Velovixen women’s cycling group has drunk the koolaid

[QuebecBagnet]

So it advertises itself as a women’s cycling group, it’s just a Facebook group. But nice to have a female space where you can talk about labia related saddle issues, etc.

It’s the sort of group where personal posts aren’t encouraged, got to be cycling related. People,don’t do introduction posts.

A new user has done a lengthy navel gazing “hi I’m new to the group post”. Which nobody does. Complete with photo where they totally look like a bloke. And of course in their paragraphs and paragraphs of waffle they say they’re a trans woman.

Some people have started other posts saying they don’t feel comfortable, etc. Such people are getting called terfs, getting banned. Posts from admin saying we are inclusive to ALL women, telling us to be kind. And then switching comments off quickly. I hate being told to be kind. What they actually mean is “shut up little woman and do as you’re told, do what men want you to do “. I haven’t seen anyone actually be unkind to this individual but accept maybe someone has been and it was deleted. Just so pissed off, nowhere is safe.

How do you mean? Women's cycling clothing tends to be for smaller frames and slightly bigger hips. (And frankly too small for a lot of female people!) GRS wouldn't change any of that. I think a male who fit female specific cycling clothes post GRS would most likely have fit pre as well.

Obviously the colours and patterns are more traditionally "girly" but I don't think you need surgery to wear pink 😂

That aside, I doubt VV's position on trans women is why they went bust. Cycling is full of companies set up by enthusiasts who think there's a niche to sell to more people like them (hipster, female, whatever) They do ok for a while, look like they have a viable business, but after a while all the people who fit their niche have bought the things, and they can't compete on more general stuff because the big names have better pricing, so they fold.

a - it would appear they did have a bulge as they posted pics of it, which is usually caused by having a penis.

b - a male not having a penis any more is highly likely to not be able to use a bike for a good while, and would be a eunuch not a woman. Women are not men with no penises.

Thanks for this thoughtful response.

Perhaps though there would be potential for, say, Rapha to release a range in ‘girly colours’ but suiting a male pelvis yet not tailored for a ‘bulge’. This would be targeted at post op male to female transsexuals. There could also be cuts for pre-op accommodating the presence of male genitals. Even if that’s a small consumer cohort, it could still be a sound investment as the PR generated would halo nicely across their broader business.

@NeighbourhoodWatchPotholeDivision , it welcomes all 'women' then; irrespective of their actual sex. That is really not the same as welcoming all women.

Amazing how groups set up for women end up talking about the men who claim to be women, and how women have to pretend they are women go along with this as if it was reality.

I stopped buying from them some years ago when they started using a man as one of their ambassadors. He can be seen modelling their own brand kit.

They made a strong stance against British Cycling for partnering with Shell due to the obvious green washing. Yet they clearly don't seem to have an issue with men invading women's spaces.

A space set up for women that welcomes someone who wishes to use the women for 'validation.

If your USP is helping women to feel safe and comfortable then that's a pretty quick way to ruin your branding.

And unfortunately once people have left a community they're probably fairly unlikely to return.

Most people don't like being used.

They especially don't like being told they can either submit to being used nicely or gtf.

They tend to gtf and not look back.

While their failure to keep a women's space women only might not have been the only reason their business failed, it won't have helped.

I can't say I'm sad they've gone under although I do feel sorry for all the people who are left out of pocket (judging by their Facebook page, a lot of customers are rightly really pissed off)

They've just gone into administration. Received this yesterday afternoon:

It is with great sadness that we have to announce that our beloved VeloVixen is entering into liquidation. After 11 long years, filled with both joys and challenges aplenty, VeloVixen has now ceased trading and is in the process of entering into a Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation.

We are so proud to have created such a thriving community and trusted hub for women’s cycling over the years. Unfortunately, in recent months an unprecedented number of adverse forces have conspired against us. Despite every effort, they have ultimately made it impossible for a small family business like ours to continue.

On a personal note, this is clearly a miserable time for us – both emotionally and financially. But we went in with our eyes open when we launched during those rosy weeks after the 2012 London Olympics. Running a small business comes with risks attached. Those risks can become insurmountable at times like we are all currently navigating.

However, we feel worse for our customers and suppliers, some of whom also stand to lose out financially. We have always prided ourselves on treating everybody we deal with as we would want to be treated ourselves: fairly, decently and respectfully. Every sale we have ever taken has been processed in good faith, in the expectation that every customer would end up happy with their goods and every supplier would be paid on time. We like to think we achieved this almost without fail for more than a decade.

Sadly, at times like these it has become apparent that this is not always possible or controllable. If you are one of the people that stand to lose out, please accept our heartfelt apologies. It is the last thing we wanted. We have sincerely wanted to be able to be more transparent about the situation earlier than this, but we were advised not to announce anything until this week. For more details on the current situation with Returns, please click here.

Whilst there is no single reason for our situation, some of the factors include: the hugely increased cost of products; energy price hikes and their widespread damage; changes in customer behaviour, with ever-growing returns rates and appetite for discounts; far more expensive advertising rates; and the broader cost-of-living crisis. At the end of the day, if a product is discretionary, then right now people are understandably looking to spend less on it. And, whilst we remain passionate about it, much cycling clothing is not absolutely vital for survival.

We are hopeful that the VeloVixen name may yet live to fight another day in some guise. We will not be involved ourselves, but the worst outcome would be for such a positive force to fizzle out.

Please, PLEASE continue to shop with small businesses – they desperately need your support, now more than ever. And please keep supporting the wonderful world of women’s cycling wherever and however you can.

Finally, we want to send out a huge thank you to everybody who has contributed to making VeloVixen what it has been: our team over the years, our wonderful suppliers, our friends throughout the cycling industry, our Facebook Group members and Ambassadors, our social media and email followers, and most of all our customers - without whom VeloVixen would never have achieved what it has. Thank you so much for everything you have contributed.

Happy Cycling and love to you all,

Liz & Phil

Agreed with PP, it won't have been the only reason but it won't have helped. I stopped spending with them immediately and I know of at least 10 others in my cycling club who did the same. I'd say we were all spending circa £100 a month on merchandise.

I think that VeloVixen was between a rock and a hard place once that man joined the group.

Running and modding a facebook group isn't hard labour down the salt mines, but it's not a doss, either. The company was doing it because it contributed to brand awareness and engendered brand loyalty.

The moment the company was forced to take a stance, it had to alienate some of the active users. Either it lost the women who wanted to be kind, or it lost the women who were sick of being a resource for validation. I don't know which group spends more, but in the short term, it's physically safer to offend the latter group. We are more likely to quietly walk away and spend elsewhere without sending death threats to our previous preferred retailer.

Sadly for all of us, the cost of living crisis has hit. I imagine having all its old customer base would have helped the finances, but it probably would not have been enough to stay afloat.

@NeighbourhoodWatchPotholeDivision I get what you're saying but he was so clearly a pervert. Their moderation rules would have had that covered and they could so easily have chucked him out. It probably wouldn't have saved them from going under, but I for one would have bought from them just from that action alone.

Absolutely, the rules covered his behaviour. It should have been simple. But I used to be in multiple fb groups for unrelated topics, and I've been amazed at what level of exhibitionism is praised by other women in groups if the man says "I'm trans" in his post. The supporters of these men are always very fervent in their championing of group members' (fnar) rights to "accidentally" post pictures of their semi-erect cocks in ladies' leisure wear.

I'm not sure how blatant it has to be for some women to refuse to excuse it, but they're typically disproportionately loud and disruptive in their insistence that men are being bullied out of the community for posting innocent genitalia footage. Mods usually find it easier to placate them, and everyone else who disagrees (including me!) leaves or is banned.

I'm a commuter cyclist who cycles to save money, so not really Velovixen's target market, but I'd have bought something from the company if they'd kicked him out, too.

'innocent genitalia footage'

Another VV ex-customer. I still use the group but I've blocked seeing pics/posts of that user.

I hope VV get to see these comments.

For a company with quite a small customer base there have been a few people on here willing to say they've stopped buying and for everyone who is vocal there will be many more who quietly stop buying.

I think there's about 15 on this thread? (Counting the PP who said 10 in her club). If there were another 3 quiet leavers for each one that's 60 customers lost.

That could make all the difference really, especially for a small company with a small customer base in challenging times.

Oooooh I've never clicked on in the club because I assumed it was about pregnancy.

There's a similar fetishist in a textile repurposing group I was in. It really annoys me as it's full of incredibly talented artistry, most posts get >100 likes and suddenly a bloke in lipstick and a bed sheet wrapped round him appears and is getting <1000 likes and endless gushing praise.

@hennylovespens I’ve seen the same in other Facebook groups aimed at women. I left those groups and no longer supported the retailers that were involved. It would make me so sad/angry to see women making heartfelt posts and get little to no response, but then a man comes along spamming the group and the huns flock to say how clever/stunning he is and offer advice. Maddening.

Oooo, not sure that's a good idea! (Although to be fair to Rapha, their colours /patterns are not especially gendered).

There are some very high profile trans women cyclists so if a cycle clothing company saw an opportunity for TW specific gear like you suggest I'd expect them to be jumping up to sponsor one of these people to wear it.

However male cycling kit doesn't (as far as I know, not a man here) have a "bulge" tailored in, because lycra. The padded bit is a different shape but that's more about the sitting bones. Similarly the women's tops don’t really have bulge-specific areas. Cycling kit is either baggy or stretchy. Either way no bulge accommodating tailoring necessary.

So the TW specific outfit would end up being pretty much a standard male fit only with arbitrary pink twiddle. Maybe they'd do slightly higher rise shorts to look closer to a female cut. This is basically saying Woman equals Girly Colours which is dreadful optics for an industry that already has a bad reputation for "shrink it and pink it"!

And without any significant practical design changes other than the colours it's such blatant transwashing I think it would even backfire on the TQ+ angle. Even if there was practical mileage in the original "bulgeless" idea, it would get pushback from the trans community because the expectation that a TW is likely to be post-op is considered outdated.

IMO a cycle clothing group wanting to genderwash its halo would do much better by having the exactly same designs (whether girly, manly and funky alien) across a range of cuts for different body shapes and a range of padded shorts for different butts without labelling specific sexes. Between that and the lycra I reckon pretty any gender could find a good match.

I’ve seen the same in other Facebook groups aimed at women. I left those groups and no longer supported the retailers that were involved. It would make me so sad/angry to see women making heartfelt posts and get little to no response, but then a man comes along spamming the group and the huns flock to say how clever/stunning he is and offer advice. Maddening.

YY I've also seen this play out many times.