Need custom frameset
 

I had a nice bike I just sold because it did not fit me well.I'm 6' with 29" legs the top tube was too short for my long torso.I am looking for a custom frame to fit my non standard body.Price is important any builders you can recommend for my stout frame.

Gunnar's been great so far in my process. Cranks should be here on Monday, riding next week!

I don't know what your budget is, but if I were getting a custom frame it would probably be a Lynskey

What type of bike? Road? Mountain? Hybrid? Cyclocross? Touring? What was the geometry of the bike your sold or what geometry are you looking for? Sound like you do have a very long torso, but there may be off-the-shelf frames that we can recommend if we have a better idea of what you need...

David Tiemeyer

http://www.tiemeyercycles.com/

I can't recommend that guy enough. Very knowledgeable. A modern-master builder. He's built bikes for average Joe's to Olympians. Very approachable and professional. I've had him make 2 frames for me. I was very pleased with both.

Also might add what frame material do you want. Different builders specialize the different materials, so that will affect who to recommend. Additionally, budget may affect material choice since steel or aluminum will be less costly then titanium or carbon.

I sold my Worksmen a great bike that did not fit me.A bike that dose is my Univega Specialissima 27" its tall but comfortable.I built that bike 30 years ago with the best parts at the time.The trails are paved but have sand rocks and mud+rough patches.
I want performance and comfort with strength for my 325 lbs.I do not know all the different styles but I like the 29er style. Thank you

Look at a Specialized Allez in the XL frame. I have a long torso and short legs (6'1: and 30" inseam), and the Allez has an effective top tube length of 60 cm, and a slant top tube, so the saddle height is like a 58 cm frame would be. It gives us long torso people some stretching room in the cockpit. It's a criterium geometry, so it will feel a bit twitchy, at first, but feels like a rocket under you. It's basically a human powered Ferrari. ;)

Co Motion, Or bruce gordon, can up gage the wall thickness of steel
tubes the bike is built from.
But most any builder can also..
UBI has a frame Building and Mechanics training

http://www.bikeschool.com/resources/bike-industry-links
offers a exhaustive list of frame builders, to contact about your needs.

Just thinking out loud. But what if you got a 58 cm Cyclocross frame but put 650 wheels with disc brakes? Maybe you could get cantilever brakes short enough but I'd want to ask the suppliers if it was possible. Then go with 170 mm cranks. The higher BB of a Cyclocross bike would compensate for the smaller wheels. The 170 mm crank would make the seat tube seem shorter. Maybe a 130 mm stem to stretch out the top tube a little bit more. Just a thought.

dave kirk http://www.kirkframeworks.com/index.htm

but what is your budget? going custom with any degree of quality is putting you into sigificant bucks. I think before you go custom, it would be worth your while to go to a LBS that does fitting. The result is that you will get a set of 'numbers" that work for you and you can use to help decide which frames will work for you. A fitting costs some bucks, but it is cheaper than the wrong bike.

Wow lots to talk about but not enough information. Need to know your price point, what material for the frame, what style of bike etc. I have a custom road bike and my BF has too many to count (Kish, Landshark, Moots, Seven) in all sorts of configurations - he is tall with very long legs and a short torso so custom is best for him). They are tons of private builders out there - each with a specialty. But custom frames can be expensive. Mine is steel and putting a bike together still cost around $7500.

I think Tom gave you an excellent suggestion... not all production frames are the same. Some have short top tubes and some have long. Do your research. Best thing is to get a professional fitting and then by using those measurements first try to find a production bike (if you don't have $4000+ to spend). My 2002 Lemond Zurich has an extremely long top tube so much so, I really can't ride the bike anymore. If you can find one of those used (good luck) that might be a good fit for you.

Thanks for the advice I don't wish to build another mistake.Don't get me wrong the Worksmen is a unbreakable machine but not sized for me.I hope I can reuse my components from my Univega I don't think Phil Wood and Campi ever go out of style.

I agree with Tom as well. Gary Fisher took over the Lemond geo for Trek (I've heard). OP talking about trails, might be worth it to look into their hybrid light trail line. ;)

If the tube design is the same as my broken Lemonds, I would not reccommend the "roadies" to a 300+ rider. ;)

Have you tried a Soma Double Cross or Masi Speciale CX built bike?

The Soma DB in 58cm has 592mm effective Top Tube with a little down slope so it's possible to straddle this easily with 29 inch inseam. I'm 6' 1 1/2" with 30.5 inch inseam, and I have a long torso too. This can ride quite well. And with standard reach stem, say 110mm, slight rise, and short drops, this can give you lots of room. It's also got a more relaxed 72/72.5 front/rear degrees geometry. 1042mm total wheelbase which is a bit slower handling, but very stable.

The Masi CX 57cm is similar. A longer wheelbase at 1048mm. Similar 72/73 geometry. Not as aggressive as a racing frame. But 585 effective top tube for 57 cm version which is quite generous and slight down sloping top tube so you have standover clearance. With seat a bit back and 120mm stem, it might be kind of roomy. The new 2012 black version comes with Tiagra components and brifters/drop bars for $1200 or so. I think I've seen older 2011 or 2010 versions in root beer brown and white (much more cool I think) for as low as $900 or so for the whole bike.

Not a custom frame, but the Soma costs around $400 - $600 with fork. And the Masi is who bike. With money you save, you could also buy a new 36H semi-aero rear wheel only or maybe full 36H front/rear and semi-knobbies and swap it out with the 32H rear if you decide to go off road a little.

Thank you for all the information.I have been studying the many suggestions and now have a few new questions.My Univega "a sport touring model" was built just as the hybrid bikes were coming to age.The frame is CM and fully lugged with a good stiff fork,it uses cantilever brakes,and there is lots of clearance for larger rims and tires. The current wheels are 700x28c tires with 14g spokes and the rim is about 20mm,the hubs are Phil Wood med flange is it practical to rebuild the wheels for my mature frame and turn it into a hybrid.

If you don't have current headset issues (loosening all the time or excessive flex), I'd say you could save a lot of dough and simply update your current ride. Phil Wood hubs are awesome. They last a LONG time and when it's time to repair, pop the cartridges and replace with some nice ones (not the $2.50 each, but the $6 each ones that are so cheap these days - I bought spares back in the day when few countries had that technology and $16 each was a low price!). If you need to rebuild, sure. Maybe Sun CR18's that are 22.7mm width with some more generous tires. Examine the fork and stays and measure gaps between the cantilever bosses and measure what the height of the rims are above the bosses. If you have fairly standard spacing (about 2 cm or more lateral length to the rim from center of boss and 1.5cm height from center of boss to center of rim) then you're probably in luck and can get a set of Nashbar or Oryx cantilevers for $30 - $40 front/rear and get good braking. Then upgrade tires to modern rubber. If 700x35c city semi-slicks are suitable, that might work.

I hear lots of folks dislike grip shifts. My wife and kids love them. And many others find them very nice for rear indexing. The left grip shift is micro-click friction. I like that much more than indexing. But you can find Shimano Compatible 6, 7 and 8 spd SRAM MRX grip shifts for around $15 a set. For older rebuilds, I use Shimano TX35 RD as a cheap $11 replacement. Works great, has wide range, and supports standard chains for 7/8 spd which I get on sale for $4 if you look around. And then you can get an HG freewheel for those hubs for like $15 too. And then you've got some nice indexing. Add new compact triple crank (vuelta montagna $25) and acera FD ($12) and seal cartridge BB (Vuelta) $13 and you have a pretty new drivetrain too.

If you are ambitious and have cool decals, you might strip the bike, then sand, primer and repaint it. I re-painted the rear triangle on an old 1990 Bridgestone MB-6 in black. Glossy. Wow, looks sharp and rebuilt wheels and overhauled every thing. I did update crank/BB but the guy I bought it from had already tried to update the drive train to Deore/DeoreXT and had XT MT735 sti brifters. He sold it cheap beause it was sticky. Those older ones, I stripped the shifters and cleaned everything down to the thin copper shims. And I managed to re-assemble the thing just right without leaving anything spare on the table. I now have 7spd HG rear shifting that works "crispy." You could fall in love again with an old bike.

I spent the money years ago and bought the best as I remember about 2k.The shifters are on the down tube and the drive is campy super grupo with Ti and aluminum with a Phil wood BB.I have ridden this bike all over the world 30 years ago but it has few miles on it.The cantilever pads are not worn and they are the original ones.I will look into upgrading the wheels and tires.I do hope this is possible as this is a great bike that was retired at a early age.Will post with pictures as soon as I am able.

Man, then why are you swapping it out? Campy and Phil Wood. Baby! I'd keep riding that classic. Get some new pads. Or maybe if you ride drops and like the down tube shifters, then keep them. Please show us a pic.

We're kinda a nosey bunch here but have you test rode any bikes with brifters or bar ends? I've googled your bike and barends are a popular change that people have done. Is standover height the main problem you're trying to solve?

I'm a social type so ask away.My problem has always been I have a long torso and short legs so to get the long top tube I have had to buy a large frame and sacrifice stand-over height.My Univega is comfortable to ride but I stand on one foot for dismounts.I am not swapping it out I am looking into having 29er rims and tires put on my Phil wood hubs to support my weight.I will get a new frame that fits me but for now I am just trying to get back in the saddle "brooks team select saddle" I like the down tube shifters the last two bikes I had a twist or a thumb shifter.I think if a built a mountain bike I still would put the shifter on the down tube I'm old school it was a cool school.Jethro thank you for the pm but I am unable to reply being new here.

I knew about the 50 posts deal so didn't expect a reply. One thing to remember is that the wider the tire the bigger the circumference. My legs are a little shorter than most for being 6'2" (31.5" bare feet to bone) and many bikes have standover issues. One thing that helped me is going to MTD mountain bike shoes with SPD clips. To get the clip recessed in the sole The soles are fairly thick near the ball of of foot without the shoe being super heavy. Kinda like "Earth Shoes" if you're old enough to remember those. I ride a 60 cm Roadbike but I'm building a 58 cm Surly Cross Check for a wide tire rig. http://surlybikes.com/bikes/cross_check Your bike looks similar. It'll have a Brooks B17 on it. Sram Rival Groupset with canti brakes. I've found a set of rims that's medium sized width so I can run 25mm to 35 mm tires. I'm thinking 28's on the front and 35's on the rear. (I already have these in stock)

I have the clearance for the larger tire I'm thinking 40mm and I will still have clearance side to side and top to bottom.Yes I do remember earth shoes Hanoi Jane and the first moon shot.I have been learning so much about modern bikes the 29er mountain bike has some appeal to me then I saw the "snow bikes"and I have lost my mind to all the choices available. I know light is pricy but I could bribe a politician for what some of these frame-sets cost.In the end I will still need a new frame and will build up a modern classic to fit me.

I would take a look an some older Steel Eddy Merckx bikes - Merckx has always built his frames with longer top tubes.. The older Columbus steel SLX or TSX would be stout enough for you.

Independent Fabrication builds custom road, mountain and touring bikes. You can get carbon, CrMo steel, titanium, carbon with ti lugs and even stainless steel. They build with tube sizes suited for your weight and riding style and sometimes put a gusset between the chainstays for extra rigidity. And they are gorgeous.