WTB: Road Frame that Fits

JJ said:

Looking for a road frameset for someone with long legs and a short torso.
I'm 5' 9" tall, with a 31" inseam, and have yet to find a production frame
that fits (without resorting to ridiculously short stems). The closest
thing I ever had to a "perfect" fit was an old Puch Pacifica, which had a
57cm seat tube and a 53cm top tube.

I'm not a racer, more of a "sport-touring" kind of guy, so relaxed geometry,
steel tubing, attachment points for racks, etc., are OK.

I have a bunch of 54-56 cm frames (various materials and geometries), and
parts, to trade for this one frame which would fit.

Remove the spam trap to reply.

Thanks,

-Jeff

Custom Gunnar by Waterford-$1025..send me your measurements and I'll
get it made. Or go see a LBS that does fits and sells Waterford/
Gunnar.

http://www.gunnarbikes.com

Have you looked at the various women's frames? Long legs/short torso
is the typical body type that they are sized for.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Looking for a road frameset for someone with long legs and a short torso.
I'm 5' 9" tall, with a 31" inseam, and have yet to find a production frame
that fits (without resorting to ridiculously short stems). The closest
thing I ever had to a "perfect" fit was an old Puch Pacifica, which had a
57cm seat tube and a 53cm top tube.

I'm not a racer, more of a "sport-touring" kind of guy, so relaxed geometry,
steel tubing, attachment points for racks, etc., are OK.

I have a bunch of 54-56 cm frames (various materials and geometries), and
parts, to trade for this one frame which would fit.

Remove the spam trap to reply.

Thanks,

-Jeff

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the
newsgroups if possible).

JJ said:

Waterford probably doesn't use the superior Italian threading in their
bottom brackets. Oh well, I'll make do.

I assume the above is a jest?

"Qui si parla Campagnolo-www.vecchios.com" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

JJ said:

Looking for a road frameset for someone with long legs and a short torso.

(snip)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Thanks,

-Jeff

Custom Gunnar by Waterford-$1025..send me your measurements and I'll
get it made. Or go see a LBS that does fits and sells Waterford/
Gunnar.

http://www.gunnarbikes.com

Thanks, Peter, I'll take you up on that offer, after selling some of the
accumulation.

Waterford probably doesn't use the superior Italian threading in their
bottom brackets. Oh well, I'll make do.

Thanks again.

-Jeff

Yea, someone else recently suggested a woman's frame. I think I'll just go
the custom route (I'm not sure that even women are as oddly proprtioned as I
seem to be). The price that Peter quoted for a Gunnar frame isn't too bad.

It amazes me that production frames are all sized as if Greg Lemond (or
Lance) were buying them. Seems like it would behoove the industry to offer
more choices (just my 2 cents).

Thanks for the reply.

-J

"David Kerber" <ns_dkerber@ns_WarrenRogersAssociates.com> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Have you looked at the various women's frames? Long legs/short torso
is the typical body type that they are sized for.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Looking for a road frameset for someone with long legs and a short torso.
I'm 5' 9" tall, with a 31" inseam, and have yet to find a production
frame
that fits (without resorting to ridiculously short stems). >>

--

"JJ" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Yea, someone else recently suggested a woman's frame. I think I'll just
go the custom route (I'm not sure that even women are as oddly proprtioned
as I seem to be). The price that Peter quoted for a Gunnar frame isn't
too bad.

It amazes me that production frames are all sized as if Greg Lemond (or
Lance) were buying them. Seems like it would behoove the industry to
offer more choices (just my 2 cents).

Just my 2 cents:

There's nothing at all strange about your size. I suspect that if you gave
all of your dimensions that you'd be perfectly normal. A 31" inseam is
NORMAL size for a 5'9" individual.

Riding mis-sized bikes and reading the [censored] that passes for "sizing
information" can lead you to some preposterous conclusions. I once had a
setback seatpost with the saddle pushed back all the way back because I made
the mistake of reading and believing that rediculous Greg LeMond book. So
that's not a criticism of you but of the human race in general.

OK, modern bikes have WAY too low stems and bars. This is mostly because it
is cheaper and lighter to make threadless stems. And newer riders read all
the magazines and see all the pictures of racers with those idiotically
proportioned bikes and come to believe that is somehow normal or preferred.

So it IS difficult to get a bike that has the proper saddle to stem
proportions. And while it is easier to get a custom bike to fit you better,
unless you insist they'll give you the same jackass stupid low bar as
everyone else.

You can get Gunnar to build you a proper fork with a threaded headset and
you can use a proper stem that will lift the bars up to where they should
be - 1" below the saddle or less. Or you can buy a Rivendell which would
probably work as well, though you'd have to get a custom one to shorten the
top tube an inch for you if you really need it (again, I don't really
believe that you have any abnormality).

I really do suggest you buy the Gunnar since they can fit you correctly if
you don't go insisting that they do it your way because you think you know
what a proper fit should be from your limited viewpoint. And you have to
give it a couple of months for your body to adapt to a proper fit. Though it
only took me a couple of rides to admit that a properly fitted bike felt a
great deal different than I thought it should.

Tom Kunich' cyclintom@yahoo. com said:

"JJ" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Yea, someone else recently suggested a woman's frame. I think I'll just
go the custom route (I'm not sure that even women are as oddly proprtioned
as I seem to be). The price that Peter quoted for a Gunnar frame isn't
too bad.

Quoted message said:

It amazes me that production frames are all sized as if Greg Lemond (or
Lance) were buying them. Seems like it would behoove the industry to
offer more choices (just my 2 cents).

Just my 2 cents:

There's nothing at all strange about your size. I suspect that if you gave
all of your dimensions that you'd be perfectly normal. A 31" inseam is
NORMAL size for a 5'9" individual.

Riding mis-sized bikes and reading the [censored] that passes for "sizing
information" can lead you to some preposterous conclusions. I once had a
setback seatpost with the saddle pushed back all the way back because I made
the mistake of reading and believing that rediculous Greg LeMond book. So
that's not a criticism of you but of the human race in general.

OK, modern bikes have WAY too low stems and bars. This is mostly because it
is cheaper and lighter to make threadless stems. And newer riders read all
the magazines and see all the pictures of racers with those idiotically
proportioned bikes and come to believe that is somehow normal or preferred.

So it IS difficult to get a bike that has the proper saddle to stem
proportions. And while it is easier to get a custom bike to fit you better,
unless you insist they'll give you the same jackass stupid low bar as
everyone else.

You can get Gunnar to build you a proper fork with a threaded headset and
you can use a proper stem that will lift the bars up to where they should
be - 1" below the saddle or less. Or you can buy a Rivendell which would
probably work as well, though you'd have to get a custom one to shorten the
top tube an inch for you if you really need it (again, I don't really
believe that you have any abnormality).

I agree with all you say but Gunnar is 1/18 inch only. You can get
heattube press in shims and then use a 1 inch HS, threaded, like I
have done on my own Gunnar.

Quoted message said:

I really do suggest you buy the Gunnar since they can fit you correctly if
you don't go insisting that they do it your way because you think you know
what a proper fit should be from your limited viewpoint. And you have to
give it a couple of months for your body to adapt to a proper fit. Though it
only took me a couple of rides to admit that a properly fitted bike felt a
great deal different than I thought it should.

JJ said:

Looking for a road frameset for someone with long legs and a short torso.
I'm 5' 9" tall, with a 31" inseam, and have yet to find a production frame
that fits (without resorting to ridiculously short stems). The closest
thing I ever had to a "perfect" fit was an old Puch Pacifica, which had a
57cm seat tube and a 53cm top tube.

Check out www.vetta.it a small manufacturer in Padua, whom I know very
well.
A couple of years ago they offered a friend of mine to make a SLX
custom frameset for around 500 euros.
Check it out and, if you want, let me know: I often pass by Antonio
Taverna's workshop.

Sergio
Pisa

Quoted message said:

Waterford probably doesn't use the superior Italian threading in their
bottom brackets. Oh well, I'll make do.

Off-topic for this group, but... when I purchased a Waterford frameset
several years ago, it came with threadless fork, but the fork was uncut. I
did not cut the fork, I just stacked up a bunch of spacers and used a stem
with some rise. This brought the bars 1-2" below the saddle.

Mike

Mike Lackey said:

Off-topic for this group, but... when I purchased a Waterford frameset
several years ago, it came with threadless fork, but the fork was uncut. I
did not cut the fork, I just stacked up a bunch of spacers and used a stem
with some rise. This brought the bars 1-2" below the saddle.

Mike

Another inch or two and you might have had it up where it belongs!

(donning nomax suit :-)

sergio said:

JJ said:

Looking for a road frameset for someone with long legs and a short torso.
I'm 5' 9" tall, with a 31" inseam, and have yet to find a production frame
that fits (without resorting to ridiculously short stems). The closest
thing I ever had to a "perfect" fit was an old Puch Pacifica, which had a
57cm seat tube and a 53cm top tube.

Check outwww.vetta.ita small manufacturer in Padua, whom I know very
well.
A couple of years ago they offered a friend of mine to make a SLX
custom frameset for around 500 euros.
Check it out and, if you want, let me know: I often pass by Antonio
Taverna's workshop.

Sergio
Pisa

How would they feel about aking a few frames to our spec, not painted
and then sending them to us? To make them 'Vecchio's? Both lugged and
tig welded, steel, of course. What kind of lead time to order a frame?

On 20 Apr, 14:36, "Qui si parla Campagnolo-www.vecchios.com"

Quoted message said:

How would they feel about aking a few frames to our spec, not painted
and then sending them to us? To make them 'Vecchio's? Both lugged and
tig welded, steel, of course. What kind of lead time to order a frame?

By chance, just by chance, I have to talk to them tomorrow morning
(yes, they do work
on saturdays).
Write to me in private and specify exactly what you would need: as for
tubing and lugs.
And how many?

I'll be happy to be the middle man.

Sergio
Pisa

still me said:

On Thu, 19 Apr 2007 17:24:17 GMT, "Mike Lackey"

Quoted message said:

Off-topic for this group, but... when I purchased a Waterford frameset
several years ago, it came with threadless fork, but the fork was uncut. I
did not cut the fork, I just stacked up a bunch of spacers and used a stem
with some rise. This brought the bars 1-2" below the saddle.

Quoted message said:

Mike

Another inch or two and you might have had it up where it belongs!

(donning nomax suit :-)

Custom Gunnar is a great way to go. About a year ago I order a custom
Gunnar Rodie frame. I an 5'8" with 32+ inseam and wanted an
effective 54cm top tube with a 73 degree seat tube angle. I chose a
16.5 cm head tube which gives with 1" of spacers and a level (73
degree) stem. That leaves the bars 2" below my seat height. With
commonly available stems I can have my bars from 2" below saddle
(where it is now) to well above the saddle.

I have ridden standard sizes and they are ok if you don't mind really
short stems or a lot of spacers under the stem. Short stems effect
the bikes balance and too many spacers can be a safety issue depending
on the fork.

Wayne

Wayne said:

Custom Gunnar is a great way to go. About a year ago I order a custom
Gunnar Rodie frame. I an 5'8" with 32+ inseam and wanted an
effective 54cm top tube with a 73 degree seat tube angle. I chose a
16.5 cm head tube which gives with 1" of spacers and a level (73
degree) stem. That leaves the bars 2" below my seat height. With
commonly available stems I can have my bars from 2" below saddle
(where it is now) to well above the saddle.

Do you change the height of your bars often?

--
JT
****************************
Remove "remove" to reply
Visit http://www.jt10000.com
****************************