SoreFeet

The guy is being a real stubborn butt. He is not going to send me a photo of the bike. I'm guessing he is an old curmudgeon with a phobia of computers. He has given me a full description of the bike and told me to call waterford. I sent an e-mail to waterford and was promptly answered by Richard Scwhinn. He said that he didn't have any photos but he remembers that there were only 19 ever built.

So the bike is a Reynolds 531 Super Tourist model...Beefy tubing. Aww yeah! The price is right. If I don't fit it properly I will likely make my money back. I could probably even own it for a few days and re-sell it and make an extra couple hundred bucks. Is there any logic to doing this? I'm going to have to drive 3 hours each way.

People have told me that riding a 63CM bike at 6 foot is not right...I'm not so sure about that. My old Trek 3 tube carbon bike was a 62CM bike, my old Masi Nuovo Strada (total POS frame) was about that size and my old Miyata 210 was also around that size.

I had great comfort on the Masi but it was a basket case in terms of condition. This particular bike has a lower bottom bracket so it should fit like a 62. I have only been comfortable on bikes with longer top tubes.

So for 1100$ I get a Waterford frame with a real steel fork. A campy Chorus Groupo from 99, Mavic Wheels, Phil bottom bracket, Nitto bars, Brooks saddle.

Am I crazy? This is not a very good time to be buying...but it also seems like a now or never opportunity.

prettyshady

the extra cm or two can be fixed with a smaller stem, good luck

illwafer

$1100 is a lot for any vintage bike, so buy it with the intention of keeping it...not flipping it.

wrk101

The thing I really like about stubborn/uncooperative sellers, is that they treat all potential buyers in this fashion. This can weed out the competition, and result in getting a better deal as a buyer. I love sellers who won't even bother reading the decals on the frame, don't know the model, age, brand, size, can't take a picture, can't work a tape measure, can't air up tires, etc. Depending on the bike, these sellers eliminate 99% of the competition. This can make for a really great deal, or can mean a rare bike remains available long enough for you to snag it. Given how rare the bike is, I would pay the price and get your hands on it as soon as possible (as long as it fits in the budget).

I have been searching for a particular model bike myself for over a year, and I look everywhere. I finally found it, in my size. Woohoo! I'll be retiring my Giant Kronos to make room in the fleet (one comes in, one goes out).

thrifty bill

cudak888 

That's how I was able to get my '70 chrome Paramount. Sure, he listed it decently and described it properly, which made up for the lack of a photo...

...but he didn't know the address of his house. No joke. He was on a corner house; the house number corresponded to the street he was on, not the avenue, but he kept telling me the house number as if it were on the avenue. Even I thought it was a bad Craigslist prank for a good 5 minutes.

-Kurt

wrk101

I had a Craigs List seller once reply to my email three weeks later. By then, his ad was long gone, I figured the bike was long gone, etc. Turned out to be a really good deal. Although many of us (certainly me) are fixated on bikes, some sellers are really too busy with other stuff, so selling a bike is way down their list of priorities.

mickey85

I say to go for it if you like it. I'm 5'11" (6' on a good day) and have been known to ride a 62 cm Peugeot. 58/59 is more my comfort zone, but I'm perfectly fine on the big 'uns. Seems that there are a lot of people that are scared of crunching their nuts. Honestly, the last time that happened was when I was 12.

dperreno

I'm 6'-1/2" and I ride a 25" Fuji. Fortunately, the top tube is relatively short so it has fit me well since I bought it (35 years ago!)

Grim

My M400 the guy kept putting down a bad phone number for 6 weeks running. Every repost the price came down since he had nor received any calls.

Came in from doing yard work one Saturday from doing yard work to cool down and noticed it reposted. I had the bad number memorized and saw it was a different number. He answered and 30 minutes later I was there. He had several people trying to beat me to the punch trying to talk him into holding it till they got there.

I'm 6'1" and all but three of the bikes in my sig are 63cm. The 84 Fuji is a 64 and the 95 T700 is 58 and the Mountain 400 is a 22inch.

dudeona3V

It'll depend on where and how far you plan to ride it. For shorter rides, say less than 20 miles, anyone can ride just about anything. It's if you plan on touring or centuries or something of that nature where you'll be compromised, especially if you have a long reach for the hoods (please please don't get a riser stem) and a longer crank arm (which I believe is 175, yes?). Rarity aside, it comes down to condition whether it's worth the $1,100 or not. There's lots of really nice stuff out there right now for that kind a money. Guess you'll have to see it in person and take pics yourself (to share with all of us).

Grand Bois

Do you really think that a lower bottom bracket is going to make a 63 fit like a 62? It seems to me that a lower bottom bracket is more likely to make it fit like a 64.

EjustE

I don't know...

committing to spend $1100 for a bike you never seen nor rode, seems a bit spare-of-the-momentish.
Look at it, ride it and if you like it... hey.
But if you are going to try to make a bike fit (or think that it might fit) if it doesn't, does not make much sense, esp. since it is $1100 and not $10 involved in the equation.

Grim

The distance from the center of the crank to the top of the seat is the same and determined by the rider not the frame size.
Lower bottom bracket makes for a lower stand over and stand over is where most people judge if a bike is "too big" out of worry for hurting themselves. A 64cm frame with a lower BB is going to have the same stand over as a 62 with a BB that is 2 cm higher from the ground.

I personally like riding tall frames because it naturally makes the handle bars higher and that's a lot easier on my lower back.

As long as there is enough seat post to get the crank to seat adjustment correct then you are down to adjusting the reach with the stem.

Most road bikes that had level top tubes the seat tube height was usually within a CM of the seat tube. With new bikes that have angled top tubes you are better off judging the size from top tube length. They are designed to have a lot of seat post showing.

Mike Mills

Hey!, he said, "...don't try and stop me." A fool and his money are soon parted. <-- I know whereof I speak.

Grand Bois

You're right, Grim.

mickey85

Why not? The 7 style stem is just an anomaly from the old days anyway - there's no reason to hang onto it.

Dude, if a riser stem will help it fit, it'll be good. Here's the thing - length is nothing, and honestly, IMO, a bigger frame is better, because you don't have to crank the stem up so high to get a good fit. But, here's another thought to ponder - make sure that your reach is adequate. On a 62 Pug, my reach is actually better than it is on a 58cm univega with similar bars (though the pug has a 70mm standard stem, and the Uni has a 100mm riser - they equal out to be about the same length, it seems).

Rabid Koala

I am 6'1" and ride larger frames than some say I should. They are just more comfortable for me. I am more comfortable on my 25" Paramounts than on my 24.

Road Fan

Depends on what his constraint is. If the frame has a flat top tube, and the top tube is just getting a little too familiar with him as he straddles it, lowering the BB by 1 cm lowers the top tube by the same amount. Could make a difference!

Edit: In other words, what Grim said!