Welcome!

[Sharon]

This forum will be for the Ladies to discuss issues specific to us.

Mountain Bikes, men and boys.

While men are encouraged to provide insightful, thoughtful and respectful comments, this is not a forum to:

1. find a date
2. get your rocks off
3. pick up chicks
4. others?

Be respectful and you might learn something.

These forum will be heavily monitored.
We will delete threads without reason if we find them disrespectful and rude.

[amg]

Nice work Sharon! Hopefully we'll see some good discussions in here.

[cheryl@nsmb.com]

This forum is going to be montitored very carefully by myself and Sharon. Any non productive comments will be deleted immediately.

[synchro]

fair enough. but i do beleive putty's comment was valid. have you seen his hair? it is quite long. some of the women here may have a good tip for him.

[cheryl@nsmb.com]

Well comments like that might make women feel like they are being mocked and that they don't have useful things to discuss. We are trying to encourage ladies to be on the boards and form a community. I am pretty certain there are hundreds of ladies that ride now, so let's see them on the board.

[Putty]

its cause I am a man, isn't it?

i guess ill have to go to a hair site to find out.

thanks.

[cheryl@nsmb.com]

Maybe try the NBR forum for hair tips ?

[SysCo.]

i dont see us guys getting our own forum.
Gawd i need a forum where chicks cant keep asking me on dates.
NSMB Sexist what?
JK
Simon

[mtbgal]

hmmmm...there's discussion on the board in terms of why we need a "Ladies Only" forum. I'm curious to know exactly why it was felt it was needed? I like the idea, but I can also understand guys reading and going, huh?
It reminds me of a discussion that I recently had with a school teacher (male)...part of my job is to get schools kids to try the velodrome for the first time, super cool to see kids on fixed gear bikes, no brakes, and on the track for the first time! Anyways, out of 100 kids that have come out...all have been boys, except for last week we had 2 girls. 2%! I asked the gentleman teacher why it's so hard to get the girls to come out? He thinks that because it's not a 'traditional' school sport, the girls are nervous to try it because there hasn't been a path all ready plowed by another girl to follow. That's just one person's thoughts, but maybe he understands the nature of girls even better than I do!
Cheryl and Sharon maybe making the path, and in turn there may be more girls that join...

But i don't know! Just some q's and thoughts! What ev's, count me in with the Ladies. Now I must go spin and get sweaty in my spandex! I'd invite you girls but I freakin spin i my bedroom with Chappelle's Show on full blast... Yeah, it's the life...

[cheryl@nsmb.com]

Ya I think you pretty much summed it up. There is a very low male to female ratio in cycling and even less on the NSMB boards. I think making a cool scene on NSMB where ladies can get together and meet one another and be encouraged can do nothing but support the women's scene. I'd be surprised to learn if there is more then 2% of Nsmb member are ladies. So why not create a small little forum to try to get some more girls comfortable enough to start frequenting the boards to find out details on women's rides, events, clinics...ect ect.
We all know that for some ladies it's intimidating to be in a male dominated sport and sometimes a little support is all they need to come out. It's no different then ladies mountain bike camps. The ladies get to come out and feel comfortable and try something new. It's a win win for everyone. Unless you don't like seeing more ladies in the sport.

[Tom]

I think it's a great idea to have a ladies only forum. MTBR and ridemonkey both have one.

[beer_girl]

It's no different then ladies mountain bike camps. The ladies get to come out and feel comfortable and try something new. It's a win win for everyone. Unless you don't like seeing more ladies in the sport.

I could never decide what I thought of ladies only mountain bike camps. If you sign up for the right category (i.e. beginner) then everyone is at the same skill level so what difference does gender make? Having said that though, it does seem to help more women get into the sport and that is a good thing! So I guess the same applies to the forum. If there are too many guys posting unwelcome comments we can start chatting about wear to find helmets to match our bikes or shorts to match our forks. hee.

[cheryl@nsmb.com]

I like any format that gets a few more ladies into the sport really!

[eryn]

this forum is a great idea, mind you vorb has a vorbette forum that guys cant even acsess which is really great for issues that women might not want a guy reading.. i dont know how they set it up but its great!

[cheryl@nsmb.com]

Welcome Eryn! Nice to meet ya!

[thewalrus]

2. get your rocks off


but what about this guy?

http://www.rock-on-rock-on.com/images/home/billdan2.jpg

[Northshore Chica]

Okay, and now for something like perhaps this forum was intended???
Many (most?) women have smaller hands than the average brake lever was designed for.
What happens for me, is if I want to have one or two fingers on my levers as I'm riding, it leaves me with a pretty far reach and limited grip on the bars.
I took my bike in for tuning today and enquired if they knew of any levers that had a smaller range of extension or could be dialed in tighter to the bars? Aparently not. Skinnier grips he suggested.
What do you think? (You need not have two "X" chromosomes to reply!)
Suggestioins?

(Many thanks Sharon for creating this forum!)

[mattj]

My wife's bike has special short-reach levers designed for her Hayes. Unfortunately I have no idea what the brand is as they came on the brakes (we bought the bike from another girl) so I can't tell you where and how much. But I do know they're out there...

Also, Avid Juicys can be dialed in for ridiculously short reach out of the box, so if you're getting new brakes any time soon definitely consider Avid.


-m

[Gimp Pimp]

If you are running mechanical brakes try the Avid Speed Dial 7. They have adjustable reach

[cheryl@nsmb.com]

I ride the Dangerboy flatblades for Hayes. I have the smallest hands ever (childrens medium gloves) so most brake levers are way too far out for me. The flat blades give me closer reach then stock levers.

[Luvz2Ridez]

Danger boy makes a "shorty" http://www.dangerboyusa.com/pages/dbproduct/lever.htm for small hands.

[SJ.]

I've been lurking and posting occasionally on here for a while now and I have to say I love having use of a 'Ladies Forum'.

I'm in a minority in the UK and whilst it was quite nice at first I really wish I had more female riders to spend time with, chatting and learning from without feeling intimidated by the guys.

Don't get me wrong, I can give as good as I get and most guys I meet think it's great to see a girl riding and are really encouraging but even that can be rather patronising!

Anyways, some of you may have seen me posting here and there, and on muddbunnies so just wanted to say Hey!! :grinno:

[charityt]

Hey, I think the idea of having a ladies forum is way rad. We need a place to let our hair down after a long ride! I'm new to the site, so I will def be checking out this forum periodically!

[charityt]

Oh, and here's a question. I am in Spokane, and it is getting cold/wet here. I really want to keep riding my bike to work and I'm a new cyclist. What kind of stuff do I need to get to make my ride comfortable and DRY? And what kind of conditions are not considered safe to be commuting in? Rain always seems scary to me, but sometimes I see cyclists riding in it.

[heckler]

try the search function, and then keep asking questions in any appropriate thread.

I did a search for "rain" and came up with these three.

http://bb.nsmb.com/showthread.php?t=100161&highlight=riding+rain

http://bb.nsmb.com/showthread.php?t=101464&highlight=riding+rain

http://bb.nsmb.com/showthread.php?t=101463&highlight=riding+rain

[Gary Harder]

Hey Girls,
Looking for something to do this winter?
check out www. Abbotsfordbmx.ca
or www.pipelinebikepark.com
With short days and cold and wet, Indoor bike racing or just practicing rocks!
First 4X race put on by pipeline at Abbotsford indoor report.
48 racers showed up
3 pro women, with Micayla Gatto just powering the course.
Rosemary Adams and Micayla had some close racing ,RA has put in most likely 10 years of racing BMX,which shows in her intense racing style.
Lady Gravity Judy's getting faster ,all the women after every moto,could be seen smiling ,laughing ,good times.
The indoor is really a great place to go and socalize,guys/gals,and lots of kids. Bring a friend, have a coffee ,laugh it up in the stands.
When you look at the logistics ,costs,and then realize that not one person is paid ,all and any money goes right back into cycling wow.
Pipeline's 4X series same thing, no wonder why BC rocks year round.
g
Now those girls need company out there, your track awaits.

[bexx]

Rad. I think it's a great idea for a women's only forum. :)