Noticing that this forum is mostly guy thing with only a very few number of occassional female posters. This makes me wonder why since about 40% of tri participants are female. It’s not that we’re men behaving badly since this forum is far more civil and troll free than any of the newsgroups that I’ve been on. It is interesting that 90% of the posts are about our bikes, perhaps proving the “boys and their toys” syndrome.
I’ve suggested to my wife to join in, but she simply replied that I should just inform her of important developments that I read about. So why is posting here so much more of a guy thing. Are there many of you gals out there lurking. Please, stand up and be counted. Let us know that you’re there.
When we look at our customer list (for Bikesport) it is 88% male. That may account for this demographic anomoly. Given the nature of one of my previous posts maybe that is better for me…
“When we look at our customer list (for Bikesport) it is 88% male.”
Tom, that’s a big surprise because I’ve certainly never been to a tri that is 88% male. With the proliferation of these “women only” sprint tris there seems to be a real growth of female interest with more women at least trying the sport. I wonder if that is typical in tri retail or just unique to your shop. It seems that there is a much bigger potential market out there of female buyers.
I hope that last sentence isn’t an indication of your desire to ‘switch teams’. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.” I’ve appended my sig to this post realizing for the first time that this quote is applicable in many aspects of life…
I agree that this is definitely a male environment. It almost has the feel of a football team or an auto club. I think that it’s just the nature of this forum. I’ve checked out other tri forums and there is a **much **larger female presence on some of them. I think there is a certain “type” that has gravitated to this forum. Probably because they have checked out the main site and been interested in Dan’s articles on bike angles, aerodynamics, fitting, bike componetry, & the inner workings of the bike industry. I think male triathletes are generally more interested in these type of topics. Also, if one needs info. on these types of topics, this is the best place to go. The people on this forum seem to be on a whole, much faster and more competitive. I think it might scare some women off. There is a completely different “vibe” to the forums with a stronger female presence. Those seem to have lots of posts dealing with newbie triathlete tips, swimming issues, clothing, nutrition, and more general types of questions. Those sites have the feel of a runners forum wheras this forum has the *feel *of a biking forum. I think that for some people, this forum can be a bit intimidating. I love this forum but it’s definitely not as friendly and supportive as some others - but nowhere near as bad as a roadie forum.
That said…
I’m sure there are more female members of this forum than we think.
I spoke above in generalities, not in absolutes(I know some women are just as into the inner-workings of their bikes, etc…)
I think jaylew hit it on the head. I don’t read the technical bike posts, or the PC posts (sorry Frank) and I think I can safely say, neither would the vast majority of my gal tri friends. I have no interest in them (technical stuff). I have a mechanic who is fabulous and if I have Cervelo questions, I know Gerard’s email or, the email of the guy I bought one from and got fit on the other bike. I’d rather go directly to the source.
Also, cerveloguy’s wife is like most of my clubmates…they are on our club list, but don’t care about being on any other tri list or checking websites. They know I do and that I will forward interesting info. A lot of them aren’t in jobs where they sit in front of the computer all day (unlike me), so any spare time goes into working out, not email/web.
Aside from that, I can’t speak for any other gals, but yes, there are a few who lurk.
Another female mostly lurker here. I come with a swim background, and seems like most of the discussions here are bike related. So I lurk in the bike discussions to learn something, and tend to speak up on the rare swim topic since its my turf there.
Mostly male doesn’t phase me. That’s how the entire internet was when I first got online. I’m just not a bike person.
I suspect women are more circumspect that the males as well. They probably hesitate to post, which is too bad. Words aren’t children, they can be killed. That’s especially true with the edit function now available! I am really surprised Tom’s post re his girlfriend didn’t elicit some serious replies from the opposite sex.
And, even if you say something stupid no one’s getting grades, except The Wabbit because we have to keep him on a short leash or he will overpopulate the place. :),
If I could make a living buying bikes for others that is what I would do.That said I wouldn’t think of letting my wife buy her own bike.She would probably do a better job but I need my fix.
Well, if you must know, when you posted this this morning, I was on my bike!
I agree with Cathy – Jaylew is right on. I divide my forum time evenly between this place and a much friendlier running forum, but here I’m mostly a lurker while I’m a frequent poster on the other board. Slowtwitch for me is an academic endeavor, while the other running forum is a place to share stories and get support.
FWIW, my husband, a serious runner and cyclist, can’t be bothered with this site. He doesn’t have a mind for the technical stuff.
I was really interested in Tom D’s post about his GF problems, I felt sympathetic and wanted to respond, but it all seemed to be said by the guys. It didn’t seem like my viewpoint as a married female would offer much else, maybe that’s why only 1 or maybe 2 women did respond. (I have to say I was wishing he lived around here - I know quite a few very nice women who would really like him!) As for the technical aspects, I love to take care of my bike, and when I see something that pertains, I’ll learn from it, but I’m not as interested in race wheels or the lightest this or that - I’m not fast enough to benefit from investments in those things. I was attracted to Slowtwitch partially because some of the columnists are female and I enjoyed their perspective. This forum has better quality discussion than many, so I lurk and very occasionally offer something.
Hi Jacquie, Thanks for your kind concern regarding my GF post. I appreciate it. Very nice of you. Everybody who offered advice was kind, forthright and supportive. It was of great comfort.
“I know quite a few very nice women who would really like him!)”
Oh no, not the blind date thing again. Jacquie, why do women always say stuff like this. Whenever I’ve had a blind date or been introduced to someone that a well meaning female friend thought would be “perfect” it’s always been a disaster. In my single days going to “singles dances” or even placing adds in the personals worked better than blind dates.