a flat tire repair kit made for gals, courtesy of Betty Bike Gear! I've heard of bike parts made for women such as frames, saddles and handlebars. I've even heard of tires made specifically for women (Specialized Bikes makes them.) But this is the first i've heard of a female version of a repair kit. Too cool. Considering I've never owned a car and promote bikes as transportation, this gives me yet one more tool for encouraging other women to commute by bike or go for a joy ride without the token guy in tow for use in emergency repairs. haha.
18 comments:
Why on Earth would you need a flat repair kit designed for girls? What a crock. I've got two girls of my own, and I certainly don't want them growing up thinking they need girl specific tools because daddy's stuff is too hard to use.
I can see the market for this, but it sure rubs me the wrong way.
hi erik:
While i appreciate your opinion, it's a lot different to be an actual girl growing up in an average household environment where girls are not as encouraged to ride a bike as boys. So changing a tire is not something we grew up doing. So when i see a female-friendly kit, it not only makes me feel safe knowing that i'm understood but that it's OK for a female to ride a bike AND be self-sufficient.
Also, not sure if you know this, but there are tricks a girl can do while changing a tire that helps us equal the strength disparity between men and woemn.
Damn, there goes another angle on meeting cycling women!
Even if the only concession to 'woman specific' is that it is pink; if it encourages more people to cycle, where they wouldn't have previously, it has got to be a good thing.
Strength disparity??? Any tricks you can share to get the last remaining bead of a Michelin Pro 2 over a campag rim would be greatly appreciated, and I AM a big strapping lad!
CT
Hi Christine, Thanks for the chocolates! Sorry this is off topic...
Ellen at AC
:)
Here is how I see this wonderful new kit working. In all fairness to the girls that can handle themselves without a guy around too.
It's for the guy that over cooks his brakes, pops his tire, hits the pavement and Florence the Biking girl comes to the rescue.
The mistake is usually the guy blew by her in the first place. Never slowing to listen or say; "How you Dooing?
yeah well - i'm with ErikV on this -
those tips and tricks for 'girls' work well enough for guys.
When is the last time you saw a cyclist with Popeye fore arms strong enough to lever on a tight conti? or muscle it off w/o the tips and tricks?
as you know i'm not opposed to giving women the edge, but it is pure marketing.
why should a patch kit or flat repair kit have a gender leaning?
but i know i will never fully understand and am okay with that.
if this helps some women gain confidence enough to change their own tire - that is a good thing.
I will still offer assistance to all cyclists I pass - of either gender.
THanks for all the insight! Stevencx, thanks for the chuckle! chr15- i agree with you. And by the way, i am a certifiable member of the very exclusive "I can take the last remaining bead of a Michelin Pro 2 over a campagnolo rim" club thanks to a trick that Mike Broderick (MTB boyfriend of Mary McConnelog) showed me a long time ago. I teach it only to girls - haha - so we can assist big strapping lads on the side of the road. Coincidentally, those lads are usually the same ones who passed us earlier in our ride, offering not even a sympathetic glance, when we were changing our flat.
And, yes, the girly packaging makes me want it more. And if i am a sucker for that packaging, then i bet many others will be too - this translates into many more folks better prepared on their rides!
Hey Ellen:
Glad you enjoyed them! I have been meaning to call for our periodic gossip session but time has been so short lately! I'll call soon.
:p'nutty
Now, what would be really neat is if someone (Bettybikegear probably wouldn't be interested) would come out with a male-specific product just like that, a repair kit that you could bring with you on your training rides.
-- E.C. Chamberlain
Mr. Chamberlain: If that were to happen, then us gals wouldn't have to carry 4 tubes, 6 co2's, and five extra energy bars to take care of all those with semi-cognitive ability scattered on the side of the road.
It was a cold damp Saturday Morning, a few weeks back now. I went out with my club on their Easy ride... It was a recovery week for me... 2 hours with a very civilised coffee/cake stop part way.
3 punctures...
2 for other members of the group. Both ladies (not that this actually makes a difference), guess who changed them... guess who was the only member of a group of fifteen to have a spare tubes... guess whose the third puncture was... guess who didn't have any more spare tubes and who all of a sudden had no freinds!
We were less than a mile from home, bike on shoulder, I'm glad I was on the back of a cross season.
Just saying... didn't wan't you thinking that I was one of 'those lads'.
As for the technique for getting that tyre on, please tell, or at least stop if you see me, aching thumbs and all, at the side of the road :) you have got a new puncture repair kit that needs showing off after all.
CT
hey chr15:
Based on your previous post on this topic, i could tell that you were "that one guy on every ride" that's prepared. Sorry about your bad luck on that ride. I have a bad habit of thinking that i have a closer bond with others just because they ride a bike...until i witness something like what happened to you.
I think one of my future posts is going to include a detailed list with photo of all the crap i keep in my saddle bag - i think you'd be both amazed and impressed. Coach Elmo got me into the habit.
I have a better idea...maybe in the day i post my saddle bag contents, all other bicycle posters can do the same! OK. i guess i need a more social life. haha
Thought I'd left another comment... doesn't seem to be there??? I'm new to this stuff prolly pressed the wrong button. Doh!
Anyway the saddle bag idea seems like a good one... look forward to it!
CT
Huh? Most of the women around here would beat the men in an arm wrestling competition..likely break a dude's limb too!! ;)
Seriously tho, glad to see the market encouraging women. =)
It's just packaged attractively. I don't understand what the problem is.
Hey Katie: I couldn't agree with you more! I think that some guys are just jealous because the Mighty Man edition hasn't been released yet.
p-nut,
thanks for the insightful post. when i read it and saw that you had so many comments i KNEW it was about marketing and gender stuff. love it.
marketing is very important and not all evil.
right?
...right? ;-)
the mighty man edition of the patch kit wouldn't include instructions.
hugs and kisses!
A man's kit would include a stone, a few twigs and a rubber band. Every man is just like McGyver.
Actually, all jokes aside, the first roadside broken chain repair i witnessed included a stone and rock. And they did it - a bunch of brooklynites.
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