Fixed gear frame size

Bruce Rideout said:

I've been lurking here for about a year and have learned
quite a bit, but I'm about to take the plunge on a fixed
gear and I need some help with a frame size question (I
googled the archive and got some help, but nothing
definitive). I have an opportunity to buy a 2001 Bianchi
Pista for $350 from a friend back east. Seems like a good
deal. The problem is, it's a 49cm frame and I usually take
a 54cm. I'm 5'9", 135lbs, 32" inseam. My 3 road bikes all
have top tubes about 55cm, and with 10cm stems they fit me
perfectly. The 49cm Pista has a 52cm top tube. Obviously,
I could use a 13cm stem on the Bianchi to get the same
reach, and a longer seat post to get the right saddle
height, but would the handling or other positioning
factors be significantly compromised? In short, is it
reasonable to expect a good enough fit just by swapping
out the stem and seat post? Since he's in DC and I'm in
San Diego, I don't have an opportunity to try it out
before buying...

49cm is at least two sizes smaller than 54cm. If it's $35, I
would experiment with seatpost and stem, but for $350, no
way. You could almost get a brand new 54cm Pista for about
$500. That not much more than $350 + seatpost + long stem.
Besides, with longer seatpost + longer stem, the handlebar
will probably be too low. GH

Bruce Rideout said:

The problem is, it's a 49cm frame and I usually take a
54cm. I'm 5'9", 135lbs, 32" inseam. My 3 road bikes all
have top tubes about 55cm, and with 10cm stems they fit me
perfectly. The 49cm Pista has a 52cm top tube.

This will be worth your while if you haven't seen it yet:

<http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html>

Mr. Brown points out that older pattern road frames with
horizontal rear drop outs have advantages over track
frames for road use.

Does one of your good-fitting road bikes have horizontal
rear dropouts by chance? --Tom Paterson

Bruce Rideout said:

I've been lurking here for about a year and have learned
quite a bit, but I'm about to take the plunge on a fixed
gear and I need some help with a frame size question (I
googled the archive and got some help, but nothing
definitive). I have an opportunity to buy a 2001 Bianchi
Pista for $350 from a friend back east. Seems like a good
deal. The problem is, it's a 49cm frame and I usually take
a 54cm. I'm 5'9", 135lbs, 32" inseam. My 3 road bikes all
have top tubes about 55cm, and with 10cm stems they fit me
perfectly. The 49cm Pista has a 52cm top tube. Obviously,
I could use a 13cm stem on the Bianchi to get the same
reach, and a longer seat post to get the right saddle
height, but would the handling or other positioning
factors be significantly compromised? In short, is it
reasonable to expect a good enough fit just by swapping
out the stem and seat post? Since he's in DC and I'm in
San Diego, I don't have an opportunity to try it out
before buying...

You will need a stem with some rise or the bars will be too
low. It will handle a little differently with a longer
stem, but European pros always used to ride with massive
stems because it was fashionable. It never seemed to do
them any harm.

It's also possible that the saddle will not go far enough
back if the geometry is "proportional". You can get a
seatpost with more layback, or a saddle with longer rails
(rail length varies a lot, and some saddle manufacturers
even warn you not to use the full range of adjustment in
case you crack the rails, e.g. Selle Italia).

Oh yes, and check they haven't supplied it with 160mm
cranks, although given the cost and rarity of anything under
170mm this is unlikely.

In article <[email hidden]>, Tom Paterson

Quoted message said:

Bruce Rideout said:

The problem is, it's a 49cm frame and I usually take a
54cm. I'm 5'9", 135lbs, 32" inseam. My 3 road bikes all
have top tubes about 55cm, and with 10cm stems they fit
me perfectly. The 49cm Pista has a 52cm top tube.

This will be worth your while if you haven't seen it yet:

<http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html>

Mr. Brown points out that older pattern road frames with
horizontal rear drop outs have advantages over track
frames for road use.

Does one of your good-fitting road bikes have horizontal
rear dropouts by chance? --Tom Paterson

I have to second your advice. A track bike frameset is not a
prerequisite for building a fixie.

If one of your current frames can be converted (horiz. DO's)
go that route or get an older bike that'll fit the bill (and
save you bills!).

luke

kay-<< I have an opportunity to buy a 2001 Bianchi Pista for
$350 from a friend back east. Seems like a good deal. The
problem is, it's a 49cm frame and I usually take a 54cm

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

<BR><BR>

The seat tube angle is probably steeper as well than most
'54/55cm' framesets. You may not be able to get your saddle
far enough back. A ill fitting fixed gear, where ya peddle
all the time, on a longish ride, may damage ya somewhere.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali
costruite eccezionalmente bene"

[email hidden] (Tom Paterson) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Bruce Rideout said:

The problem is, it's a 49cm frame and I usually take a
54cm. I'm 5'9", 135lbs, 32" inseam. My 3 road bikes all
have top tubes about 55cm, and with 10cm stems they fit
me perfectly. The 49cm Pista has a 52cm top tube.

This will be worth your while if you haven't seen it yet:

<http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html>

Mr. Brown points out that older pattern road frames with
horizontal rear drop outs have advantages over track
frames for road use.

Does one of your good-fitting road bikes have horizontal
rear dropouts by chance? --Tom Paterson

Tom: Yes, I have a new Kogswell frame with horizontal
dropouts (www.kogswell.com), but I don't want to convert it
to a fixed gear. It's my main commuter and I LOVE it. I
would get a Kogswell fixed gear frame (which is a bit closer
to road geometry than most) but they are out of the 54cm
size. Thanks for the tip on Sheldon's site. I forgot to
mention in my original post that I have read just about
everything on Sheldon's site (what a great resource - thanks
Sheldon!).

I also forgot to mention that I plan to use the fixed
gear for occasional commuting (10 miles each way) and
short rides.

Thanks,

Bruce

(Bruce Rideout) said:

I also forgot to mention that I plan to use the fixed
gear for occasional commuting (10 miles each way) and
short rides.

Heh heh heh. Bwaaah-haah-haah-hahh! Snicker. You'll be doing
centuries on it before the month is out. :-D

[email hidden] (Tom Paterson) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

From Bruce Rideout:

Quoted message said:

I have a new Kogswell frame with >horizontal dropouts
(www.kogswell.com), but I don't want to convert it to a
fixed gear. It's my main commuter and I LOVE it.

There's a lot to be said for having identical (or very
close) bikes when changing between rides-- familiar
responses in emergency situations, ability to swap wheels
or other parts (incl. chainring compatibility) when the
bike shop is closed, etc. I've done this with a couple of
different pairs of frames, works great.

Quoted message said:

I would get a Kogswell fixed
gear frame (which is a bit closer to road geometry than
most) but they are out of the 54cm size.

Road style available? Hmm, I looked at Kogs.com, seems
they might have one in your size. An '03, apparently on
sale, with free brake calipers and free shipping. $310?
Sounds like a deal from here. If I may: I'd consider
putting some screws in the cable adj.bosses to protect
the threads and have two favorite frames built up with
stuff you want on them. (Not negating the appeal of a fixer-
only frame. I have two forks for my track bike. Fun, a
great "look", but I'm not big on front-only brake.
Another topic.)

(The Ultimate Spare): Perish the thought, but if your
present road K-well got trashed... --TP

Thanks to everyone who replied. One of the downsides to
buying a frame (like the Kogswell road frame with horizontal
drop-outs) is the high cost of building it up. You can
sometimes get good deals on road build-kits, but I've not
found a good source for a fixed-gear build kit. Any
suggestions there?

Thanks,

Bruce

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Bruce Rideout
[email hidden] (Tom Paterson) wrote in message news:

Thanks to everyone who replied. One of the downsides to
buying a frame (like the Kogswell road frame with horizontal
drop-outs) is the high cost of building it up. You can
sometimes get good deals on road build-kits, but I've not
found a good source for a fixed-gear build kit. Any
suggestions there?

Thanks,

Bruce

Sheldon's got those too:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/fixed.html
(at the bottom of the page).

I'd also recommend getting an older road frame with horizontal dropouts; you can find them really cheap on ebay or craig's list if you have that in your area. You can get track frames there too, but they tend to be more expensive.

-Jeremy

[email hidden] (Bruce Rideout) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Tom Paterson) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

From Bruce Rideout:

Quoted message said:

I have a new Kogswell frame with >horizontal dropouts
(www.kogswell.com), but I don't want to convert it to a
fixed gear. It's my main commuter and I LOVE it.

There's a lot to be said for having identical (or very
close) bikes when changing between rides-- familiar
responses in emergency situations, ability to swap wheels
or other parts (incl. chainring compatibility) when the
bike shop is closed, etc. I've done this with a couple of
different pairs of frames, works great.

Quoted message said:

I would get a Kogswell fixed
gear frame (which is a bit closer to road geometry than
most) but they are out of the 54cm size.

Road style available? Hmm, I looked at Kogs.com, seems
they might have one in your size. An '03, apparently on
sale, with free brake calipers and free shipping. $310?
Sounds like a deal from here. If I may: I'd consider
putting some screws in the cable adj.bosses to protect
the threads and have two favorite frames built up with
stuff you want on them. (Not negating the appeal of a fixer-
only frame. I have two forks for my track bike. Fun, a
great "look", but I'm not big on front-only brake.
Another topic.)

(The Ultimate Spare): Perish the thought, but if your
present road K-well got trashed... --TP

Thanks to everyone who replied. One of the downsides to
buying a frame (like the Kogswell road frame with
horizontal drop-outs) is the high cost of building it up.
You can sometimes get good deals on road build-kits, but
I've not found a good source for a fixed-gear build kit.
Any suggestions there?

Thanks,

Bruce

Check this frame out, $360 cdn.