Framebuilders - Translating rider measurements into a frame design

I'm not a frame builder but have had several custom bikes made. Loosely speaking, the process has been the same each time: to take a whole lot of body measurements, ask a lot of questions about what I'm looking for and what kind of riding I plan to do on the bike (racing, touring, ...). The frame builder then takes all of this and the output is a frame design (tube types, tube lengths, angles, bb height, etc) that hopefully both fits and does what I want it to do.

I'm curious how frame builders do this. Do you all use a software tool, "rule of thumb" or some other mechanism to come up with a frame design?

" Designing and Building your own Frameset' by Richard E. Talbot,"The Custom Bicycle"By Kolin and de la Rosa. Suzys blog .Have fun

" Designing and Building your own Frameset' by Richard E. Talbot,"The Custom Bicycle"By Kolin and de la Rosa. Suzys blog .Have fun

Thanks for the references, I'll look them up.

There might be some software out there but all the framebuilders i kno including myself just use our own calculations written down in spreadsheets, the measurements are usually for how big the top tube and seat tube are or just the bike in general and the rest of it is basically just a lot of trig and calculations to get the right head and seat angle for you. Those angles, although other things like bb drop and wheelbase also affect it, are the main factors that determine how twitchy your handlebars are and how far your weight is put forward, which obviously depends on what you want in your bike.

There is software out there. Plus Serotta certified fitters have software. They also have a special bike that is fully adjustable, head tube, seat tubes, top tube, and they change the sizing on it until you feel the most comfortable. They then put these dimensions into their software and it determines the angles, for rake or that can be determined by the fitter.

this is interesting. ive often wondered how this was all done. i'd like to have a cruiser frame built for me but im not aware of any builders around me and if i do find one im sure ill die when i here a price.

I'm curious how frame builders do this. Do you all use a software tool, "rule of thumb" or some other mechanism to come up with a frame design?

I use software to provide a general idea of frame dimensions, then tweak it for the rider's individual needs and preferences.

ive been looking at bikecad.ca and playing with the free version. its interesting