corrado33

A bike was donated the other day. It was an old Motobecane super mirage (one of the ones actually built in France.) It was an absolutely massive bike. I measured C-T at 64cm although C-C wouldn't have been much different since the seat tube ended at the top of the top tube anyway. I road it just for fun, it was certainly an experience.

I thought now-a-day they stopped making production bikes at 62 cm, anybody needing something taller just had to make it work. Is that true?

EDIT: Oh, normal bikes, no clown or "tall" bikes. That's cheating.

NormanF

I once rode a 60 cm Peugeot.

And I'm only 5'7". I was just barely able to clear the top tube.

chasm54

64 cm isn't big. I'm gettng fitted for a new touring bike next week, and the fitter and I will be debating whether I need the 64cm rather than the 61.

I've had a 64cm 1980s Raleigh Tourer in the past, it fit me like a glove. This one's geometry will be slightly different, so which frame will be better is moot. And I have a custom steel roadbike that is 63cm.

I'm only a shade over 6'3". There was a guy who used to post here who was 6'7". Going by the length of headtube on the posted picture of his bike, I'd say it was a 66cm at a minimum. There'll be guys posting in the Clydesdale forum who are bigger than that. But it's true, most mainstream manufacturers don't cater for really tall riders.

corrado33

Interesting. We were thinking of giving this bike to a person in need who was 6"9'. It's the biggest bike we've ever had in the shop, so we had no other choice. It's also pretty beat up, hence us giving it away. (After we fix it up.)

chasm54

With traditional steel bikes with a horizontal top tube and just a fistful of seatpost showing, the rule of thumb in my day was that the frame size should be 10 inches - 25 cm - less than the inseam measurement. In my case the latter is 88cm, so the theoretical frame size is 63cm. And it turns out that works in practice, though obviously top tube length is also highly material.

fietsbob

Bill Walton 6'11", ( though said to actually be 7'2") got more than one bike made to fit Him..

He played Center for the Portland Trailblazers.. & the Boston Celtics..

Flatbroke

posted before I read the edit

NoBrakeNate

There is a 69cm at the shop I work at right now. The head tube is massive.
I've ridden a 68cm and it fit fine, I'm 6'2" all legs, the owner of the bike was 6'6".
My current beater bike is a 64cm with a 58cm top tube.

canklecat

Whatever Bill Walton was riding at a Tijuana-Ensenada run during the late 1970s-early '80s when he played for the Clippers. Tallest bike I'd ever seen. I tried to draft him, mostly for the shade, but he was too fast for me.

Here's one of his most recent bikes. He makes it look like a mini velo.

Velo Dog

I don't think of 64 as particularly big, either. I'm about 6'4", been riding since college in the '70s, and my most comfortable bikes have been 64 or 65cm. I've probably bought my last one (I'm 70, and overstocked), but I think stopping at 62cm is a mistake for manufacturers. People are still getting taller--I know several cyclists my height or taller, including a 6'10" shop owner who rides a 69cm frame. There's no way they're going to make a 62cm bike work the way it should (I've tried many times, when that was the biggest available. You can make it BETTER, but not RIGHT).

fietsbob

there was that German guy [Didi] that wore a devil costume and followed the TdF every year , he made some big bikes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didi_Senft made some Big Art bikes he brought to roadsides of TdF https://www.didisenft.de/

https://www.didisenft.de/wp-content/g...useum-vier.jpg

veganbikes

All I know is that 64cm is way to big! I have a friend who lives nearby who has a ton of bikes which he cannot ride (recovering from knee/leg injury) and all of his bikes are way way way too big so nobody especially myself can ride them in the slightest. He still works on them and keeps them in good shape but nobody can friggin ride the things. Friends with nice bikes who get injured and can't ride should all be either slightly smaller than I or my size so I might could ride their bikes!!!!!!!!

DrIsotope

You want big, go straight to Dirtysixer.



I've actually seen a 3XL KHS Flite 747, and it's almost comically large. Listed as a 66cm, the frame is so big (the headtube is 292mm long) that it makes the 700x28s it sits on look like the tires off of a kid's bike. Oddly, it has almost the same standover height as my 61cm KHS.

plodderslusk

https://www.tirides.com/wp/wp-content...ll-800x600.jpg

chasm54

Try post #10 in this thread

skidder

I've got a mid-1970s Schwinn LeTour with a 64cm frame that I use for commuting. Its a little 'tight' in the crotch when standing over it, but fits like a dream when moving.

ColaJacket

Does this count?

GH

no motor?

One of my friends was 6'9" and he rode a big assed BMW dual sport that actually fit him. It's a bike that was just too big for a lot of people but it fit him like a regular sized bike fit most others.

He had a on older gaspipe Schwinn frame he was going to use to build a bicycle that would fit him, and it must have been pretty close to yours. Sadly, he passed away before that happened.

Repack Rider

This one is big, built for Ralph Sampson.




This one is REALLY big.

bobbyl1966

nice bike

bobbyl1966

i used i have one nichiki century 63cm but i sale that bike. Other than the top tube is was hard to get on in the bike and get off other than that i had ride that bike for two years. I have sale that bike. Now i have one cannondale saeco frameset seat tube is 63cm the top tube is 58 cm. My height is 5`7" my inseam is 32" now i ride 56cm and 57cm bikes. Online i see maybe is good for me 54cm or 55 cm. that frameset i have other in some spots the paint is off no see any damage. i never deside to build that frame because i not know how is go feel that so big frame. but i am curious see how is ride. same frames used in tour of franche in 1995?

corrado33

I had to bump this thread. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures, but a 68cm non-custom frame came into the shop the other day.

Test riding it was.... interesting. Standover height was about 3-4 inches taller than my inseam. Even with the saddle slammed my feet could barely reach the pedals.

Then, a few days later, we had a 64cm fuji touring bike come in!

They sold within a day of putting them on craigslist.

Hardrock23

Theres a 68cm Schwinn Super Sport on my CL. Its a beautiful bike. $250. Quite a few around this size pop up every now and then.
There is a "double" bike like the cheetah print one above also on another CL near me. More of a joke it seems though.

Cougrrcj

I remember back around 1980 or 81, I fixed up a 27"-framed (68.6cm?) Fuji for one of my sister's girlfriends. She was every bit of 6'6" and legs that went aalllll the way up. I ride a 'too tall' 23"/57-58cm and I'm only 5'8" but I have a 34-1/2" sleeve. That 27" frame really tested my ability to sit on the toptube while dialing everything in...

Trueblood

This is on CL right now. Have to say it is the largest frame I've seen - https://www.bikeforums.net/18907575-post35755.html

27" Panasonic DX-2000 Road Bike - For Riders 6'4 And Taller