Georgena Terry is an American bicycle designer and businesswoman who began the first women-specific bicycle company, Terry Precision Cycling, in 1985.[1] [2]
Raised in Alabama in the United States, she gained a degree in mechanical engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University and worked at Westinghouse Electric’s nuclear services division during summer breaks. While working at Xerox Corp in Rochester she began making bicycle frames for friends.[3] The bicycles were hand-built with frame geometries and wheel sizes designed to better fit women, and her business grew rapidly from 20 bicycles in 1985 to 5,000 in 1987.[4]
She developed and patented a design of bike saddle specifically for women in 1991[5] and handlebars with reduced diameter to suit people with smaller hands in 1994.[6] The saddles featured the now-common cut-away centres[7] and Terry now produces ergonomic saddles for both men and women.[8]