Feminising a bike....

[orchie]

Well, finally got the go ahead from SWMBO to build her a bike. Her one condition - it has to look tough but still be feminine!

I'm looking at the pink king headset and hubs, but damn the hubs are expensive.

Any other thoughts to make the thing feminine? No streamers!

Grant

[gnarly_rider]

Spokey dokeys? Or a metallic purple paint job.....

[Techno Destructo]

If you're building wheels, get them done at a place that has a varied selection of anodized alloy nipples. Manly Cycles has about 8 different colours to choose from, and a choice of black or silver spokes. Penny (my wife) came up with her own colour scheme, which involves black and silver spokes, and silver and gold nipples... all alternating.

Get her some Hope or Salsa QR's, which come in a variety of different colours, and a very visually appealing.

Anodized bolts will give you various colours to choose from as well.

Selle San Marco make some very adventurous looking performance seats, but buying saddles for women is fraught with danger, as you might already know. It's like buying fashionable clothes for them... only they should make the purchase because it's likely you'll get it wrong.... (women are far more particular about the feel of their saddle then men are)

Make sure you grab the pink Chris King head tube cap.

Try to limit your colour choices to no more than three colours, so the bike doesn't look like a mess.

Good luck buying all the CK "Pretty and Strong" line... that will immediately make it one of the finest ladies bikes out there (not to mention, one of the most expensive)....

[scratchy]

Get a huge fat arsed seat. That way everyone knows it's a chicks bike.

[Oddjob]

Have you settled on a frame yet? If not I vote for a Cove Hustler in sassy pink or a Yeti ASR-SL in pink, they are hot!

Alternatively I think a frame in silver or even better poliched metal with the pink highlights would be really cool. Ie the CK headset in pink, I think Hadley make pink hubs as well as CK, pink bolts etc etc. Check photos below for the ultimate in tough yet feminine.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Jimmy-pop/index-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Jimmy-pop/88822DHRLWhole.jpg

[orchie]

Get a huge fat arsed seat. That way everyone knows it's a chicks bike.

I like this one :)

Haven't quite settled on a frame yet... thinking light but a decent amount of travel, so the Yeti may work well. Not subtly feminine but hey, it certainly gets the idea across.

Grant

[John U]

Ventana do a wide variety of frames in custom colors and chicks geometry (the more custom the size the more expensive). get onto shannon at http://www.mtbprecision.com.au/ or PM me if you need any details.

[gnarly_rider]

Get a huge fat arsed seat. That way everyone knows it's a chicks bike.

Oooh Scratchy, you'd be popular with the missus if she ever caught onto you posting that!!!!

[johnny]

Hmmm, feminising a bike eh?

Complete lack of accountability, it has to have a swing arm to account for EMOTIONAL stability, has to have bits that hook you up all the time to make it as CLINGY as possible and must be able to FALL APART for no good reason at all. Oh yeah and in place of a shoe collection that would shame Immelda Marcos, get heaps of different tyres too!

Disclaimer: I do not believe this to be true of all women, probably just one in particular.....

Ok, in all seriousness now. Maybe look at superficial things (no, I am being serious....) like the grphics a bike has on it. No hardcore stuff like a big sharp KONA or something, maybe something a lttle more subtle like Santa Cruz or even the Cannondale Gemini that has the picture of the fairy on it. Santa Cruz also has a pretty sweet colour range to look at as well. Has she had a stroll through a bike shop and pointed out to you what looks feminie to her? Also the flowing lines of bikes like the Giant Faith or V10 may appeal to her.

[Rik]

Nothing says feminine like naked chick stickers.

[projectsplat]

I did see a particularly feminine looking Sinister R9 hanging up in Pushi the other day.

Custom Cherry Red paint with a gold pearl through it. It is one hell of a girls bike.....

Hey Petri, you got any photos of it yet???

Cheers

Al

[scratchy]

Nothing says feminine like naked chick stickers.

Word.

Gnarly Rider. Pity you've met my missus, do I smell a bribe?

Probably the nicest all around bike I've seen for the "Ladies" has to be the Santa Cruz Juliana SL. The womans version of the Superlight IIRC it had features such as:

Thinner handlebar grips.
Shorter reach for the leavers.
Shorter top tube length
Pretty colour

http://www.santacruzbikes.co.uk/frames/julianasl/julianaslreviews.html

It has the added advantage of being a simple rear design, meaning you'll spend less time titting around with the setup.

Dunno about fat arsed seats. My missus doesn't use them anymore, at close to 6 ft she finds a lot of the "female" stuff not right for her.

Dilemma should chuck in her 2 cents.

[Bodin]

My missus made life tough for me by buying all her riding gear first and then sending me on the hunt for a matching bike.

Ended up getting a Trek Fuel 90 (blue and silver - purrrrdy) and after the stock seat failed the comfort test, the big girly seat came in to play.

The girl doesn't like getting out of the saddle while riding, though, so the seat hasn't spoiled the aesthetics too bad.

[Skin]

too short in the travel department ?

http://www.specialized.com/OA_MEDIA/2006/bikes/06SJFSRExpertW_Sil_l.jpg

It's Chick specific