Why do mens bicycles have a high cross bar and womens a low one?
For the most part, these differences are more cosmetic and based on antiquated notions of modesty (from when women wore long skirts and when a flash of ankle would be scandalous and a woman hoisting her leg over the top tube would be considered unseemly) that no longer apply to our contemporary social system. Although the gendered terms have stuck around, these are really misnomers. In the industry, the terms have been updated to traditional (men’s) and step-through (women’s) frames to better reflect their practical uses. There is no reason why a woman couldn’t ride a traditional frame or why a man couldn’t ride a step-through frame. Bike manufacturers continue to make the step-through frames because some people find them easier to mount than other bicycles. It’s now simply a matter of comfort and convenience. In recent years, many bike manufacturers have come out with Women’s Specific Designs (WSDs), which offer more significant, albeit subtle, differences than the basic men’s/women’s
