charles vail

Well, I certainly wasn't referring to most production bike companies as smart builders, instead I was just stating (smart builders) meaning, custom frame builders. Large companies are in fact smart builders and they could make a heavier built bike but most large companies are constrained within certain limits in order to be profitable and sell within a certain price point to be competitive.

Of course a long tube flexes more than a short one and in larger frames (over 58 cm) some builders do use, say a .9/.6/.9 guage rather than a .8/.5/.8 guage. I'm talking steel here, of course. Unfortunately for the really heavy rider, over 250-275 pounds even these guages sometimes need to be beefed up for long term use. A small frame size will be slightly stiffer but accounting for the reduced wall thickness it would then be about the same. We are talking only 6cm difference in a tube so there isn't a whole lot of difference in flex if the tube gauge is thicker, probably none.

Our poster, Vespa cannot IMHO get a good fit on a 58cm bike no matter what bike shop is doing the work without some major compromises. What he needs at 6'4" and 280 pounds is a larger frame with thicker wall tubes, preferably steel.

The Surly line of production bikes are built with heavier guage tubes at least in the crosscheck and Long Haul Trucker frames since in the case of the Long Haul it is made to carry a load plus a rider and in our posters case he is the load. The Surly would be a better choice if he wants to save money and have as durable and stiff a frame as he can buy for a reasonable price. With a proper frame size maybe 62 cm and a correct stem length he could be fit up quite comfortably.

Ultimately a custom frame is a best solution for a tall heavy rider but Surly is unique in this case, since they do make a bike with a larger frame size thats made to carry a heavy weight (rider and luggage or just rider)!!! Touring style bikes are not all that common these days and I can think of only a few production models besides Surly, Fuji, Trek 520, Novara (REI) and Jamis, I believe makes a steel frame that is fairly stout. Bianchi's Volpe is steel but I am not sure of how large their frames are.

I think Vespa wanted a larger frame to keep the seat post from sticking so far out of the seat tube and he is correct to assume that his lbs is trying to force fit him into a 58cm because they have one. Unless he wants a seat post a mile high and a stem hanging way over the front wheel and doesn't value his hands or his lower back, he won't like the fit on a 58 cm. One additional problem with modern threadless stems is the fact that when trying to fit taller riders on smaller frames the steer tube is often precut and it makes it difficult to get the bars high enough, without resorting to steer tube additions, along with high rise stems. This makes for a cluttered setup and by getting a correct frame size, can be avoided.

My own bikes are stock 1980's frames with different stems, so, yes, it is possible to get a fit on a stock frame provided the frame is close to correct, in the beginning. In my case, I own a 55cm frame that is too small and while I can ride it, I am not as comfortable, especialy on long rides, in spite of my efforts to change out to a different stem.