To Get More Women To Ride, Motorcycle Gear Makers Need To Do More Than Shrink It Or Pink It | KUT
From Texas Standard . As the weather warms up, many Texans tune up their motorcycles and get them out of the garage. Texas ranks third in the nation for
http://kut.org/post/get-more-women-...
6 years ago
rpandya6 years agoThe article is a story on the interview - likely by an uninformed staffer. The audio interview dives a bit deeper into the subject and recognizes the laziness of some brands, but there are others who are building good quality gear for females. Did you listen to the audio interview?
GearChic6 years agoJust did. I think we're past 'Shrink It and Pink It' as the reason for why women's gear is so challenging. Now what I see is brands trending to "casual" wear, basically taking what's in the mall and adding armor pockets and safety stitching. Or, dumbed down versions of more technical gear (of course there are 1-2 brands who are the exception).
- rpandya6 years ago
I get the advantages of the fully functional gear and technology - but does the fashion side of current design trends help make motorcycling more interesting to some people? I do agree that crap gear is crap - but I have also seen where ATGATT can push people away as fast as a body builder would a casual workout in a gym...
- GearChic6 years ago
Absolutely. But there's a middle ground that I think is being abandoned. The gear is going straight to the mall without thought to little things like safety stitching / materials that aren't just soft, but also strong... there has to be a middle ground, right? I think sometimes, brands cater a little too much to what new riders want without telling them what they need too. Kind of like a parent/child relationship? it's a brand's responsibility IF they're trying to provide safety to *actually* provide the safety vs. skimping on it to please the customer. I know there are a lot of things to consider, but these are just things that I'm seeing that make it challenging for me to advise newer riders.
- rpandya6 years ago
For sure the brands who get it and can educate should do so. There will always be companies who copy a style without the substance, chasing a profit on somebody else ground breaking work. That will never change. I do believe there is a tendency to get too technical too early, and scare off new riders - so finding the right balance to make quality approachable is something you must be very good at by now!
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