r/ladycyclists

I’ve tried 3 seats and they are all bothering either my crotch or if I sit up more my tailbone and seat bones. Any suggestions? The ones I’ve tried have been pretty firm so far. I have a lame small ass.

I’m a competitive road biker. I race crit, fondos, road races, etc most weeks in the summer.

I have had to experiences on the bike that when I’m max effort (close to 200 BPM) and I’m in my drops, I’m getting intense burning in my uterus. It feels like the worst period cramps ever. It’s not my period and it goes away when I stop the effort. It made me drop out of my race yesterday.

Research says it’s saddle position and pressure on my groin. But it’s not external pain - it’s only at the really high effort.

Anyone know what this is from? Or experienced it?

I would like to sing the praises of this inexpensive bra. Disclaimer: I have fake boobs, so they’re not quite as squishy as my normal boobs we’re (cancer, implants, not under the muscle, if those details are important to any of you.)

But I am normally a 36H now (in regular sizing, not that absurd “take your ribcage measurement and add 4” nonsense) and they didn’t have that size so I chose my sister size of 38G and wear it on the smallest hooks. It’s great.

It’s substantial and supportive with long enough straps for someone with lower-sitting big boobs. The band is nice and wide in the back so it doesn’t dig in.

The higher panel on the front keeps the girls from falling out over the top when leaning forward, and it’s sturdy enough to withstand regular washing.

We are looking at getting a cargo e-bike as a “second car” for getting the kids back and forth from school and preschool. I am very short — 4’11” or 150cm — and am a bit concerned about being able to handle the weight of the bike+kids. Like, am I going to get knocked over by this thing? Are the three of us going to fall over in traffic? I’m a pretty confident city bike rider on my own (very light) analog bike but the thought of hauling them around makes me nervous. But the convenience would seriously be huge because the kids’ schools are in different directions and it’s a lot of waiting around for buses.

I would love to hear about others’ experiences as short women carrying heavy cargo loads!

ETA the trike idea is interesting but probably not possible. City living with a very tight garage. Unless I could find something that folds or collapses a bit.

Hi everyone, looking for some serious advice as I am a bit of an overthinker and tend to get stuck on analysis paralysis until someone says something that really resonates with me and I get an aha moment.

So, I'm a 46-year-old female from Portugal, and I've loved cycling since I was little. Biked every day until 20, got a car, and that stopped, and then tried to pick up during COVID as a way to get out of the house.

I was in mid shape, I was able to run 5k until COVID put us all in our homes.

Now, I only had experience in sort of mtb bikes, although I was more into tarmac, light gravel roads, but never tried road bikes.

After a few months of looking into Trek, SCOTT and Decathlon bikes in stores near me, I went through some analysis paralysis, and since the market was in shortage and you cannot find stock anywhere, and I am on the cheap side, I chose the safest bet and ordered the cheapest Decathlon bike my store had (375€). I did not find the reason to invest 1k in a bike I did not know what the consistency or differences would be.
I start riding on the weekends, go from 20km to 40km, and then to 55km.... and find that is something that I like to do and enjoy very much. Mostly tarmac, but don't mind the offside roads. Where I live is mostly flat.

But, I confess I found it a bit of a struggle, because it seemed slowwww and hard, even for flat. It got even harder when I brought the bike to my country home in Alentejo, in the mountainous part, and basically, I cannot ride some parts if I don't step off the bike and push it by hand. And then seeing those people on those roads and gravel bikes just passing by is just crazy.

The bike on the Decathlon site says it weighs around 15kg, plus bidon, plus this and that, and I think it just goes to 17kg. I changed tyres to Hurricane Addix DD GreenGuard and GP5-L Performance Comfort (GC3-L) handset for a more rolling experience, but it just feels like dragging and out of breath unless I'm on a descent.

I often tell myself it's just me out of form, and that I need to gain leg muscle, or that these things I read about a 9kg bikes are just marketing, because some work colleagues also tell me that if I have 20kg less ( my weight 80kg), I would climb better, or bike weight does not make that much difference.

It's a completely different experience if I just decide to go off to gravel and explore, where it's basically MTB terrain, and I feel the bike is steady, with very short or steep climbs that require grip. Usually, that is a 10km ride, not a 50km ride.

I know all the saying, buy cheap buy twice, but is it really? Many people downplay this.

Will I see the difference on the tarmac just by investing on a 10kg aluminium gravel bike (I cannot go crazy and go for 3k carbon bike unless you tell me it's mind blowing experience and I will regret later, as I know some will do) that could suit me for both kinds or is it a matter of me just putting more volume and consistency rides until this bike becomes light as my muscles compensate for the bike weight? I would love to go for longer bike rides, but I really can't at this moment. I'm also a bit scared about adapting to a road/gravel bike. My only experience is experimenting with the ones at the decathlon store, so not much.

EDIT: Inserting bike photo

https://preview.redd.it/teo1x4c3fabh1.jpg?width=922&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb60dbbcc6d9504b25dbc4cd4e9927c7ad51e6dc

I’m looking for a cycling buddy and I feel like there’s no space for people who don’t go 25-30km per hour. I’m sitting at 20km per hour on a good day (which I’m fine with). I really want to cycle with another girl who’s a beginner. I was thinking trying bumble bff? Has anyone got tips for me besides go to meetup or look for bike shops in your area (my area has all this but for faster riders)

I’m so proud and needed to tell people who get it lol

I have a big biking trip coming up later this month in the French alps and started seriously training in February. Prior to February I’d consistently been logging a ton of miles but I live in a pretty flat area so didn’t have much large hill experience.

I joined a biking group that specifically trained on hills and my first ride with them we tackled the beast that is Ryan Road; it’s about 3 miles long and pretty dang steep in parts. I had to walk most of it and was seriously reconsidering my decision to book the France trip. I had seriously no clue how to manage hills, especially the big and scary ones!

Today I tackled Ryan for the first time since February and breezed up it!!! That street is small potatoes compared to what I’m able to do now (the other weekend I logged over 6k ft of elevation on a ride!).

Anyway I’ve been training so hard and I’m so proud of myself and I needed to share lol. I’ve come such a long way!

Happy riding, gals! 🤙🏻

Hi everyone, I was curious about what locks you use, as well as how you transport them?

I've only put about a couple hundred kms on my bike, and I've finally decided to get two after staring longingly from the outside of an ice cream shop after a rather toasty solo ride around town.

I've been splitting hairs between a few higher end ones (kryptonite diamond, hiplok d1000, or dx1000) to go with a cable for the front wheel. I'm also quite wary of kryptonite shipping faulty diamond locks.

Thoughts? Stories? Recommendations?

First bib ever! Looking to see what all the fuss is about but what's a 'liner' bib?

Do you need to layer these things?

Thanks in advance..

Edit: Gosh, thanks for all the info everyone! I might just do a basic Amazon cargo and decide if I really need the drop tail feature later. I'm not that sensitive in the padding area, currently riding an Infinity saddle trouble free...

Choosing between these bikes - biggest difference is the electronic shifting on the trek. I’ve never had it before but it was niceeee on the test ride. It also felt a bit lighter than the diverge. However, not sure that justifies an almost 1k price difference. Any thoughts or experiences with these?

What shoes are you using? It seems there aren't many places to go try in cycling shoes in person and I'm really trying not to order a million pairs of shoes online. I like wider shoes. I run in topos and altras and like my feet to spread out. I'm having issues with my feet going numb and I'm thinking it's either my shoes or saddle so I'm starting with shoes since mine feel pretty narrow anyways.