njkayaker

It's a normal issue. Don't be embarrased.

For the same tire width, 650b wheels will give you more clearance (they will reduce the standover height) compared 700c. It might work.

What country? People might be able to give you better advice if they know where you live (rather than assuming you are in the US).

photogravity

Or use a handlebar mounted bottle cage. My 1950 Norman Rapide doesn't have bottle cage bosses, so that is the solution I have for drinking water when I ride that bike.

sleepyrando

Singapore. Tiny island at the tip of Southeast Asia.

The nearest Salsa distributor I have located is in Thailand. They were a little hesitant in ordering a frame for me...coz the last frame they ordered from Salsa was in 2011?! And no Riv distributors here...it'll cost me an additional US$300 just to ship the frame in. I guess I could write to Salsa and see if they are willing to export a frame via QBP (some LBS here carry QBP bikes...just no Salsas. The Surlys are more popular). IF the Vaya fits, that it.

fietsbob

Thing is by keeping 700c wheels to shorten the reach the usual approach is a steep seat tube,
messing up KOPS and other proportions ..
Terry Goes to a 26" wheel ,,

451 wheel on BF pocket Rocket will let you dial in the fit.. & get it to Paris easier.

from Singapore its a long ways no matter which way you fly..

Any mini-velos sold there, can use same 451 wheels , just doesn't fold
so a bit of savings on weight of all that hingeing and such

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...light=minivelo

antimonysarah

Honestly, if you're used to leaning, I don't think you'll forget. I'm longwaisted (though I'm taller, so I have more options), and the only bike I rode for years and years had no standover clearance, so I got used to leaning. My new road bike has compact geometry (i.e. sloping top tube but not a mixte/step-through) and thus I have oodles of standover, but I don't really feel like I need it, and I still just go into a lean at stops. I might suggest not riding the folding bike for a while so that you learn to always lean.

Though I've heard a lot of good things about the Buena Vista feeling really "fast" for a mixte frame, so if you want to stick with that idea, I think the BV would do fine.

sleepyrando

Thanks for all those kind advice! I'll have a look at those mini-velos.

Yes...it is a long way but better to aim for the moon and maybe hit the stars

I'll keep trying to find test bikes and hopefully sooner (rather than later) I'll find one that fits. At least I feel a bit more reassured that I can resort safely to mixtes. Will update!

Thanks again...you're a great bunch of folks

rodar y rodar

Bare feet? Why, unless you ride with bare feet?

Having to buy without being able to try first sucks, but you wouldn`t the only one in that spot- a lot of people of all sizes who want to try something a bit different have to buy blind.

Strange about the builders there. Around here, it seems like "rando" bikes are some of the hottest tickets for custom builders, and that most racers go for the newer sleeker materials that are best suited to factory frames. That`s just my perception, so maybe it`s actualy the same here as what you noted for Singapore.

I think Antimonysarah is right about forgetting to tilt the bike. Won`t say it`s impossible to forget, but I can`t imagine it really happening.

Maybe you haven`t given your folder a fair shake at longer distances? Or maybe that particular folder won`t do well for you, but they`re worth considering if you`re still concerned about standover. For whatever its worth, the first guy who responded to this post rides all his brevets on a folding bike with 20 inch wheels.
I really hate to agree with Fietsbob, but I do in this case. It probably isn`t necessary to go all the way down to 20 inch wheels (unless you want to), but even going to 26 inches would give a lot more room all across the board compared to 700c. Any chance you`ve seen the pics that ChrisPringle posted of that beautiful 26 inch wheeled Rodriguez?

EDIT: I should say that I have similar, though not so drastic problems in finding a fit I like in combination with the style of bike that I prefer. In my case, short legs relative to the height of the rest of me means I need a long and low bike to stand over comfortably. Modern bikes normally come with sloping top tubes, but the old lugged steel frames that make my eyeballs happy are usually too tall by the time they get long enough. I`ve tried bikes with "negative standover" and agree that it`s a bummer, but not unliveable. By the way, I didn`t have to actually tilt the bike at a stop unless I wanted both feet on the ground at the same time. That often happened after waiting a few minutes at a red light, but I don`t think anybody ever makes their initial stop with both feet down. Well, trikers, maybe. Since I currently have a bike that works for me, I`m taking my time in finding something as close to perfection as possible. If I didn`t have a useable bike to ride while searching, I`d have to be less picky. Maybe your best option is to either rearrange your folder or buy another bike that more or less works without putting out a big hunk of cash, then go back to looking for "better". Just a thought.

sleepyrando

Just following the instructions in the video that was posted.

I do have a usable bike for now...and so I'm taking my time a bit to search for one that really fits But the foldable is about as much a commuter / slow tourer as it can be. Not something that I'm capable of fighting to hold at a 25-30km per hour pace for long.

trescojones

a custom steel would be like the salsa or rivendell, only better. It could made from even nicer tubing as light as carbon options,cost about the same, and is guaranteed to fit perfectly and do/have every single feature without compromise that you want it to,the finish is often superior too. You can have basically any feature you want. (incedentally, whether the twin tube mixte is "inferior " or not is splitting hairs imho, its about how they are attached and the wheight difference is that of a snickers)
While the builders I saw in Singapore do indeed look pretty fast/competitive focus,there are custom builders in Australia, New Zealand,Taiwan, Hong Kong etc who could help, I have had frames shipped internationally and 400 was quite a bit more than what it cost to get it USA>Australia overnight-2 days with insurance.
As well as trying out a fitting cycle type thing at a shop to get some idea, you could use the competitive cyclist road fit calculator with the french-classic settings to get some ballpark corroboration, you have to measure yourself a lot and input the data. Diamond frames could still tell you the all important stuff about length you could then add this to your height-clearance requirements to get an accurate fix. Length and height of frames are very separate features of fitting