with a smile.

I have a man's mountain bike but would struggle to find a man's road bike that was comfortable because I am a shortarse petite.

Women's specific bikes are not all about making room for skirts, they're about tailoring the geometry of the bike to slightly different proportions, e.g. shorter handle bars for narrower shoulders.

"Sit up and beg" bikes are no good for long rides / performance cycling but useful for pottering in town as you can watch the traffic. A dropped cross bar allows you to get on and off without flashing your knickers if you are wearing a skirt.

Basically you should get the bike that's most fit for purpose, whether it is a women's bike or not.

ruby. Would you mind going in to detail? I am about to get a bike - mainly for pootling around - and have been trying to work out the differences. Our local bike shop seemed great on the basics but were pretty dismissive (or possibly ignorant) about the difference between men's and women's bikes.

A lot of it is def to do with fashions. I have noticed quite a few girls around here riding BMX type bikes again.

My dd cycles a lot. When she was 9 or 10 we did our first 10 mile ride together, which is now a yearly thing. I'd like to build it up to longer rides, but she struggles with speed. I tried to convince her to get a hybrid but she was having none of it, so she has a mountain bike, and they really do make road work more difficult. It's no wonder kids get do put off cycling trying to ride bikes that aren't really fit for use. BMX bikes are practically impossible to ride for any distance.

I think she is the only one of her friends who do cycle. When I said to a mum that she will soon be able to cycle to school instead of getting the bus, the mother was horrified! It's 3.5 miles, and dd is nearly 12. By the time I was 13 I had two paperounds, and cycling to school, so doing up to 20 miles a day!

such prospects, what sort of terrain, and how tall are you?

this is my hybrid bike - I adore it here It's got nice big 700c wheels, and 24 speed which makes cycling up and down hills a breeze. Suspension forks, raised handlebars and a good ladies saddle for comfort. It can cope with dirt tracks and slightly bumpy terrain, but not offroading. I have a mountain bike for offroading, mainly do single track riding.

I really want one of those Basel bags too, my paniers went mouldy over winter, so perfect excuse.

Thinking about it I don't know any which is odd compared to when we were teenagers. Ds and his skate mates say they don't like girls who skate/bike so thats probably why I have never met any!

I'm ~5' 1" and it would be city roads, bicycle paths etc. There are some steep hills near us, but also flatter ways around them if you don't mind doing a few more miles. Ideally I'd build up to the hills...

There is a long term fantasy thought to cycle longer distances in the countryside with our kids in 3-4 years ish, but I think I need to get a bike that will work for now, and I can change later once I'm more in to it, know more about how I ride, etc.

When I went in to look around I was a bit shocked to realize I've never bought a bike for myself. Had them bought for me when I was a kid and since have made do with rentals or whatever is available.

ruby, I didn't know you were a cycle trainer!!

suchprospects, I think a ladies frame would def suit you better., and I would go for a hybrid. You really should find a nice big independant bike store where you can try some out.

woo, you go girl!

Then you can come down here and train meeee