Women's Bicycles: Finding a Bike Rack for the Frame

Riding a bike is one of the most popular ways for people to commute, exercise, or just ride for pleasure. Bicycles give you a freedom and a mobility that’s not really matched by any other medium of transportation, and you get the peace of mind that comes with knowing you’re using one of the “greenest” modes of transit out there.

The Difference Between Men and Women’s Bikes

Let’s be clear, the only bike a rider needs today is one that fits the proportions of their body and their style preferences. However, that wasn’t always the case, and still isn’t the case with many vintage-inspired casual bicycles.

Historically, women’s bikes were constructed less for performance rather than style, and featured step-through frames that accommodated the long skirts of the time.

Today, the difference between bikes designed for women and men are more subtle. Slight adjustments to handlebars, seats and brake levers accommodate riders who have, on average, narrower shoulders, wider hips and smaller hands than most of their male counterparts.

Why Design Matters When Transporting a Bike

When moving a bike from A to B on a carrier, most of those slight feature differences won’t make a difference in the way in which it’s secured or moved – except one. If the bike is lacking that top frame tube, or has a step-through frame, any carrier that relies on hanging the bike from the frame will be problematic.

Choose a Hitch-Mounted Carrier with a Moveable Support Arm for the Bike Frame

One of the easiest ways to get around a step-through frame is to find racks that don’t hang the bike from the frame, but rather simply use an adjustable support arm that rests on the frame to keep it from moving in transit. That’s where hitch-mounted carriers come in.

Hitch-mounted carriers are universally appealing because they load the bikes using the tires, meaning that the frame is taken out of the equation. This is particularly attractive to families and couples since different types of bicycles will fit without requiring any sort of cumbersome or expensive adaptive equipment.

Some of the benefits of choosing a rear-mounted bike rack include:

• They don’t need overhead clearance like a roof-mounted rack
• They can hold up to four bikes at a time (depending on the model)
• The bikes don’t hang, so the tires are secured and unable to move in transit

Install a Hanging Rack and Purchase a Frame Adapter

If you do opt to use a hanging rack, there are some measures that you can take to ensure that your women’s bike can be easily integrated into this piece of equipment. There are devices called frame adapters on the market which are created at a universal size and can be mounted onto a women’s bike. Essentially, they serve to mimic the horizontal top bar that men’s bikes enjoy. While they can be an expense unto themselves, once you have one you can rest assured that your women’s bike can be placed onto basically any rack on the market.

These can be an attractive option for some folks because they mean that they can use them to fit a used or an old rack, which means that they won’t have to purchase an entire new piece of equipment if they don’t necessarily want to.

Truck Bed Racks

Designed specifically for pickup trucks, truck bed racks are another universal product that fits any type of bicycle. These look almost like miniature versions of outdoor bike racks that are outside of most schools and other public places. They allow for one wheel of a bike to be locked into place into the rack and then secured with bungee cords, ratchet straps, or similar equipment.

Most of these racks can fit up to four bikes, so they again present a family-friendly option for most riders. Again, you’re taking the frame itself out of the equation and focusing on just securing the tire is a great way to make for a universal fit. Here at Discount Ramps we offer a few options, but one of our fan favorites is the Elevate Outdoor Truck Bed Bike Rack which is quite affordable and frequently goes on sale.

Mounting a women’s bike can present a challenge in some instances, but with some ingenuity or a moderate investment, you’ll be sure to find that this can easily be surmounted. Give our team a call today to learn more about your choices, and we can get you on the road ASAP.