Charles Wahl

Could that be because the double-butted tubing can't stand up to the stresses that big fellas bring, at the lengths required. Or maybe the tubing manufacturers didn't bother offering DB in lengths that would suffice? Just wondering. . .

TommyL

I'm not sure... maybe there were just more of the lower end models built and sold, making it worthwhile to produce several sizes. I wonder if simply wasn't cost effective to offer unique sizes for high end factory models that don't have a large consumer base.

All I know for sure is that it makes it really hard for a guy like myself to build a vintage go fast bike. Boo.

Antelope 70cm

Hi guys, I'm usually down in the Clyde forum. Here is a pic of my 1987 Serotta Colorado, 70cm C-T. My Dad still rides my old 27" Univega Viva Sport, and I still have my 25" Volkscycle Mark XV hanging in the rafters. The pic of the Panasonic brought back memories as I had a 28" in blue before I had the Serotta made.

Bikedued

Any of you guys wanting a big vintage Raleigh frame, PM me.,,,,BD

Bikedued

I saw that bike in PERSON!! It was at West University Cycles, or what ever they were before changing hands. The seat was at the middle of my sternum, and I'm 6'1", lol. Freakin hewge.,,,,BD

Radfahrer

Here's my two large beasts - not C&V (currently working on a 25" Motobecane Grand Touring), but they are both 65 cm...



Not a roadie, more of a townie, but pretty dang tall!

TommyL

PM sent

barndoor

THAT is one of the most beautiful bikes I've ever seen.

I am humbled....

Antelope 70cm

Thank you very much, I appreciate it.

barndoor

Whoa...Bill shows pretty good form for a big boy!
A good bike fit!.....I wonder where that bike is now?

SingeDebile

you should definitely buy a larger frame! I have the same exact Raleigh but a 67cm c-c , I am 6'4" and its a touch too small for me!

reverborama

Here's one I found for free -- gave it to a friend who is 6-6. I'm 6-3 and while I could have ridden it, getting off in an emergency could have been uncomfortable.

cyclotoine

You may remember I have mentioned before that if you ever decide to get rid of that bike I am willing and waiting I would love to upgrade from my International to a Continental... And my international just did 1700kms this september in Europe. So you know it would go to a good home.

Hoopster

I've got a 6'11" 16 year old 10th grade son who claims he wants to do some long distance road bike riding with me. So I started searching around for a bike big enough for him. Quickly learned I can get nothing that is mass-produced that would work. Looked into having something custom made but the price tag really concerned me cause - hey he's 16 so he may ride it a dozen times and then hang it up in the garage. A guy then suggested that I search the Internet for a 27 inch (69CM) frame. I actually ended up buying two of them. The first I bought was a 1983 Raleigh Super Record that is in basically mint condition having been in a guys basement covered for the last 20 years. It has Suntour components, shifters mounted on the stem, and brake levers in the up and down position on the handlebars. It is a 10 speed. The second one I bought was a 27 inch Shogun Cro-Mo 500. I think it is a late 1980's / very early 1990's bike. It was in very very rough shape but it was lighter and the components were much nicer - Shimano Deore components, triple crank, a 6 speed cluster, with the shifters on the down tube. I have completely rebuilt the bike and even had the frame powder coated black. It is now a beautiful bike but it is naked as I need to find some Shogun decals. Anyone have any leads. Both bikes of course have 27 inch wheel sets and are friction shifters.

Next thing I have to figure out for my son is what to do about pedals / shoes. Being 6'11" he wears a size 18 / 19 shoe. Does anyone have anyleads on bicycle shoes that big? If not, how about pedals with extra big cages and straps? Any other ideas.

I would consider selling the Raleigh Super Record if someone is interested.

redbarnlane

I don't think that stem shifters count against a bike this size. I own the blue/silver Miyata above, and if it had down tube shifters, I couldn't reach them.


Surgically attach cleats to his feet?

Mike

barndoor

Wow. You have some exceptional sizing issues with your son! DUH!

You could always use a Nitto Technomic stem to raise the bars up to his level. They are extremely long and would work for him....maybe a 400mm seatpost to go along with it to get him stretched out over the wheelbase of the bike....

..or maybe you could call Bill Walton and ask him for some advice?

lotek 

why not contact Leonard Zinn who built Bill Walton's bike?
most of the bikes in the Zinn Gallery are showing platform type pedals
without clips/straps. I agree that until you know your son is going
to keep up with riding I wouldn't lay out the expense for custom shoes (i.e. rocket7)
Heres a link to Zinn Cycles.
https://www.zinncycles.com/
Marty

highlyselassie

One thing that irritates me about a lot of larger(24"+)frames, is that the chainstay length is the same as it is for the bloody 21" frame. I'd rather not sit right over the back wheel and pop wheelies at the slightest incline, thank you very much.

Can't frame builders see, this is pretty basic stuff.

Roll-Monroe-Co

I don't know the exact size, but my bikes are gigantic. "Knowledgeable bike people" are always telling me that my frame is too big. They're even a little mocking about it. I ask them why I can easily get a full leg extension and feel cramped on a "properly" sized frame--like the top tube is too short. They say, oh, that's because you need a stem with more extension. But when the stem gets longer, you get tiller steering, and I don't like having to be humped way over the front wheel.

Anyway, I hate the look of a weeny, short little frame with a thousand miles of seatpost sticking out.

OTOH, I just doodle around to work, the store, and for Saturday rides. I'm not a performance cyclist. If I were, there would probably be something about optimal power positions that would make me listen to the "knowledgeable people."

highlyselassie

I tend to think of this huge stem/seatpost thing as the "American look", not necessarily because people here in the UK don't ride tiny frames, but they're usually new threadless ones, therefore they at least look sorta right (if uncomfortable).

Unfortunately, someone whose thoughts on cycling are generally well founded, Sheldon Brown, I think has got it all wrong when it comes to the sizing issue, pushing the standover height/smallest you can ride rubbish like everyone else. It's a great shame, as he has so much sway on the web.

People say, "Smaller frames are stiffer", I say, yes, perhaps but if you have miles of seatpost showing that's flexier than any frame tubing would be, even worse are these long quill jobbies, these stems are loose fitting with a plug on the bottom, you're essentially pushing/pulling this plug from a much greater height than normal. That is *truly* flexy, not to mention ugly.

It's always a shame when logic gives way to fashion, the frames are getting smaller and smaller, yet most people are getting taller.

bamb

Exactly. With camera and telescope tripods, it's clear to any pro, that if you bring up the top extension (btw most cheap and medium tripods are FAR too short for even normal people), it starts turning into a monopod and the whole idea of the tripod, the stiffness is being gradually lost, leading to vibrations and bad viewing and bad photos.
No, for anyone having a decent camera or telescope, they have to have a tripod that reaches to eye level without any top tube extension whatsoever for the stand to not be the bottleneck in the imaging/viewing system. The triangle is the stiffest structure in nature. If you try to make a tube as stiff as a triangle, you have to use much more mass.
Now of course with cycling, most of the mass is on the pedals (or should be), hence the importance of the stiffness of the seat location is not such a simple straightforward question. Also the stem plays into the forces. Add to that the fact that when you elongate the head tube, the frame structure goes further and further away from a triangle and risks parallelogram style deformation by joint rotation.
Relatively simple first cut weight estimate runs with different top tube angles could be done by some structural engineer, but one would need load measurements from actual biking to estimate stiffness requirements...

But damn do the modern bikes look ugly, they're almost mixte frames nowadays.

Gomez308

Not a classic, but it's big. 65 ctt Habanero Ti

barndoor

Ok, I just can't stand it....I've just gotta throw this one up here for ya'lls to see....
My '93 Waterford...Yeah, I know I've posted it in another thread....but.....

ricohman

This Apollo would be great for the average huge dude.
People under 6'2" need not apply!

barndoor

[QUOTE=ricohman;5982019]This Apollo would be great for the average huge dude.
People under 6'2" need not apply!


....or those without a built-in seatpost