Can a guy ride a womans specific bike?

JTE83 said:

I monitor the Trek Pilot ebay auctions, and all I wanna do is score a good Trek Pilot spa model (AL or CF). These rarely come up and sometimes they come in the womens specific design. So, can a guy ride a womens specific designed bike? Have any of you done this?

There a good Trek Pilot spa WSD CF bike but it not my size right now. Truly, if one came up in my size I might buy it even if it's a WSD model. I might have to wear a dress while riding it too I guess!

After Raymond Floyd won the Masters he revealed that the club that was key to his win was a ladies 5-wood. If the shoe fits .....

I test ride every bike I build or work on. A lot of them are women's bikes and some of them fit me pretty good. Don't get hung up on labels. Find a bike that feels good under you. It's just like buying a pair of shoes. Just keep trying them on until you find a pair that fits and feels good.

Probably a good idea to stay away from pink, yellow, or powder blue, though ;-)

I can't test ride these bikes because they will be from ebay. Truly, I wanna go budget and get a Trek Pilot spa because they're just too costly from the dealers! Around $1619 for spa AL and $2900 for spa CF. So I'll even have to buy a pink one if it's a spa my size! Will go either mens or womens model.

There's not much demand for a womens spa model so I might go for it. Like this ebay auction -
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=017&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=270109888233&rd=1&rd=1

The only womens bike I'd buy is the Trek Pilot spa models anyway.

JTE83 said:

I can't test ride these bikes because they will be from ebay. Truly, I wanna go budget and get a Trek Pilot spa because they're just too costly from the dealers! Around $1619 for spa AL and $2900 for spa CF. So I'll even have to buy a pink one if it's a spa my size! Will go either mens or womens model.

There's not much demand for a womens spa model so I might go for it. Like this ebay auction -
cgi.ebay.comeBayISAPI.dllOpen ↗

The only womens bike I'd buy is the Trek Pilot spa models anyway.

Well, you're pretty much stuck with looking for Trek dealers in your area that carry that model and size. I don't think I'd tell them your test riding for an eBay comparison, though. If you're gonna buy via eBay, then you take the chance that it's just passing through your hands if it's not a good fit.

The big difference between wsd and non wsd bikes is usually a shorter top tube - and sometimes a steeper seat tube angle. Women often have proportionally longer legs and shorter torsos/arms so wsd bikes are designed around that. They often also have some accomdations for smaller hands/shoulders like more narrow bars and sometimes short reach levers. It is totally conceivable that a man could be built this way too and thus be more comfortable on a "women's" bike.

oh and btw - as an actual woman I don't ride wearing a dress, though I do ride a wsd bike (I'm small and have proprtionally longer legs so wsd is the only option for me.....) so if you do get a wsd bike don't feel obligated to cross dress....

No, it's against the rules. 😉

I rode this up to the pub on Sat mornings with the group for a month or so... 😄

WSD is just a marketing tagline for bikes with shorter top tubes and geometry to fit the shorter rider. A 5'4" or less man with shorter legs and a long torso would likely fit very well on a so-called WSD bike. I would recommend consideration of a 650c wheeled bike for frames that small.

John M said:

A 5'4" or less man with shorter legs and a long torso would likely fit very well on a so-called WSD bike

Its the other way around - women have proportionally longer legs and shorter torsos than men. That's why WSD bikes have the shorter tob tubes, or so the marketers would have you believe.

To answer the OP, yes, shorter males can and often do fit WSD bikes, but the chances that you'll have to go a longer stem are increased.

John M's suggestion of 650c is a good one as well, however, there aren't many off-the-shelf 650c bikes out there.

n