Whilst working for a special urban cycling capsule project for Lululemon, Namtron got a baptism in the wonderful world of chamois. We got to laugh and laugh and laugh at some of the competitor products she had to research. But then, in true style, she made something that was traditionally ugly and specialized for hard-core athletes incredibly pretty and functional for urban cyclists. Check out the pretty things she made for urban women cyclists here.
As we all know, Indie businesses always push the boundaries, and fill in the niches. Enter the Urbanist Chamois Pantie by Christiana Guzman from Austin Texas. These cute, well-designed, women's undergarments that aid in making your bike-rides more pleasurable, are DNS approved! Check them out and pitch into their Kickstarter!
On a serious note, women specific products that aid in a comfortable ride are important products to invest in if you are a rider who puts many kilometers on your bike each year. We all basically ride our bikes on our vaginas. Vaginas are both pretty cool and pretty important, so as female cycling culture grows and grows, it's an aspect of the mechanics of cycling we should be paying attention too.
"Bike seats are designed in such a way that body weight typically rests on the nose of the seat, which can compress nerves and blood vessels in the genital area." - Anahad O'Connor, NYT ArticleLike many aspects of health, the effects of this have been widely studied on men, specifically around the erectile dysfunction this can cause, but studies around women have not been as prolific. However, the studies that have been done show that long term riding can damage nerves around the pelvic floor. Ladies! This is not a good thing! Damaged nerves can mean less sexy-time-feelings, and bladder control problems. While the urban cyclist revolution (think the Cycle Chic Movement) calls for wearing "everyday fashions" to normalize cycling, in the long term we should be aware of potential health issues such as nerve damage. If urban cycling becomes equated with erectile dysfunction and loss of bladder control, the bicycle revolution will be in trouble.
The Urbanist Chamois Pantie seems to tackle both the need for specialized clothing, while provide a super cute "normal" looking product for every day wear. BRAVO Christiana! Bravo!
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| Poor choice of bicycle seat. |
P.S. Other ways to help prevent nerve damage in women is raising your handlebars (having an upright bike is great), and using a "nose-less" bike seat (even if they aren't that cool). Here is a great article from the Bike Radar on buying the perfect bike saddle for women.
