Gearing preferences of men vs. women on road bikes Is there evidence that men and women prefer the same or different gearing when riding a road bike? In other words, in the same conditions, would both men and women generally ride in the same gear or does one group statistically prefer to ride in a higher or lower gear? I understand that the question is quite academic as everyone is free to pick their preferred gear.

Really this question is far too broad, but I'll mention some things that dictate gearing, ultimately, non have anything to do with sex or gender.

* Strength - Stronger people can push heavier gears
* Cadence preference - someone who prefers a higher cadence might choose gearing for quicker pedaling
* Terrain - Hillier = easier gearing, flatter = bigger front and smaller back
* Type of road cycling - TT will use harder gearing, endurance racing lower
* Compete vs training - Some people have different bikes for training and competing



There's other factors too, and as most sports, there is a difference between top male and top female competitors and I'm sure it will be something like top males might have larger front rings than top females. Although the difference within the male and female groups might be of more interest than just the difference between avg male and female.