Women's gear... And a rant...

S

slider22

Squid
I don't know if it is just me but I am getting so annoyed at the lack of women's gear out there!
My hands are thinner than men's and longer in ratio, took 7 shops for me to find a pair of women's gloves that fluked a fit and the stitching started to pull after one ride.
And women's bike shorts?? So I want a pair of townie shorts, board shorts with a chamois liner.... Apparently harder than I think to find. Nothing for women that I can find locally and struggle online swimming through pages and pages of men's clothing...

Sigh... Rant rant rant from me, I know!

Any tips for searching/ recommendations or similar feelings of exasperation out there???
 
ChopSticks

ChopSticks

Banned
dont worry... its not easy finding mens clothing locally....so its no surprise youre having trouble with womens range.
your best chances of finding what you want is online, finding reviews for the clothing you want is hard enough... just gives you an idea how small the market is!


as for gloves...... i assume you are mountain biking? shouldnt be that hard finding gloves without padding? I use cheap 661 Rev gloves.
I'd consider them very thin, but enough protection if you fall hand first
have you considered thinner grips? ESI racers edge should be the thinnest/lightest grips around !

Good luck
 
A

Asterope

Likes Dirt
Nope - its not just you. I share your sentiments completely... and its not just gloves.
Try finding a long, fitted (not skin tight) non elasticated waist and arm jersey... found one (wow!!)? well... its going to be pink, or purple or baby blue with shitty swirly flowery patterns on it.
want something in merino? you have a choice of black, pink, pink or pink.

I understand the frustration that women have with the availability of cycle clothing, and wanting a bit more of a feminine look instead... but there are a few of us girls out there that don't fit into mens cycle clothing at all (because we are petite), so we rarely get the pleasure of having the choice between normal and girly.

That being said, I hardly ever shop for clothing locally anymore, because I always walk away disappointed. I find Torpedo 7 has a great range of womens shorts that don't look like crap and fit really well. I bought the entire range of womens raceface shorts from torpedo 7 when they were on sale... no liners though, I just wear knicks under them. They are baggy enough to do so, and some of them look like normal shorts, so you can wear them out and about.
They also have a decent range of womens gloves (fox, sombrio etc)... again, buy them when on sale so you aren't forking out too much if you don't like the fit.

I have given up on looking for tops... I just wear a t-shirt now and to hell with the sweating.
 
stinky1138

stinky1138

Likes Dirt
Raceface shits all over everyone for a decent range of women's gear. And it's not pink..... I've never seen it in a shop tho, only online. Guess women only ride mtb in BC ??
There's nothing different about women's gloves, just size and color. If you're not fussed about the color just buy small men's gloves.
I find Fox S is a perfect fit for me, some other brands I need XS. Good thing about that is Pushy's does stupid sales with gloves for $5 or so, and XS and S are usually easily available.
 
MudRhino

MudRhino

Likes Dirt
Sorry - i am not a woman (well, least not when i looked last), but there is a difference between girl's fox gloves and guys. My wife and I bought the same model, same size etc in a fox glove, but her's were female sized. I can't put them on.

As for getting good cycling clothes - it goes both ways. Some of the stuff for guys is not suited to all guys, or looks like crap.

You can buy sports tshirts that work exactly like cycling tops (e.g. not cotton) and I tend to buy those as I am not a grey hound. They work just as well. I believe most of mine are from Columbia - if that helps.
 
A

Asterope

Likes Dirt
stinky1138 said:
Raceface shits all over everyone for a decent range of women's gear. And it's not pink..... I've never seen it in a shop tho, only online. Guess women only ride mtb in BC ??
Click to expand...
women who mtb in BC obviously don't like pink either. Those green kyhber shorts and blue DIY shorts in their new season line... GIMME!!

I would like to try their tops... have you tried any Stinky and can you give any feedback?
 
stinky1138

stinky1138

Likes Dirt
Mud Rhino- I said the difference was the sizing....... If you look at a lot of the gear for women it's sized one smaller than men. So a men's L is a women's XL, hence gloves of the same size in gender specifics won't be the same size.

I've got a couple RF shirts, but not the women's ones. Can't complain. Nice quality, comfy, not too hot, they don't get really sweaty like a cotton tshirt. A lot of their gear doesn't look mtb, which i prefer.

The husband just bought some cheap "workout" shirts from like Kmart or someplace, they are micro fibre material. They seem to be alright, but are all fluro colors (which he prefers). Pretty sure there was women's versions too.
If we're not riding trails that require sitting, i just wear my Batman boardies. :D They are great akshully, not hot at all and hold up amazingly well to stacks. Plus they're Batman. Still comfy enough to wear knicks with but are a bit slippery due to the material.

Maybe us chicks should make our own line of gear ? haha
 
A

Asterope

Likes Dirt
Hell yeah! Batman!! the masked avenger of singletrack :D


stinky1138 said:
Maybe us chicks should make our own line of gear ? haha
Click to expand...
Im pretty handy with a sewing machine and pattern making... and you have no idea how many times I have thought the same thing... I think its a problem of finding fabrics and time :thumb:
 
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Knuckles

Knuckles

Lives under a bridge
The wife sweats like Pat Rafter in a sauna in the Sahara. She found the sports tops from Aldi (crane brand I think) to be really good. I bought a couple to try and they are comfy and keep you relatively dry, and at $10 a pop cheap a dirt.
 
cleeshoy

cleeshoy

Eats Squid
+1 has taken a liking to the Assos range of bib knicks and tops - fit very well and look great. Price-wise - well lets just say I wouldn't be buying Assos everyday, but +1 is VERY happy with the product - no bunching and "mashing of bits" - she did a 4+ hour ride in them and stayed comfortable the whole time.

Glove-wise she uses the Specialized BG Gel fit gloves - plenty of padding for riding all day. (http://www.specialized.com/au/en-au...b-gloves/womens-body-geometry-gel-long-finger). She has super skinny fingers (I don't even bother trying her gloves on as I know my fingers are way too fat for them)
 
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S

slider22

Squid
At least it seems like I am not alone in my ranting!!!

Will check out the recommendations suggested!

Hopefully I can look a little bit more suave than a ball or pink or someone who borrowed their brothers outfit for the day very soon!
 
chrisp2087

chrisp2087

Likes Dirt
Again, not a woman, but the wife is and we'd give a plug for Ground Effect the NZ company (not sure if I'm allowed to do links tbh but http://www.groundeffect.co.nz)

I've got a jersey and a wind stopper, the wife has a couple of jerseys, from their blurb they're about making comfy riding gear without the adverts, the crazy colours etc. etc. so they might be worth a look. From what I can tell pretty much everything they make in mens they have an equivalent womens version.

and also +1 on the raceface gloves, I love my fox ones but the wife swears by her raceface!
 
Norco Maniac

Norco Maniac

Is back!
Don't worry, I've done several rants about the lack of women's gear. I race bmx and as an older, larger woman I'm unimpressed that the pants we're required to wear never go over a women's size 10. The jerseys however go to a 16... So size wise they're still catering to men's fit. And yes, it's usually pink, pink, purple, or pink.

Not to mention trying to get a D cup sports bra without wires and in a cotton based Lycra.

For road stuff try Betty Designs.
 
C

carlyxx

Cannon Fodder
The lack of clothing for girls is horrible!!
I live in north qld and they barely have any riding gear for dudes in stock let alone chick stuff!
I am yet to find a chest plate that fits me!- If anyone has heard of some girl specific protection please let me know!

:) cheers x
 
A

Asterope

Likes Dirt
Girls - Pushys is stocking Race Face gear now... ALL OF IT!! shorts, gloves, jerseys, hoodies - you name it. And they are on sale at the moment with not a hint of pink or purple in sight.

If you are after something to keep you warm during winter, I can 200% recommend the shoody hoodie. Its long line and quite fitted so buy a size up from your usual size if you want to wear shirts etc underneath - generous hoodie size too and lovely thick fleece. I spent a small fortune buying mine online from the US last year and it was worth every cent.
 
foxpuppet

foxpuppet

Eats Squid
In looking for some gear as a gift for my wife recently I came across shredly.com they seem to make some decent shorts and chamois, shirts not much range but looks fairly decent without just being pink.


Sent by courier pigeon
 
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