Road Cycling - Who makes big frames?

Ive been doing some shopping around for a road bike, and I'm just making sure I look at all my options before I take the plunge.

Im 6'8" , ~215lbs ... not really the size bike makers cater to.

I have set a $1000 limit, so custom frames are out of the picture right now.

I have been looking at some Giant's and Cannondales. I have ridden a 63 Cannondale, it was only for 10 minutes or so, but it felt pretty good. The place with the Giant's does not have an XL in, and likely won't order one unless I buy it.

Does anybody know of any solid 63/63+ production frames?

Thanks for your help.

Pete

Trek has a few modles in 63
http://www.trekbikes.com/home.jsp

I have heard Trek "runs small" ... I have never tried one though.

I know this is out of your price range but dang, look at the head tube on this bike. (Zinn Titanium built for Bill Cartwright)

Those are some seriously long crank arms, now thats some leverage!!

haahahh wow!

Bianchi Eros 63cm for $1099.00 :D

Check out Rivendell Bicycles (http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/) . Rivendell makes several production frames that go up to 68cm.

Bianchi_rider - the eros is just about everything I'm looking for in a bike, and it looks awesome. Id really like to see how well it fits.

SteveE - thanks for the rivendell link, but it looks like they may be just out of my range... we'll see how it goes.

I'm 6ft 4ins and am about to ride a 62.0 CtoT x 60.5 TT, which I've just finished designing and have handed the drawings over to my fabricator. I haven't looked, but does anyone make a stock frame over 62? I know most 62's have top tubes that are just too short and geometry that is just plain wrong, so it may be a tough ask for someone your height.

Steel would be tricky because I think the longest downtube is 690mm, so it maybe tough even if you do decide to go custom. That Zinn Ti is a monsterous frame! It begs the question - "How did they get a fork with a steerer that long?"

that bike cannot be comfortable to ride...even for a really tall guy...

btw, bill cartwright as in, bill cartwright the head coach of the bulls? how tall is he?

For big frames, you need tubes to be fat as well as long, to provide sufficient stiffness.
Cannondales are expecially good in their larger sizes.
If the geometry is good for you, a 'dale will do the job. When comparing geometries, look at the length of the top tube, not simply the standover height.

Also make sure you are using the largest cranks possible. Ideally, big bikes should have plenty of room for these, but generally, they have only 5mm more bottom bracket-to-ground clearance than the very smallest frames.

If anybody else knows about big frames, keep it coming... but in the meantime. What are the thoughts on the entry level Cannondales? Im probably looking to the 2004 R500 triple, which is a tiagra bike with CAAD4 frame.

Thanks for working with me

~Pete

Be aware, Cannondale makes a 66cm. It's a special order frameset. I have heard that one year you could special order a whole bike with parts on it for the price of a regular bike. You're going to have trouble fitting that into your budget, but the 63 is going to be way, way too small. I'm not completely sure a 66 is big enough, but I know it has an inch more top tube, and a greater standover height. Jog down to the Cannondale store and get a catalog. Look in the back where the frame dimensions are listed, and you'll find a 66cm. A tall steerer tube (ask ahead of time!) and a lot of spacers and a custom stem just might get you perfect fit, though the long stem might slow the handling just a little bit.

Shaq had a custom dimension Cannondale (large!) with (yawn) 180mm Dura-Ace cranks. Don't know where to find a picture online. Picture in Bicycling Magazine somewhere, but not lately.

I like 5.3 X inch of inseam in flat shoes to get crankarm length. So 185mm is a good fit for a 35 inch inseam. You can get T.A. cranks in 185 from Peter White Cycles. After that you will have to look around (Lennard Zinn?), though there are some BMX cranks (Profile and others) that are nearly indestructible and come in larger sizes.

Before the aged tomatoes start flying my way, I feel obliged to do a little disclaiming: I am a mere stripling of only 6'2". I was 6'3" until I fractured a vertebrae. I have some biomechanical problems that drive me to use large frames.

Want to see some moderately large bikes? You can see a Cannondale 66cm by going to the Fort Worth Bicycling Association website and looking at the photos for the 2003 Leakey Death Ride. You can see a large Meridian tandem by going to the Meridian website, clicking on the custom page, and scrolling to the bottom. The Meridian actually fits me better because the handlebars are a little bit higher.

Speaking of handlebar heights, it seems to me that the normal setting for normal-sized people on bikes that fit, puts the top of the handlebars level with the top of the round portion of the seatpost. If you can't get that high, I would be cautious about concluding that I had adequate fit.

215 lbs? Have you considered eating, perhaps at least once a week? If you find after you get in shape that your wheels are wearing out too quickly or requiring excessive maintenance, consider Aerospoke wheels. Initially expensive, and laterally a little flexible, and undoubtedly heavy, but nearly indestructible. The $150 exchange policy makes them very affordable.

Sidi makes large shoes, even larger than are listed in the catalogs. You have to ask them. I'm not up to date on that, so you will have to check.

Santana makes a stem-stretcher (adds 50mm) they call an ASX-50. I'd rather have a custom stem, but if you need it now, it's an off-the-rack part that can be Fed-Ex'ed while you are waiting for the custom stem. Be careful with the aluminum threads. You have to evenly distribute the tension.

Can your work out your fit on a jig somewhere before you start putting money down? Serotta used to have a Size-Cycle at their dealers.

A note of caution on non-custom XL frames: a high seat position (common with tall people!) can make it hard to keep the front tire on the ground going up steep hills. If I ended up getting a custom frameset and I contemplated touring on steep hills, I would consider longer chainstays. Not a problem with a tandem, of course.....

SDS, wow, nice reply, thanks...

I think 215 is plenty heavy. Im a pretty big fan of eating, so have no worries. You are pointing out that I may need to look into different wheels due to my size... what the hell does Shaq do? the dude has 6 inches and 140 lbs on me!

I only wear size 13 shoes, so I do fit in the upper range of the production shoes.

Im actually going to test ride a 64 Fuji next saturday. based on the geometry I found online, it looks to be a little bigger than the 63 cannondale.

I will speak with the 'dale dealer about the 66 frame. If we can keep it around a grand, that might be the way to go. Thanks for the tip.

Pete

Isn't a 63 Bianchi the equivalent to a 60 in most bikes because they measure to the top of the seatpost collar?