Vexxer

Which manufacturers actually make road bikes for tall people? Im 6'5, and the biggest I can find locally is 61cm bikes (Some Specialized and some Fuji's), but Im pretty sure I should be on a 64cm or bigger. Im talking about manufacturers who actually make entry level bikes,

fietsbob

Bill Walton Buys custom frames ,, maybe to finally get a good fit you should too?

lower end bikes you compromise .. what brands does you favorite LBS carry? its a good place to start .

Dfrost 

You might try used bikes, or some of the lesser brands like Soma or Surly. And try some smaller bike shops.

Vexxer

I see 64cm bikes on Craigslist all the time, but they are always 30 or 40 years old. Surly is a lesser brand?!? I would not think that with how much my LBS sells the frames for.

Dfrost 

There's nothing wrong with older bikes if they are well maintained. I just commuted 18 miles on my 35-year old 63cm Miyata this morning. And my favorite bike is the 27-year old 63.5cm Marinoni. For some reason, there were more tall bikes in those days. Ask for help from the C&V folks if you want some advice on used bikes, whether found there or on Craigslist. In fact there's an entire BF forum dedicated to that:

Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries

By "lesser brands" I meant less mainstream, not less expensive. And you probably will have to go with something more expensive than entry-level if buying new. There's just not as much of a market for tall (or very short) bikes.

Here's a 25" Centurion frame and fork for sale over on the Classic & Vintage For Sale forum:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...fork-only.html

Oops, that one went fast. You might want to post a WTB over there.

Sullalto

You might try finding a shop with a sales person that is earnest about fit. I'm 6'4.5", and I actually fit on a 58 just fine. It's a bit of an aggressive fit, but I'm nowhere near 'need a custom or boutique bike to feel great' range like I feared I would be.

Vexxer

How long and far do you ride though? I started out riding a bike way to small for me and I thought I was fine on it until I moved up to longer and further rides, then I really started to feel it. I am currently on a 58 too, but its a Hybrid, so its supposed to be shorter.

Tusky

How does your Giant fit? I guess you have the XL frame.

Vexxer

Yes, an XL. It fits fine as an upright, if it had drop bars though I think it would be problematic.

Sullalto

Ah, I'm on a road bike. When I was in a comfort bike, I was on an XL. I can see how the L might've been problematic for longer rides.

I ride 150-250 miles a week, mostly commuting. Average 14-18mph on gently rolling hills. Headwind going to work, calm on the way home. Generally.

Carbonfiberboy 

Yeah, it's tough. Custom steel or ti. The other weird thing is that they don't make cranks anywhere near long enough. Suitably long cranks and a higher BB to match would be good.

ckFoxTrot

The Cannondale CAAD 10 supposedly goes up to 63cm (as does the SuperSix), with an MSRP of $1680 for a Shimano 105 equipped bike. I'm 6'2.5" on a 61cm CAAD 8 105 and it feels great. Prior to that I started my entry into road cycling on what amounts to about the 58cm Schwinn in my sig. I couldn't even get to 10mi without serious arm and neck pain on that bike (way too much weight on the bars). Now, on my CAAD 8, I feel like I could go endlessly when it comes to comfort (how tired I am is another story ).

Whenever I browser to see what used bikes are around I usually don't see many in the 60cm and above range, seems like most bikes are 58 or 56.

Vexxer

So I have been informed that traditional bike sizing is somewhat out the door when it comes to bikes with sloped or curved top tubes, is this true? It certainly makes sense.

Audiophile1178

I had a similar problem trying to find big bikes when looking for my first road bike. I'm 6'4.5" with a 37.5" inseam. I ended up going with a 64cm Motobecane Mirage SLX in Orange from bikesdirect and am happy with the purchase. They many bikes that are 64cm in size but not all of them are in stock all the time. I did my third ride on it today and went ~24 miles. I'm really out of shape and am trying to work on building up to a 50 mile ride. I'm kinda of an odd ball size as I have tall legs and really needed something like a 65cm bike seat tube length with a top tube from a ~62cm bike. I think all Motobecane's come with 3 spacers of different thickness on the fork steerer tube to help adjust the handlebar height, at least my wife's and my bike did, so I raised the stem to the top of all the spacers and that helped me a little bit with more confort on today's ride. The bike comes with a 110mm stem and I'm going to buy a 100mm and 90mm stem to see how that feels as I feel a little bit stretched while riding on this big frame.

I'm really happy about my purchase as my LBS wanted to sell me a Raleigh Revenio 1 for $970 + tax which has the same components that I have on my Motobecane for half the price. If you don't mind learning how to put a bike together, as well as, adjusting your front and rear derailleur, brakes, etc... then you might want to give Motobecane a try. Even if you're not mechanically inclined you can always have your LBS put it together for you for a small fee.

FWIW, this is NOT a bikesdirect SPAM or anything else like that. I REALLY DO own the bike and I'm just informing the OP of my experience with my first road bike for a tall person.