Just as a dog’s tail reveals its mood, a bike’s top tube often indicates its intended purpose. A horizontal top tube suggests classic bike design and a composed ride. A sloping top tube hints at lightness and quick acceleration. And a top tube positioned so low that you can easily step over it is typically labeled a “Girls Bike,” seemingly not designed for serious cyclists.
Or is it?
While step-through frames were initially designed to accommodate women’s clothing—pants for women were considered quite unconventional in the early days of cycling—the gendered label has largely lost its meaning as clothing norms have evolved. Ironically, while step-through bikes are often seen as less performance-oriented than bikes with higher top tubes, these very bikes were revolutionary in the late 19th century, challenging Victorian norms of womanhood. In essence, the step-through bicycle embodies a spirit of revolution. Yet, many still believe that any bike that’s easy to mount must be less serious than one with UCI-approved geometry.
As a cyclist who has always been drawn to racing aesthetics, I confess I never seriously considered owning a step-through bike. This perspective shifted when I needed to carry more cargo. I eventually acquired a cargo bike with a low-step frame, which allowed me to mount without accidentally kicking my child. This experience made me reconsider the conventional bike-mounting method, which suddenly seemed somewhat unnecessary. Why should getting on a bike require significant flexibility? This isn’t to say I was ready to abandon my collection of diamond-frame bikes—you’d have to pry my titanium road bike from my cold, dead hands—but it did prompt me to view step-through bikes in a new light. The sheer practicality of the design became appealing, and I began to appreciate them, ultimately purchasing a Rivendell Platypus. It’s my first step-through (or “mixte,” or at least mixte-like) bike for general use, and it’s remarkably capable.
Naturally, traditional high-top-tube bikes offer certain advantages. The simple diamond frame design boasts an impressive strength-to-weight ratio, something even Frank Costanza, the engineer of the Festivus Pole, would admire. (Triangles are inherently strong, and a diamond frame essentially consists of two triangles.) This makes high-top-tube bikes ideal for competitive cycling, where maximum stiffness and minimal weight are paramount, and ease of mounting and dismounting is less of a concern—except, of course, in cyclocross, where the art of quick dismounts and remounts is integral to the sport. However, even race-focused bikes show a tendency towards lower top tubes, or at least designs that keep them out of the way. Mountain bikes originally had horizontal top tubes, but as the sport progressed, designers recognized the need for more standover clearance for emergency dismounts, while also accommodating increasingly long and advanced suspension forks. Consequently, top tubes were lowered. In 1998, Giant revolutionized the cycling world by equipping the ONCE team with compact, Mike Burrows-designed Giant TCRs for the Tour de France. While this design prioritized frame stiffness and weight reduction, allowing for T-shirt-like sizing (small, medium, large) thanks to increased top-tube clearance, rather than rider convenience, it was initially met with disdain by purists. Nevertheless, the sloping top-tube design transformed road bike aesthetics, and today, finding a drop-bar bike without one is a rarity.
As top tubes on professional bikes have progressively lowered, it’s logical to expect an even more dramatic descent on bikes ridden by everyday cyclists. While step-through bikes are moving away from gender associations, they are still largely confined to categories like comfort bikes, stylish town bikes, or fitness bikes. Comfort, style, and fitness are all valuable aspects, but there’s a vast spectrum of cycling between leisurely cruising and competitive racing. It’s in this middle ground that low-top-tube frames offer significant benefits for riders seeking robust and versatile bikes for enjoyment and exploration. While my Platypus excels for city riding, it’s also perfectly suited for longer excursions, can accommodate various racks and bags, and is capable of handling anything except highly technical trails or intense, Lycra-clad group rides.
Furthermore, once you abandon specialized cycling attire, clipless pedals, and drop bars, the top tube becomes the next logical element to reconsider. Is swinging a leg over a traditional frame truly challenging for someone reasonably fit and flexible? Not particularly. Yet, the inviting dip in the Platypus frame is as appealing as a hotel bed after turndown service, simplifying quick stops at coffee shops, spontaneous swims, or nature breaks.
While non-gender-specific adventure step-through bikes might currently occupy a niche market, Rivendell isn’t the only company embracing low top tubes for high performance. Jones Bikes has long offered the Spaceframe, emphasizing its comfort, maneuverability, and ability to tackle diverse terrains. There’s also the Soma Buena Vista, a mixte leaning towards the racier side for road-oriented cyclists, and the Marin Larkspur 2, a gravel-ready option.
In recent years, serious cyclists have adopted technologies once considered less performance-focused, such as wider tires and lower gears. Modern materials and construction have minimized weight penalties, and there’s a growing understanding that comfort enhances performance. As we move away from the idea that high-pressure tires and close-ratio cassettes are essential, we should also consider that traditional diamond frames might sometimes be unnecessarily restrictive. While a higher top tube might project a racier image, it’s worth asking: why let appearances dictate functionality?
