More than a century competing with sports bicycles so that the touring bikes continue to be called "women's"

Inline skates relegated that

pink and white

, with pompoms on the handlebars and barely worn training wheels, to a corner of the storage room.

I learned to skate, but it wasn't until well into my teens that I began to master the art of riding a bike.

I didn't graduate with tuition ... so I have never used a bicycle for transportation.

But the pandemic has made me rethink the way I move around the city, and there is nothing like a bike to avoid the metro crowds at rush hour.

Great idea of ​​mine, and that of - apparently - all of Spain: since the confinement ended, the stores have skyrocketed their sales by between 30% and 50%.

Lack of

It has caught me off guard, but I have detected a circumstance that has returned it to where it should be: there are still shops where I have to abide by an outdated distinction by gender if I want to ride one of their bikes.

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The differences are clear and striking.

The men's look sturdier, are dark in color, have wide wheels, and the top frame bar is in a higher position.

Those for women, meanwhile, look pastel tones, with delicate-looking finishes, the bar is much lower and some come with a basket hanging on the handlebar.

As if they were going to pick flowers.

At first glance, these

.

You have to go back more than a hundred years to understand it, until the 19th century, when the first velocipedes were designed.

Yes, those machines that had front wheels considerably larger than the rear ones, manufactured solely and exclusively for the entertainment of men.

It turns out that they had

without the charms of women being exposed to all eyes.

When the sizes of the wheels were finally equalized is when they began to design sizes for children, children's transport that some women did not hesitate to take advantage of.

In the words of Susan Brownell Anthony, suffragette and writer, "bicycles have done more for the emancipation of women than anything in the world."

They could now pedal by themselves as far as they wanted.

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None of this, of course, happened without the displeasure of many men, who did not hesitate to shout out their reluctance even in the media.

"I think the most atrocious thing I've ever seen is a woman on a bicycle ... I thought the worst thing a woman could do was smoke, but I've changed my mind," the

published

in 1891. Progress, deaf to reactionary braying, went on and with it came new models of bicycles with lower bars to suit women's clothing. "

", clarifies Jacob Frontelo, head of cycling at Decathlon de Talavera. Women's fashion continued to evolve along with the new bicycle models: women began to wear skorts and breeches to get on. a vehicle that gave them a dose of freedom that many had never tried before, and they pedaled further and further.

More than a century later, exactly 103 years since Alfonsina Strada participated in her first Tour of Lombardy, women compete with bicycles very similar to those of men, but there are still shops (including a well-known department store) that maintain the distinction by sex.

For what is this?

Erkuden Almagro, founder of Mujeres en Bici, is clear about it: "It is

", that rate that makes items cost more for being painted that color (or similar).

An anachronistic toll that, fortunately, most manufacturers have eliminated.

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The general trend is to call these models of bicycles "touring" or "urban", since their use is limited to cities.

And yes, they are more comfortable for those who wear skirts or dresses, but also "for men and women with reduced mobility, elderly people, men who wear suits ... simply because it is easier to get on them when you are not wearing sportswear," he explains. Almagro.

.

Although there are still some pieces that are manufactured with women in mind, it is for other reasons that attend to anthropometry and ergonomic design.

"The saddles are slightly wider because women tend to have a little wider hips and that way the sit bones are better supported", Almagro clarifies. "Also the power of the handlebar - that piece that goes from the frame to the handlebar - is sometimes a little shorter because women tend to have longer legs and shorter torso. That way they get better, "adds Frontelo.

However, "today, 95% of bicycles are common for boys and girls," says Frontelo.

And, after all, not all women have equally wide hips or equally long legs;

some are taller and some are less.

As with men.

Hence, both experts explain, that

“the height and distance of the crotch, and the distance from the trunk to the handlebars, are measured.

This is how both the height of the saddle to the pedals and that of the handlebar stem are calculated ”, explains Frontelo.

According to the figures, “there will be women who wear size XS and men who also.

The same with the other sizes.

My husband and I, for example, use the same sizes, ”concludes Almagro.

The colors, that is a matter of taste, not that 5% that remains of the calculation that Frontelo does, in which those who continue to maintain the distinction by sex enter.