“The frame weighs only 2.4 pounds,” the salesman told me. But he had me at hello. Raven, as I came to call her, was the first high-end women's specific bike I’d ever laid eyes on. It was love at first sight. Three years later, I have no regrets. I rode my first century on that bike, climbed the highest paved road in North America, won my first criterium, became race captain, and upgraded to Cat 3. Raven gave me new confidence, greater stability, improved handling, and increased speed.

I attributed this all to her being a women’s specific bike. Until I read Gail Bernhardt’s Bicycling for Women (VeloPress 2008). Bernhardt goes after the women’s specific myth in Chapter One, Anatomy and Bike Fit:

“In the critical dimensions for cycling, the difference between the average U.S. male and female is surprisingly small. Proportional to height, the male and female dimensions of leg length, hand length, and arm length are nearly identical.”

Bernhardt backs up her statement with current anthropometric data, presented in tidy little tables – irrefutable evidence that bike fit is gender-neutral. So Raven worked for me because she fit my proportions better than my old steel Lemond, not because I’m a woman.

Woman or man, here are the components that make the biggest difference in bike fit.

1. Frame Size. Typically ranges from 48 cm to 60 cm. One positive of the women's specific movement was the appearance of smaller frame sizes. The 48 used to be non-existent. Today, it’s not uncommon to see 47’s, and even down to 43. According to Bernhardt, the easiest way to determine your frame size is to stand over the bike in bare feet. Pull the top tube up to your crotch. There should be one to two inches of clearance between the tires and the floor.


2. Top Tube Length. Most bikes have a top tube that’s within 2 cm of the seat tube length. If your torso length is longer or shorter than the average person, you could require a longer or shorter top tube. How do you know? Measure your inseam, otherwise known as the length from your crotch to the floor. Now divide your height by your inseam length. According to Bernhardt, a value between 2.0 and 2.2 is considered average. Anything greater equates to a long torso while less than 2.0 means a small torso.


3. Stem. The most common stem length is 11 cm to 13 cm. If you have short arms, you may need a longer stem. According to Bernhardt, if you need a stem length beyond 14 cm or shorter than 6 cm, your top tube length is incorrect.


4. Handlebars and Brake Levers. The width of your handlebars should be the width of your shoulders. Handlebars come in all sizes, and can be easily changed out. Raven’s narrower handlebars really improved my handling. My prior ride was way too wide. If you’ve got elf hands, like me, women's specific brake levers work well because they have a smaller reach. Otherwise, there are shim kits to shorten your existing levers.


5. Crank Length. According to Bernhardt, bikes come with crank arms proportional to frame size. This is a good thing since crank length should be proportional to leg length, which is the dimension that determines frame size in the first place. But that doesn’t mean it will automatically work for you. This is one area where Raven required modification. Her women's specific frame came with 165’s. I’ve got long legs, so I changed her out to 170’s.