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Is anyone aware of a quality vintage bike that was offered in a small frame?

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Is anyone aware of a quality vintage bike that was offered in a small frame?

Old 07-22-14, 08:23 PM
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At that height I don't think you'd need to go so small with respect to frame size. SWIMPAL and my daughter are both about 5', and both can ride the little one (49.5)

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Old 07-22-14, 09:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Ed.
At that height I don't think you'd need to go so small with respect to frame size. SWIMPAL and my daughter are both about 5', and both can ride the little one (49.5)

Nice-looking Raleighs!

I think height was one factor, but inseam/standover was the other.
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Old 07-22-14, 09:47 PM
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This Trek 510 is another one I have available.
Vintage Trek 510 49cm Reconditioned
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Old 07-22-14, 10:15 PM
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Be very careful, and pay attention to the top tube length with this bikes. Some of them are too large. Also, many frames achieved shorter seat tubes by raising the BB, which is unsettling for some riders.
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Old 07-22-14, 10:23 PM
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My daughter's 45cm Centurion on 650C wheels...

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Old 07-22-14, 11:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Ed.
At that height I don't think you'd need to go so small with respect to frame size. SWIMPAL and my daughter are both about 5', and both can ride the little one (49.5)

The small bike shows the compromises required to make a small frame with 700c wheels. note the steep seat tube, the saddle is barely or not at all behind the bottom bracket. the short stem, better control comes to my mine with a stem of about 100mm. The head angle does not suffer so much it appears here, but a better bike could be created with 650c wheels.
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Old 07-22-14, 11:37 PM
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Originally Posted by noglider
Be very careful, and pay attention to the top tube length with this bikes. Some of them are too large. Also, many frames achieved shorter seat tubes by raising the BB, which is unsettling for some riders.
A high BB is another let's get the dimension design choice with unhappy handling resultant.
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Old 07-22-14, 11:53 PM
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When we build very small frames we build on 26 inch wheels or 650B depending on the requirements of the rider... fitting a sub 50cm frame with 700c wheels involves compromises.
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Old 07-23-14, 12:08 AM
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Manufacturers start screwing with the geometry on the smaller framed 700c equipped bikes in an effort to help with a small rider's position. They end up messing up the handling with the 75 degree seat tubes and 69 degree head tubes! The 52cm frames I ride (chosen for their intact geometries) all have ~54-55cm top tubes and I tweak the bar, stem and saddle to get comfortable.
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Old 07-23-14, 07:51 AM
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ofgit, thank you for the nice PM offline. Unfortunately, I'm not able to respond in kind due to my (as yet) low post count.

Glennfordx4, that's a nice-looking bike.
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Old 07-23-14, 08:07 AM
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My GF is 4' 11", and she rides a 50CM Mixte and feels comfortable.

I have seen bikes like these around: Road bike for sale (small frame)
Not a high end bike, but looks like some of the components could be upgraded.
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Old 07-23-14, 10:41 AM
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Originally Posted by repechage
The small bike shows the compromises required to make a small frame with 700c wheels. note the steep seat tube, the saddle is barely or not at all behind the bottom bracket. the short stem, better control comes to my mine with a stem of about 100mm. The head angle does not suffer so much it appears here, but a better bike could be created with 650c wheels.
Oh, not perfect, not by a long shot, but, baring the 'high bottom bracket 'fix', it might be possible to find a 700C-wheeled bike that's reasonable for someone 5'2". As an aside, when I gave Gerald O'Donovan SWIMPAL's dimensions he said, with a perfectly straight face, "Oh, we'll make it as small as we can, then give it a hot wash." #1 Daughter actually rides a small-front-wheel Felt. SWIMPAL tells me, however, that #1 loves the Pro.
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Old 07-23-14, 12:00 PM
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If the OP is open minded, perhaps shop for a vintage quality ATB bike. Far larger selection of small framed, higher end tubed bargains are out there for conversion. Do some wheel / 26" tire magic or go for 650b swap. Custom suit to whatever, from drop bars, stems, shifter type's etc..

edit: A bonus having a small frame and should easily get into the sub 20 pound with a carefully thought build and very light 26" wheels.

Last edited by crank_addict; 07-23-14 at 12:08 PM.
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Old 07-23-14, 12:22 PM
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If you want to stay true into C&V collectable and unique, something with top feed brake levers, DT shifters, toe-clips, I'd be shopping for a Fuji 450SE. Has a pretty frame with VALite tubing, 27" rear and 24" front.
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Old 07-23-14, 12:30 PM
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A simple search on CL and just found this. Nice one.
Very Rare 1986 Vintage Fuji 450se Road bike
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Old 07-23-14, 08:40 PM
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Another is the Shogun Selectra. Good looking geometry and a wide range of frame sizes. The smallest had 26" wheels. Miami color schemes, lower to mid components.
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Old 07-24-14, 05:49 AM
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Originally Posted by otg
Nishiki touring bike in a 48 frame, sold it last year.
Seems to me I've seen that bike before.....
Cleaned up pretty good.

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Old 07-24-14, 06:13 AM
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Originally Posted by top506
Seems to me I've seen that bike before.....
Cleaned up pretty good.

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Yeah, it turned out nice, I sold to a lady in Vermont. She must have really liked it, she sent me a batch of cookies a few days later!
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Old 07-25-14, 09:44 PM
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Hi all,

Thanks for the great advice and tips so far. I found a suitable bike - not the greatest, but okay for my application - locally -- or so I thought. When I got home and measured the standover height, it measured 28.75", which is unfortunately about an inch too much. Now, I noticed that this bike wears 700c wheels. Would it be possible to use 26" or 650c wheels, along with longer brakes (or maybe mountain bike-style brakes?), to take about an inch off the standover height?

I appreciate the collective wisdom and knowledge of this board. Cheers.



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Old 07-26-14, 01:35 AM
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No on mtb brakes, no canti studs and rear stays may be too close together.
Can't comment on 650b.

i'd get that Bianchi in clean rideable condition, and let your gf ride it. After a few days then figure out if you need to do something drastic.
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Old 07-26-14, 04:25 AM
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Originally Posted by oddjob2
No on mtb brakes, no canti studs and rear stays may be too close together.
Can't comment on 650b.

i'd get that Bianchi in clean rideable condition, and let your gf ride it. After a few days then figure out if you need to do something drastic.
The ultimate outside diameter with 650b will be unless you find a very small cross-section tire, essentially the same as the narrow 700c tired wheels. 650c is considerably smaller. 622 for the 700c and 571 for the 650c, so take he difference and divide by two to get the radius difference, 51mm / 2 = 26mm more brake reach required.

In the small chance that bike has 27" wheels you will pick up 4 mm of additional clearance with a similar cross section of tire if you were to change to 700c.

To get 650c to work you will need of course different wheels, very long reach brakes (Tekro might make one but the calipers are designed for a much larger cross section tire). The handling of the bike will be a bit different as the trail will change.

Tire Sizing Systems gives the overview and detail.

Even if you get the wheels exchanged, the top tube length will be most likely longer than you want as the bike was designed to work with bigger wheels. You then will still not be comfortable even though you can reach the ground straddling the top tube.

A 650c wheeled road bike (other than on a triathlon designed bike) will most likely get you there.
A 24" wheeled road bike will too and your position will be pretty good most likely.
A mtb. with a small frame and shorter top tube (look for a 14" frame) might be your sealth best choice as they show up, will be cheap and can be converted into a road bike with different cockpit, saddle, tires. (don't forget to look for shorter cranks) 155-160-165 mm would be best, so you may want to splurge for those too.

Last edited by repechage; 07-26-14 at 08:23 AM. Reason: clarity
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Old 07-26-14, 06:37 AM
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leegf,

You/she might want to check out this thread:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...nversions.html

There were some MTBs with aggressive, closer to road bike, geometries if she doesn't want the laid back 'feel' of a lot of MTBs. There used to be small diameter slick/siped tires for 26" rims. I'm not familiar with the current market though.
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Old 01-10-16, 09:08 PM
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Originally Posted by redcaymatt
I have an Aldo Simonato road bike that's 46 CM full Pantographed parts and all original. Is 46cm to big?
Hi redcaymatt, do you know is Aldo Simonato is related with Oscar Simonato builder from treviso as well? thanks
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Old 01-10-16, 10:59 PM
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My wife has a 1991 Klein Kirsten which she loves and says is very light and nimble:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/476463...57634958564465
They are not at all common though.
I have regularly seen Terry's on Ebay for very reasonable prices, and that would be my first choice if I was in your situation.
The idea of a MTB frame with suitable road geometry is I think a very good one, but here it would really help to have a good knowledge of older MTB's.
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Old 01-10-16, 11:20 PM
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Originally Posted by leegf
Greetings,

Is anyone aware of a quality vintage bike that was offered in a small frame? Ideally, I am looking for something reasonably lightweight (low-20 lbs weight range or less), a frame smaller than 50cm (e.g., a 42 or 44 cm frame), and 650C or 26" wheels. I realize I may be chasing a unicorn here, but I'd welcome any/all suggestions or leads -- especially if there are any currently for sale that meet some or all of these criteria.

Thank you!
Cannondale built some 650c bikes. Klein built some bikes smaller than 50cm with 650c wheels. If you don't need that much performance or prefer the ethos of the Bobish/steel cult my recommendation would be to source a vintage Centurion. Centurion's could be had in really oddball small sizes. There were small 650c bikes and even strange things like tiny bikes with 24" front wheels and 700c rears.

We've had lots of bikes over the years. From Pinarello, Olmo, Santana, Cannondale, Lemond, Mercier, Specialized, Gunnar, Curtlo, Klein, Libertas and even Schwinn. The bike label I'm absolutely the most impressed with considering everything I've ever seen is without doubt Centurion. They were really just a label for Western Importers something or other, but the reality is that the build quality on even the lower end tubing bikes was just freakin' phenomenal. Finding a Centurion from the golden age of low-yen strong dollar gives you just about the best craftsmanship you'll ever find, and I mean that even compared to a modern custom. My wife's Centurion Lemans is a thing to behold. The build quality on that women's mixte is better than I've seen on a Lemond Maillot Jaune that was built in Italy. If you really get lucky you'd find a Centurion Equippe which I believe was built for WSI by Cinelli, but please believe me when I say that even the lowest price point Centurions are still damn good bikes. The mid range stuff can be found with just stupendously stupid good looking paint and solid (some would say great) sensible components that are just epic but not cache.

They can be found, they aren't unicorns, and most people don't have a clue how good most Centurions really were. Reynolds 531 is a tube set that originally debuted in the 1930s. Trust me when I say that some of the middle range Japanese tube sets of the 70s/80s built "Better" bikes than some of the Italian stuff that was getting rushed through production during the bike boom.
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