Inevitably there’s always someone who feels the need to tell me that women’s specific doesn’t matter, they just met a gal who hates women’s specific, it’s shrink and pink; it’s all marketing……
Yes, this irks the hell outa me! EVERYTHING is marketing, let’s face it. In order to move product of any kind you must market it to the proper buyer. Let’s not kid ourselves to think bikes are going to fly off the shelves simply because they exist.
I am not one that thinks every bike needs to be pink or that every woman needs to have a women’s specific bike; however I am one that believes women need bikes that fit and probably want diverse color choices and that we are not the same size as men. Studies have shown that women are the decision makers for many purchases, so that alone would make me want to “market” to women.
The reality is women wear push up bras, thongs, and high heels…when we take this all off and swing a leg over the bike we want to be comfortable, fast and look good because we have miles to go, calories to burn and dudes to chick on the hills. No two women are alike, we are all unique, we want different things, you’ll have to work at it to make us all happy. As it goes, yes you’ll meet the girl against pink, against women specific–what she is really saying is “Just let me buy what fits me, my riding, my tastes.” She still wants the best piece of equipment and deserves it as much as the gal who wants it women’s specific and hot pink.
What women want are bikes that fit, more choices, more stores with full size runs so we can test bikes and we want the same engineering, materials and style that goes into any other bike. So give us that and we’ll be happy….and if you have that, STOP spending your time telling me what we don’t want and tell me what you DO have to make me more comfortable, faster, better—yeah, guess you’ll have to “market” to me-a woman.
