women's bikes Archives -

Christmas Gift Guide for female road cyclists from Women Who Cycle

December 4, 2018 Nicola Bike retail, Christmas, Christmas gift, Women cycling, women's bikes

Christmas Day is just three weeks away so it’s timely to share this year’s Christmas Gift Guide for female road cyclists. I always enjoy compiling this list and choose things I’d like to receive from Santa Claus. I hope it helps you find that perfect gift for the cycling-obsessed roadies in your life. S-Works Women’s Tarmac Disc This gorgeous bike is my top pick for this Christmas. It’s an amazing machine and there’s also a more affordable version of it available from Specialized as well. S-Works Women’s Power Mimic saddle This is a new women’s saddle from Specialized that I

Skills: you need to master changing gears on your road bike

November 21, 2018 Nicola Bike maintenance, Bike retail, Bike skills, Women cycling, women's bikes

For me a really fundamental part of riding is to master changing gears on your road bike. It took me a few years to really feel comfortable with all those gears on my bike, but over time I learnt about them and it really transformed my riding. And I, like so many other new riders used to ride in a ‘big’ gear when I first started riding a road bike. It seems that when we start out we expect it to be hard to turn over the pedals so we tend to use a gear that challenges our legs. What

There are plenty of road bikes for short women

September 11, 2018 Nicola Women cycling, women specific bike, women's bikes

It seems there’s lots of short women who have trouble finding a road bike but they needn’t despair there are actually plenty of road bikes for short women. You might not find them in stock on the retail floor but they do exist and can be ordered. Not so long ago I worked in a bike shop and many short women would ask me whether they should buy a children’s bike! I would always reply that they should buy a bike for grownups, and in most bike types including road, mountain, hybrid and others you’ll find lots of choices. The

Road bike disc brakes are here, and all women are going to want them

August 1, 2017 Nicola Bike retail, Cycling Club racing, Women cycling, women specific bike, women's bikes

Cycling Australia made an interesting announcement last week, allowing the use of road bike disc brakes for most road bike racing within Australia, effective immediately. It was interesting because the international body, the UCI is still dragging the chain on the same issue, despite some of the big name riders like Marcel Kittel in the recent Tour de France winning several stages on a disc brake-equipped bike. Apparently disc brakes have been allowed in the US club scene since 2015. So I suspect that from January 2018 the UCI will allow them too, but we’ll have to wait and see.

The frame is the most important part of the bicycle

July 11, 2017 Nicola Bike retail, Women cycling, women's bikes

Before I worked in the bike industry, I was of the view that if you wanted to buy a road bike then your focus should be on the gearing of the bike, but I now know that the frame is the most important part of the bicycle. The frame provides strength and rigidity and largely determines the handling. The gearing which definitely matters, plays a secondary role. Just like many road bike buyers, when I bought my current carbon-framed bike I used the level of gearing on the bike as the key determinate. I first decided whether I wanted an

Help! What should I carry on my road bike for emergencies and mishaps

May 23, 2017 Nicola Bike retail, Women cycling, women's bikes

All riders should be ready for minor emergencies and mishaps and here’s what I carry on my road bike at all times. Even if you’re not super confident about changing your own flat tyre you should carry an inner tube and the equipment to change and inflate your tyre, because road riders are a friendly group and someone will always offer to help you. So here’s the list of items that I always carry on my road bike: Spare inner tube There are many different tube sizes, several different value types and lengths so make sure you buy the right

Tips for buying a bike for a woman

November 29, 2016 Nicola Bike retail, Women cycling, women's bikes

Thinking about buying a bike for a woman as a Christmas present? Buying a bike for another person is always a bit tricky, so if you’re buying a bike for your partner, sister, mum, auntie, niece or friend here’s a few tips to keep you on the right track. Riding desires Only consider buying a bike for a woman if you know that she has some interest in riding. Just because you would like her to ride alongside you, doesn’t mean she’ll be keen if you buy her a bike as a surprise gift. Even if you think you know

Buying the right bike for a female rider

August 16, 2016 Nicola Bike retail, Women cycling, women specific bike, women's bikes

If you’re ready to step up to the next level in cycling and take up racing, participate in a major event or start a training program then you are going to need the right bike for a female rider. Up until about 10 years ago, female cyclists had to settle for men’s cycling gear, or unisex as it is often called, so that bikes were not quite the right size and the apparel definitely wasn’t. Thankfully during the last decade there has been a number of companies like Trek, Specialized, Cannondale and Giant who have spent plenty of time and

What’s the best way to store my bike?

February 23, 2016 Nicola Bike retail, women's bikes

I received an email from one of my regular readers Tamara last month who put in special request for me to write a post about bike storage. So this one’s for you Tamara. You may already have your own storage sorted but hopefully this will help others. There seems to be two major issues with bike storage – space and security. There’s also the question of weather protection, but for most of us it seems to be important to maximise the use of space, and to ensure that your precious stead is secure. So I’ll address the issue of space

Should I buy a road bike with disc brakes yet?

December 1, 2015 Nicola Bike retail, Cycle racing, Professional cycling, Women cycling, women specific bike, women's bikes

I’ve recently bought myself a new road bike with disc brakes. It won’t be replacing my beloved carbon road bikes (yes I have two of them) which have caliper brakes but it will suit another purpose – commuting to work, short trips here and there, and maybe even some off-road riding. I chose to buy the Specialized Diverge because it has the ‘go anywhere’ capability and while I’ve only ridden it once I’m already in love. The hydraulic disc brakes are probably the biggest difference this bike has with my others so I thought it was worth a blog post