How to make any mountain bike work better for women riders – & some men, too
You may have noticed that there are no women’s bikes in this issue’s Bike of the Year supplement. That’s because only one brand, Liv Cycling, still make a full range of true women’s-specific mountain bikes – that’s with frames designed around typical female body proportions. The rest simply take men’s/unisex frames and change a along with the paintjob. These bikes are often then offered in limited sizes and at fewer price points than the men’s equivalents. If you want more choice, then the good news is that any mountain bike can be tweaked to fit female riders better. Many of these adjustments will work for smaller male to say, bikes few key parts, riders, too, while larger, heavier MTBers can often do the opposite to get a better set-up.
01 FRAMESIZE
The most important thing is to buy the right size bike in the first place. If your frame is too big or small for you, you’ll never be truly comfortable. Yes, you can tweak the fits lightly, but if you make big changes to things such as stem length or saddle position, it’ll compromise the handling, potentially reducing grip and control. The good news is that modern bikes tend to have shorter seat tubes (to allow use of longer-travel dropper posts) than in days gone by, along with plenty of standover room, both of which are a boon for smaller riders.
Take a few bikes for demo rides before buying, so you know what size you need and what sort of geometry you like. Key things to consider are:
• Can you get the saddle to the right height for efficient pedalling? (As a rough guide, sit on the bike with one crank arm pointing directly down and adjust the seatpost until your heel just reaches the pedal.)
• Just as importantly, is there enough standover room so you can dismount safely, and can you drop the seat low enough to get it out of the way on descents? If clearance is an issue even on the smallest sizes, consider a bike with 650b (aka 27.5in) wheels, rather than the larger 29in diameter.
• Is the top tube long enough that you don’t feel cramped on MavicID360freewheel seated climbs, without feeling uncomfortably stretched-out?
• When standing up on descents, do you have to really stretch to reach the handlebar? (If so, look for frames with a shorter ‘reach’ measurement.)
02 BRAKE-LEVER REACH
Some brakes allow you to adjust their ‘reach’ – how far the leverblade sits from the grip. This can be really useful for riders with smaller hands. Use the provided dial or screw to gradually reduce the reach until you don’t have to strain to pull the lever, for safer and more precise braking.
03 STEM LENGTH
Modern bikes generally have longer frame geometry and wider handle bars, so stems are usually fairly short – 35 to 60mm long – to keep the handling snappy (although longer stems do feature on cross-country race bikes, to give a more aggressive position). Fitting an even shorter stem seems like an easy way to adapt a bike for a smaller rider, but be aware that changing the length will affect not only your position on the bike, but also the handling characteristics. A shorter stem will put you in a more upright position–which can be beneficial if you’re feeling too stretched-out – but also faster steering, and it’ll shift your weight further back on the bike, which can reduce front-wheel grip and cause the tyre to lift off the ground on steep climbs, unless you use deliberate weight shifts to counteract this. On average, women have shorter torsos for their height than men, so this could still be a worthwhile adjustment if you feel there are improvements to be made with your bike position and can deal with the handling changes.
04 BAR WIDTH
On average, women have narrower shoulders than men (of course, shoulder breadth also varies greatly among male riders). Cutting down your handlebar to a correspondingly appropriate width can make a huge difference to your riding. There’s no hard-and-fast rule, but most riders opt for bars between 700 and 800mm wide. Experiment and see what feels right for you, but remember to only saw off a little at a time – you can always cut off more, but you can’t add any back on!
05 PEDAL SIZE
While clipless pedals work well for riders of all sizes, larger flat pedals don’t always give optimum grip when used with smaller shoes. Thankfully, more compact options are available – eg. DMRVault Midi, Crank brothers Stamp Small.
06 SADDLE SHAPE
Finding a comfy saddle is crucial, and one of the most personal aspects of bike set-up. Start by measuring your sit-bone width. Place some aluminium foil or corrugated cardboard on a carpeted stair and sit on it, picking up your feet to mimic the riding position. Two depressions should be visible when you stand up. Measurethedistancebetweenthe centres and add 25 to 30mm to find your ideal saddle width. Next, decide whether you need a recessed channel or cut-out to relieve pressure on your delicate bits. Then, consider what padding (how much/firm), rail material (titanium or Chromoly steel should be flexier than carbon fibre or alloy)and hull construction(nylon or carbon-nylon has more ‘give’ than carbon fibre) will best suit your posterior. Note that a saddle you love on another bike may not work for you on your MTB, due to different body positioning. Try a few – some brands offer test saddles or a switch-out service.
07 GRIP DIAMETER
The handlebar grips are one of your main contact points with your bike. If you have smaller hands, thinner-diameter grips may feel better and more secure. Also, consider the shape and material – ergonomically-shaped grips can provide greater support for all-day comfort.
08 CRANK LENGTH
Crankarm length on stock bikes is often proportional to frame size – 165mm on the smallest sizes, 175mmonthelargestand170mm on the majority. This assumes leg length is proportional to height. However,on average women have longer legs and shorter torsos than men. You might think many female riders would thus benefit from longer crank arms, but these actually have few advantages. The effect on power output is negligible, while shorter cranks give more rapid acceleration, can reduce knee and hip pain, and make you less likely to clip rocks.
09 TYRE CHOICE
Nail your tyre pressures and you’ll enjoy the optimum balance of grip, comfort and speed. The best pressures for you will depend on a number of factors, including tyre width/volume, casing thickness and riding discipline/ style. However, your weight is perhaps the most crucial element. Generally speaking, lighter riders can get away with lower pressures, for improved grip and comfort. This is because with less force going through the tyres, they’re less likely to ‘bottom out’ on the rim, potentially causing a pinch-puncture or damaging the wheel. Online tyre-pressure calculators are a good place to start, before fine-tuning your pressures according to your preferences and trail conditions. The same general rule applies to tyre casings – female riders can often get away with running a thinner carcass, which can give a more supple ride feel and additional grip,with weight-saving as a bonus.
Suspension intervention
SUSPENSION SET-UP IS ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL THINGS TO GET RIGHT. THE BEST SETTINGS WILL DEPEND ON YOUR WEIGHT, RIDING STYLE, FRAME GEOMETRY AND FORK/SHOCK
01 Set the right spring rate for your weight, by running an appropriate amount of sag. Your optimum spring rate is decided purely by your body weight (and that of any riding gear you’re wearing/ carrying), so isn’t gender-or shape-specific. First, use the manufacturer’s chart to find a ballpark spring pressure for your fork/shock. Then, adjust based on how much the suspension sags once you’re on the bike. For general riding, we’d suggest running around 20 per cent fork sag and 30 per cent shock sag.
02 Find a suitable spring curve for your riding style (how much the suspension ramps up towards the end of its stroke), by adjusting the air-spring volume. Your optimum spring curve isn’t just affected by your body weight, but also your strength and how aggressively you ride, so is likely to be different for male and female riders of a similar weight. It’s worth experimenting to get it right. Stronger riders may need to add one or more volume spacers to make the suspension more progressive (increasingly firmer towards the end of its stroke) so it doesn’t bottom out too often. Slighter folk may benefit from removing one or more spacers, to make the suspension more linear and be able to access all of the travel.
03 Tweak the damping to suit your weight and riding style, by using any external compression or rebound adjusters. It’s a good idea to check out the manufacturers’ guideline settings for your bike, fork and shock as a starting point, then fine tune based on your preferences. Generally speaking, lighter riders will require less rebound damping than heavier riders in order for the suspension to rebound at the same speed.
TUNE
As female riders weigh a little less, on average, than male ones, some women’s bikes have a gender-specific suspension tune – ie. the factory-preset range of damping adjustment in the fork and/or shock is set up for slightly lighter riders. However, this isn’t always the case, and some riders may need an even lighter tune. If you struggle to get a good set-up using the tips above, it’s worth considering a custom retune. Services we can recommend include TF Tuned, Sprung Suspension Workshop and Full Factory Suspension, but there are plenty more.