The first time we rode a bike without training wheels was remarkably euphoric.
We may have only been on the rocky pavement of an obscure suburb, but the freedom afforded by being able to cycle up and down those pothole-clad streets felt akin to racing down a never-ending freeway somewhere in America. With wind in our hair and pedals beneath our feet, we finally understood the concept that the world was, in fact, our oyster.
While that old tasselled, training wheel bike may have shown up beneath the Christmas tree one morning, purchasing a bike to suit our adult needs can become confusing. From mountain bikes to road bikes, understanding the bicycle geometry required to make our daily commutes as comfortable as possible is overwhelming.
It becomes all the more topsy-turvy when you take anatomy into consideration. Naturally, what’s comfortable for a male cyclist is vastly different to female preferences.
We chatted to a spokesperson from the Nottingham-based bike manufacturer Raleigh for some insight into what exactly makes a women’s bike different from those designed for men and how to choose the perfect two-wheeler.
What are the key differences between bikes for men and women?
“Traditionally, women's bikes tend to have narrower handlebars, shorter reach, lower top tubes and wider saddles to cater to differences in body proportions and comfort preferences.”
What are the key factors to consider before buying a women's bike?
“When purchasing a women's bike, it's crucial to consider factors such as frame size, geometry, handlebar width, saddle shape, and component selection. Test riding different models is a great way to find the best fit for your body and riding style.”
What’s the difference in criteria for buying a women's mountain bike vs. a women's road bike?
“Mountain bikes often have more relaxed geometry for stability on rough terrain, while road bikes have a more aggressive geometry for efficiency and speed on pavement. Women's mountain bikes may feature shorter top tubes and higher stack heights for a more upright riding position, while women's road bikes may have longer top tubes and lower stack heights for a more aerodynamic position.
“Additionally, component selection will vary based on the intended use, with mountain bikes typically featuring wider tyres and suspension forks for off-road performance.”
What’s the best way to ensure the optimum fit with your bike of choice?
“The best way to ensure an optimum fit with your bike is to visit a professional bike shop for a bike fitting. A bike fit specialist can assess your body proportions, flexibility, and riding style to recommend the right frame size, handlebar width, saddle position, and other adjustments to optimise comfort and performance.”
Is it possible to make men's and unisex bikes more comfortable for women?
“While there's no one-size-fits-all solution, there are several ways to make men's and unisex bikes more comfortable for women. This includes swapping out the saddle for a women's-specific design that provides better support and pressure relief, adjusting handlebar width and stem length to accommodate narrower shoulders and shorter torsos, and considering smaller frame sizes or models with a more relaxed geometry.”
Without further ado, we’ve rounded up a selection of the best women’s bikes on the market. Keep scrolling to keep cycling.
Hybrid Bikes
Raleigh Strada Hybrid Bike Open Frame
The most attractive hybrid bike we’ve ever come across, the Raleigh Strada has vintage-inspired design elements which make this model a treat both to ride and simply to admire. Choose between a step-over crossbar frame or a step-through open frame depending on which structure you find more comfortable, and browse frame sizes from 36cm all the way up to 56cm.
Designed for conquering urban landscapes that feature a variety of different terrains, heights and obstacles, the 650b wheels offer unbeatable comfort and cushioning for your smoothest ride yet. However, at 47c wide, these tyres also offer brilliant traction for off-road terrain.
With a whopping 21-speed Shimano gear system, we challenge you to find a terrain that you can’t tackle with this hybrid bike – especially with those powerful V-breaks and the luxuriously comfortable saddle.
Perhaps the only downside of the budget-friendly Raleigh Strada is that you’ll have to assemble it at home. Time to scroll through your contacts to find that one cycling aficionado and offer them a beer.
Buy now £310.26, Amazon
Liv Langma Advanced Disc Pro 2024
Liv Cycling specialises in women’s bikes, so they’re a great place to start if you want a female-specific model or if you’re after a smaller frame than most. With bike frames starting from XXS (from 4’9ft) to L (6ft), there’s a road bike in the range to suit women of all shapes and sizes.
Our pick for under £2,000 is the Langma, a sporty model with disc brakes. The Langma can keep up on bike club rides and is lightweight and speedy up hills but is still enough of an all-rounder to ride anywhere from city streets to country roads.
Buy now £2499.00, Tredz
Raleigh Willow Hybrid Women’s Bike
If you want to look like you’re starring in a Wes Anderson film (or, let’s be honest, would like something that looks good on social), this is the bike for you.
Raleigh is one of the oldest and most well-known names in cycling, and for good reason. This bike blends style as well as substance and is truly beautiful to look at. It has a retro aesthetic with modern benefits for a safe and stylish ride.
The step-through frame comes in three colours; dusky pink, bronze, and cherry red. It is lightweight, weighing in at 17kg, and is finished with a protective lacquer coating. The wicker basket on the front is perfect for putting shopping in or a small dog (safely, of course) or for real wow-factor add some flowers.
It comes with a Selle Royal saddle and soft grips, 7-speed gears, and colour-coordinated mudguards to keep the rain off. There’s a kickstand and a traditional bell included too, along with the beautiful attention to detail. It comes in a 17” and 19” frame.
Buy now £449.00, Tredz
Schwinn Wayfarer Unisex Hybrid Bike
One of the original American bike brands, the Schwinn Wayfarer combines comfort with style for this unisex hybrid bike. It features 7-speed gears with an easy twist-shift mechanism. A retro steel frame ups the fashion stakes and ensures durability, while the spring-adorned saddle enhances your comfort over bumpy ground.
The rear rack carrier is good for storage, making it perfect for transporting small items whether riding across town or going for a tour of the park. Swept-back handlebars add to the vintage style and allow a more comfortable ride. It also comes with full mudguards to protect your clothes whatever the weather. It’s available in black or stand-out lime green, with 16” and 18” frames.
Buy now £249.99, Amazon
Bobbin Kingfisher
Cycling to work is a brilliant way to incorporate fitness into your daily routine – and if you’re after a simple and affordable commuter bike for your urban adventures, we rate the Kingfisher.
This no-frills but attractive, retro-looking commuter bike is a unisex design. It may be kind on the bank balance at under £500, but this bike is surprisingly comfortable, with a vegan leather saddle and padded handlebars. Despite its steel frame, it weighs in at under 12kg so you can pick it up if needed. Bobbin calls the Kingfisher their ‘lightweight runaround’, which sums it up in a nutshell.
Buy now £471.21, Bobbin
Carrera Parva Women’s Hybrid Bike
With an alloy frame and a higher crossbar, this bike is perfect for adventuring. Weighing in at just 13.5kg, it’s one of the lightest of the bunch and provides an upright and comfortable riding position with a higher frame for good visibility on the road.
It also comes with a delightfully plush memory foam saddle and has ‘Carrera Puncture Protection’ tyres as standard, with an extra layer of resistant material. The bike offers 2 x 7 gears, giving a large range for all terrains, and has a lifetime frame guarantee.
There’s a whole host of lifetime safety checks too, and they’ll even take the packaging away for you. The smallest size is suitable for people from 4’11, up to 5’10 for the large. A steal at £300.
Buy now £360.00, Halfords
Mountain Bikes
Rockrider Women's 27.5" Mountain Bike ST 530 - Turquoise
Equipped with a sleek, seamless single chainring and mechanical disc brakes, this brilliant peacock blue mountain bike has been adapted to make women’s terrain biking more comfortable than ever. Thanks to the raised position, 100mm adjustable fork and ergonomic women’s saddle, mountains are no match for the Rockrider.
The light aluminium frame makes this piece of kit speedy and efficient, while the 9-speed single chainring allows riders to change speeds with the utmost ease. The 27.5” wheels and spring suspension are more than capable of handling rocky hillsides and gravel paths. Plus, this bike has a 100kg weight capacity and a trunk bag fixation for all your adventuring needs.
Buy now £329.99, Decathlon
Apollo Twilight Womens Mountain Bike - S, M, L Frames
A hardtail, budget option for those looking to try out mountain biking without making too big of a financial commitment, the Apollo Twilight has decently sized 26” wheels and an 18-speed Shimano gear set within a durable alloy frame.
The only downside to this model, and the reason why it’s on the cheaper side, is that it utilises V-brakes rather than hydraulic gear brakes. While experienced riders won’t have any trouble with the less powerful stoppage, it poses a higher risk for beginners who find themselves on intermediate trails. V-brakes can also be negatively affected by wet weather conditions, so it’s best not to take the Apollo Twilight out in the rain.
The Apollo Slant is the men’s version of this bike.
Buy now £180.00, Halfords
Canyon Spectral 29 CF 7
“This is your perfect everyday trail bike,” claims Canyon. With a lightweight full-carbon fancy frame, long reach and steep seat angle, this bike’s very up-to-date shape and geometry make it fast both up and down the mountain. Easy to ride and stable over the largest of bumps, there’s also an impressive ‘Flip Chip’ on the rear suspension – which means you can alter the bike’s geometry to suit your particular riding style. The Spectral is a versatile all-rounder – ready for anything and just plain old fun.
Buy now £3349.00, Canyon
Road Bikes
Specialized Allez
An oldie but a goodie – Specialized’s unisex Allez model has been around for forty years, so it must be doing something right. The newest iteration of the Allez is a comfortable steel and carbon road bike that’s perfect for the brand’s target riders – weekend pedallers, commuters and anyone just getting into road cycling.
First road bikes don’t get better than this – on test, we found the Allez was a great balance of speedy and comfy, sported reliable disc brakes and was tough enough to deal with a little gravel or bike touring on the weekends too.
Buy now £1000.00, Specialized
Giant Liv Enviliv Advanced Pro Womens Road Bike 2023
Available in extra small, small and medium carbon frames, Liv’s Advanced Pro Women’s Road Bike is for the ladies looking to up their road biking game tenfold. With the help of CFD analysis and wind tunnel testing, the Advanced Pro ensures optimum performance at every angle. The 2023 model employs a new Advanced-Grade Composite frame and an Advanced SL-Grade Composite fork, which has saved 205g in comparison to the previous generation.
Liv has truly thought of it all when it comes to reducing drag and achieving your new PB. The manufacturer has developed an innovative way to route cables through the handlebar, stem, and frame for improved aerodynamics and disassembly when travelling.
Buy now £6699.00, Cycle Store
Triban Road Bike RC 520 Disc Brake Prowheel – Blue
Described as the “most comfortable road bike” ever designed by Decathlon, this ergonomically designed model is complete with 28mm tyres, foam handlebar tape and a brand-new ErgoFit saddle. Though technically a road bike, it has inserts for pannier racks and mudguards and is compatible with tyres measuring up to 36mm. This makes the Triban Road Bike a brilliant commuter option for those looking to maximise their training while on the way to the office.
Buy now £799.99, Decathlon
