from our 2004 catalog
The 2004 Rodriguez Stellar....Innovation not Imitation
A few years ago, Time magazine ran a cover article titled 'Men and Women are born different'. "No kidding," I thought, "why can't the bicycle industry figure that out?" Women have always been expected to adapt to bikes that are designed for men. This means that the handle bars are too wide (men usually have broader shoulders), the reach to the bars is too long (men have their height in their torsos, while most women have their height in their legs), and the bars are too low (men generally have longer arms). The way that the men's bikes were manufactured made these bikes difficult, if not impossible, to adjust to fit women comfortably. We tried talking with all of our bicycle vendors to try and address the issue, to no avail. So, in 1996, we took on the monumental task of designing a line of bicycles specifically for women. As a custom bike builder, we have a database of over 40,000 people that we have measured for bicycles over the decades. We used only the women's measurements and the design we came up with was radically different than a men's bike.
The resulting effort was the Rodriguez Stellar line of bicycles. The Stellar is much different than other bicycles on the market.
- We were building custom bicycles for decades before we developed the Stellar line. Designing and building bicycle frames around our customers needs is what we do. We bring this experience to the design of our Stellar bicycles.
- We are currently the only dealer for the Stellar, as well as the manufacturer, painter and assembler. This uniquely enables us to interact directly with you to ensure that every aspect of your new Stellar is just what you want....right down to the color.
- While imitation is a form of flattery, innovation is the true strength of the Rodriguez Stellar. Others are trying, but so far, they've just managed to build smaller men's bikes: the top tubes are still too long, the bars are still too wide, and we're still having difficulty fitting them to women. Rest assured the Stellar, and the folks at R+E Cycles, are still the best choice if you want the most comfortable, lightest weight, best performing women's bike on the planet!
