Re: 6'7 guy needs help looking for a road bike for a 585 Mile 6 DayCharity Bike Ride

On Feb 10, 4:29 pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky" <Mi...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
"Chalo" <chalo.col...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:55af73bb-bdbd-415a-9bb2-d9f428dd4196@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx





Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:

At 6'7" you need absolutely positively the biggest-possible
production frame you can find, and even that isn't going to be a perfect
fit. Some brands have expanded their upper size range; for example, Trek,
the line we sell, now offers a 64cm size (previously, the biggest was
61cm,
and trust me, a 61cm isn't going to fit someone your size). But you're
going
to have to ditch your notion of a bike under $500. The least-expensive
Trek
model that comes in a 64cm size is the 1.5, at $999.

The 64cm Trek 1.5 has some laughable features for a tall man's bike,
like 41cm chainstays.  With the specified 72 degree seat angle, that
puts the rear edge of the saddle about _one inch_ forward of the rear
hub.  You're also suggesting a bike that accepts 28mm tires at the
widest to a guy who weighs 220 pounds (and is probably quite lean at
that weight).

So your preference is for exactly what seat angle? Given the range of femur
lengths we encounter, we haven't had issues establishing a "normal"
knee-over-spindle position on the 64cm frame. Are you guessing that everyone
needs a slacker seat tube, or do you have experience with a whole lot of
people in the real world? I accept the fact that you may need it, but
suggest that may not be the same for all taller folk. When we come across
someone whose measurements and appearance on the bike make it clear there
are significant fit issues, we recommend they look elsewhere. No biggie;
it's impossible to fit everyone. I never meant to imply that we could. But
that's unusual, not the norm.

Other measurements being held equal, and fitting the seat fore-aft
position according to pedaling balance, a slacker seat tube has the
effect of robbing the frame of forward reach.

FWIW, I'm only 6'3" but with very long arms and legs, and am decidedly
"recreational" in my riding. My present best fitting bicycle (a thirty
year old no-name pile of seamed tubing with slightly uneven dropouts)
has a 67cm seat tube, 63cm horizontal top tube, 74 degree seat tube,
and 90mm stem, with the bartops set up a bit less than an inch below
the seat post.

I've found the high and forward grip is key for me -- I can set myself
with the same back angle, equally comfortable and fast on the hoods,
on a smaller frame, but the drops and bartops become cramped and
awkwardly angled and by that point why bother with drop bars, if the
non-hood hand positions don't work.

The Trek 1.5 could be made to fit me that way, if I'm converting the
frame stack measurement right, but it would take a 130-140mm stem.
Which means for someone longer, no joy.

Its bottom bracket is also rather low to fit 180mm or 185mm cranks
with adequate pedal clearance. It's rare to see a manufacturer spec
appropriate crank lengths for different sized bikes. The manufacturers
that do spec varying cranks then screw it up by not adjusting the
bottom bracket accordingly. It's a surprise to see Trek has adjusted
bottom bracket height slightly, but only by 4mm between XS and XL
frames, less than half what would be appropriate if they (probably--
here's a bit of geometry info they omit) spec 165 for the smallest and
175 for the largest bikes (and less than a quarter the necessary
adjustment for 160 to 180 cranks, which would be better.)

-pm
.

Relevant Pages

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