Any second.
Now I'm going to show you a bicycle.
What is your first impression when you see this bike, who is it made for?
And here it is The Biktrix Stunner X.
So what did you think?
I would say there's a very high percentage.
Many of you will have said that this is a girl's bike.
And to that, I would say you're wrong.
It's true.
That that's how step through through bikes.
Like this have been advertised for decades, but why I'd wager that most people don't even
know.
What this low step through bar is even for in the first one.
The most common answer is that step-through bikes were originally invented for women,
cyclists who were wearing dresses.
I don't know about you, but I don't see too many people cycling with a dress on these
days.
So that got me thinking, what were the early days of cycling life for women?
And when did the trend of styles and fashion?
For riding bikes change and why today?
More than a hundred years after the bicycle was invented, still often call this a girl's
bike.
Although cycling was considered a men's sport when it first started, that doesn't mean that
it was only men.
There were a few exceptions who stood up and started cycling.
Anyways, Louis, Armando out of Canada was actually a penny farthing.
In the late 18 hundreds.
I'm looking for the library.
Does anybody know where the library is?
It's a right.
There is no such thing as a step through penny farthing.
So in that very early example, I could find step through bikes like this didn't apply.
Next.
I found a mention of a woman named Kitty Knox.
She was not only one of very few women in the league of American Wheelman, but she was
also the very first African-American to enter the league.
One of the things she was most known for were her outfit.
She wore during cycling, particularly.
Her men's bloomers.
So she didn't even ride a step through bike.
Next I found Alfonsina Stratta who in 1923, entered the Euro, the Italia, a bicycle race
for men.
Now she didn't actually enter the race with her real name, for fear that she might not
be allowed to.
She changed it just slightly to a more neutral Alfonsi.
I mean, once she lined up at the starting line, the race organizers decided to let her
race it's clear to me that those who were choosing to compete didn't wear the traditional
dresses of the time while cycling.
And that meant that the choice of bike didn't actually matter.
Now, obviously there was a whole subset of people who were following.
More traditional modes of transportation and dress during that time.
And the step through or women's bike was.
Because clearly designing a whole different bike frame is easier than just wearing pants.
Obviously times have changed quite drastically.
So why does this still exist?
And why do people still call it a girl's bike?
Well, I am here to tell you that this is not a girl spike, so what's it for if the number
one reason it was originally created was to fit certain types of dress.
Then the number two reason it remains.
Is because of personal health conditions.
If you've got a bad hip, a bad knee or some other condition that makes it hard for you
to swing your leg over the bicycle, a step through can be much easier to get.
Yeah.
On and off.
As an example, this particular movement might be very difficult for some people, whereas
to go like this and step.
Might be rather easy, whether you're male or female has no relevance whatsoever.
If this style of bike is easier to get on, then that's what you should get.
Reason.
Number three, we are not all sized the same.
Some people have shorter legs.
Some people have longer legs.
Some people have longer arms, longer torso, shorter torso.
We're all built differently.
And with a step through design, you have a whole lot more clearance when you're standing.
The bike number four, step through bikes are becoming increasingly popular when they are.
Cargo style bikes.
If you have a huge bag on the back of your bike, or maybe it's a long tail cargo bike
and you have another person on the back or children, well, it's basically impossible
at that point to swing your leg over.
So if step through bikes have all of those advantages, is there a reason why all bikes
aren't just step throughs and yes, there are some potential downsides.
Number one is the stigma that this is.
Girls bike, which is no longer true.
I'm here to tell you that that is false.
Anybody, male or female can ride a step through bike.
It doesn't matter.
But from a technical standpoint, there are a couple of things to be aware of.
A standard tray angular frame is designed for, or a reason that is the best combination
of lightweight materials, tubing sizes for strength.
When you go to.
Two tube design like this, you don't quite have that same triangular shape, which means
sometimes you have to add more material for this bottom tube.
Sometimes you don't even see this top tube here on certain frame designs.
That means that the bike frame might be a little heavier when it comes to putting the
bike on a rack.
Sometimes a step through can be a little bit more challenge to mount onto the back of your
car.
If you're using the style that attaches to your wheels, it's not going to make any difference.
Just something to be aware of.
That's a little bit different.
Step through bikes, have a lot of great uses.
They're good for a lot of people.
And that's the reason why I continue to come out with more step-through models.
The Fox bat was a popular mid drive.
So we decided to recreate it in a step through version.
The Blackbird is a very popular fat tire bike right now.
So we will probably in 2022 release a step through version, it just makes sense.
Just like how fat tires make sense on many ebikes.
If you don't know why electric bikes often have fat tires, then I highly recommend you
check out this video right here.