One designer that I admire is Roxy Lo, the principal designer at Ibis Bicycles. She started out working for Pottery Barn before getting hired at Ibis bikes in 2005, where she became a fourth partner for the company. Lo was instrumental in designing Ibis’ first carbon fiber full suspension bike, the Mojo. I really admire that she is so influential in a male dominated industry. The bike industry can have a very “bro” attitude, so it’s refreshing to see someone break that mold. Another thing I admire is her commitment to sizing. A lot of bike companies come up with one size and shrink it up or down, without putting much thought into how these changes will play out and affect other sizes. Oftentimes smaller sizes are an afterthought. As someone who is 5’2” I think it’s really cool that Lo is about my same height and puts a lot of thought into smaller sizes as well. Finally, I really admire her approach to women’s specific models. In the BikeMag article I read, she said, ‘“I have countless women who tell me they are so glad their bike fits and isn’t specially colored or named to cater to their gender. We never exclude women when we make our models, so saying we need to consider making female-specific frames implies we don’t already.’” I really appreciate this approach; as a serious mountain biker it’s almost offensive when other companies cater to women by producing different paint jobs and giving their bike cuter, more gentle names. Women aren’t any less serious about the sport, so why should their bikes be? 

Sources:

https://www.josiebikelife.com/2016/01/women-invovled-roxy-lo.html

https://www.bikemag.com/features/profiles/breaking-the-mold/