The easy answer to the question “Can I wear guys cycling shorts?”

Yes!

The hidden answer after that is, as long as they fit you.

For a very long time women were lucky to have various types of moderate level shorts.  There has been a few companies that come to mind that have been doing women’s cycling shorts well. These companies are : Pearl Izumi, Giordana, Sugoi, and Sheebeast.

Even with these brands, for one reason or another I’ve still worn about 50-75% of the time, guys shorts.   One of those large reasons are bib shorts, which is another topic in its own, I love them and not one company has made a good women’s design bib.  This has left me wearing guys bibs.  Other reasons are team sponsorship, right now the shops team kit are guys bibs, which is fine with me.

Reasons Not to Wear Guys Shorts

Length of chamois.  The pad/chamois goes high on guys shorts as they have more “package.” This freaks some women out as it comes well in front of the pubic bone.
Chamois size.  Remember that whole women’s design?  That goes with shorts too.  Women tend to need wider chamois in their shorts.  Just make sure the chamois doesn’t end too quickly for you or end where the saddle will rub.  That will leave you with several saddle sores.
Inseam length.  Companies tend to put a shorter inseam on women’s shorts compared to men’s.  This is another reason that I wear guys, I have long legs and the 6″ inseam on girls shorts are just too short normally.

Recommended Guys Shorts/Bibs to Try

Bontrager RXL
My go to shorts for the past year since I found them.  They have different materials through out the short to help with compression and the chamois is made to mate with their inForm saddles.

Gore Power Bib
– One of my new favorites if you read my article a couple days ago.  One note, do NOT get the Men’s Xenon bibs as the chamois has a break in the middle.  Can you say “camel toe?”

Final Thoughts

Don’t let your local bike shop confuse you, your favorite pair of shorts are two fold.  The first is the dressing room test, is it comfortable?  The second is to make sure it fits well on your favorite saddle.  Seams away from the edge of your saddles and that the chamois doesn’t “fold” in half and start pushing up on soft tissues.

Men’s or women’s : who cares as long as it fits?

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As a young child I always going out on my bike or out on a run to get out. I wasn’t one to play video games or watch tv, I always needed to get out.

Because of this the bicycle gave me a freedom further than my two feet. I didn’t need my parents, boyfriend or anyone to aid me in getting where I wanted to go. Exploration and adventure were a pedal stroke away.

“I think (bicycling) has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.”

Susan B. Anthony’s words, spoken in 1896, ring true today. Courtney Ramey, a dedicated bicycle commuter, agrees with Anthony: “It’s easy. It feels great. It’s freedom.” Pam Polizzi loves that “biking gives you a great deal of freedom in getting around the city easily.”

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/10/NSPP1CAFIB.DTL#ixzz0hsrYwouB

Today this is going one more step as women seem to be hesitant to get out on the road or bike trails to try this new skill. The second they do try it, they feel empowered and free of all the ties they left at home. The children, errands, work week or BlackBerry can go on hold for a couple hours as they ride.

What about riding a bike makes you feel free?

Thanks to racing, being neutral support or being roped into mechanical support for 12 and 24 hour mountain bike racers I have had the ability to meet some awesome people in my travels.  Two of those people, Zeke and Carey, are riding their bikes across the Rockies.  These two are some of the greatest people you’ll meet, even though they are from the true south of Tennessee. Carey is an amazing mountain biker with a great story to tell about her races and past life in the military.  Zeke is the perfect friend to ride with, optimistic and always has something great to say about Carey.

Carey started blogging a few years ago and although she goes through spells of not updating if you are needing inspiration, motivation or maybe some great off road riding stories Carey’s Cycling Chronicles is the place to go.

Cyclelicious reports on 3 different recalls for the day from Felt Bikes, Burley Trailers and Nirve Bikes.

Velo Orange has photos of their prototype mixte’s that will be available early 2010.

The Safe Routes to School Conference started today in Portland.  Follow BikePortland on twitter for more updates.

Chic Cyclist gives her impression of the bike share program in Paris called Velib.

Evening Ride After Work

Involving your kids with cycling can be a very rewarding thing, if handled with safety and including confidence inspiring drills.  I hope to touch base on your basics, safety and how to continue to grow with your children and bike riding.

Photo from CopenhagenCycleChic

There are endless ways to ride with your kids.  Starting at a young age it could be in a bicycle mounted seat or a pull behind trailer.  Make sure that your child can easily hold up their head with the approved helmet and you are ready to go.  There are even systems like Chariot that makes your trailer into a stroller, jogging stroller or pull behind with ski’s!  In Europe they use cargo type bikes to haul their children because remember, they don’t own cars.

Next step is to get your child on a bicycle, tricycle or anything that goes.  Start slow, encourage and try not to give them any reason to get scared or worried about their riding experience.  Instilling basics of looking for cars or turning at a slower speed will continue with them as they grow so practice safe cycling, even in your own drive-way.

Lose those training wheels!  This is a whole article in itself, so for now I will leave it with one word.  Patience.  It is one of the few things children remember of “break through” moments in their childhood.  They probably won’t remember the first time they crawled, walked or talked like you, their parent, but riding for the first time on two wheels they will remember for life.

Ride longer, stronger and really start teaching safety including looking for cars, watching for other riders and what hand signals mean.

A few key things to instill in your kids from day one:

• Helmets should be worn at all times.  It is law in our house that if you are on anything with wheels the helmet must be worn and buckled.
• Excitement! Riding is something very fun and should be passed on.
• Safety is very important.  Keep your kids safe but also help cycling become more accepted in your area.

There will be many follow up articles about age groups, ways to start riding and continuing your child’s development.

Bike riding with family and children is an daily happening in my family.  If you have questions or concerns about riding with your children let me know if I can help!

Until next time, some links to further your research :

About.com: 10 Tips for Safe Bike Riding

Kids Health : Bike Safety

REI : Cycling with Kids

Recently going out on a limb I pulled in a Gary Fisher Simple City 3W into our Trek Concept store in Charlotte, NC. We have been selling a lot of life style hybrids, cruisers and comfort bikes. I thought the Simple City really fit that niche and added character that the other bikes could have, but had to be purchased and added on.

When the bike arrived I quickly took it out of the box and built it up. The 3W is a 3 speed, and like it’s big sister the 8W, is internal geared bike. That means the bikes gears are inside the rear wheel or hub to be exact. This means no derailleur hanging off the back of the bike. Less maintenance and a cleaner, simpler look. It also means you can shift at anytime, even without pedaling. Less thinking, more riding.

The 3W doesn’t come with the front basket that many people know the Simple for. The bike was designed as a front loader, to carry most the weight of errands up front. To accommodate and help control the bike with weight on the front end there is a spring that connects the fork to the bike frame so the front end steers very straight, and turning is very controlled.

The follow up is that the bike had a great response in the store and turned a lot of heads.  The color is much brighter than it shows up in photos, very unique.  It sold within a few days to a woman that walked in and had to have it.