BillyD

YOU should know about old farts.

dr_lha

I'm 41. Not sure if that qualifies me for "alter cocker" status. Not sure if my bike is that "upright", my stem is angled down but I do have a few spacers!

rpenmanparker 

No doubt about that!

Look at the photos. See how many of the bars or at least the hoods are level with or above the saddles.

Make no mistake. My comment was not a criticism, just an observation that I thought interesting.

dr_lha

Phew. My saddle is significantly above my bars! But yes I had noticed it, I think @Jarrett2 sets his bikes up like that and he's younger than me I'm pretty sure!

RJM

My bars are an inch below saddle now, but in the picture they are about level because that was where I set them originally after the initial build. The thing is, my drops are lower than many modern drops, so it is very possible to get aero on the bike just by actually using the drops. I'm 42 and an old fart in training...I really do not like a lot of saddle to bar drop on a road bike. I find it to be hugely uncomfortable.

Jarrett2

45, Clyde, bad back, my bars are high as a mofo

I wouldn't be surprised at all to find out that the majority of people who like steel road bikes grew up riding them.

My road bike when I was 15 was a Schwinn Varsity. My road bike now, Gunnar Roadie. I came full circle I guess

RollCNY

Here is a "modern" steel road bike with some saddle to bar drop. It is a 2012 production frame, with an aftermarket carbon fork. A current picture shows it returned to the steel stock color matched fork. Before everyone freaks out about it being a single speed, and not a "road bike", it is one of the few commercially available 120mm frames with decent road geometry, and not some derivative track numbers.



Robert, as we have talked before, I think saddle to bar drop has more to do with physical proportions than age.

dr_lha

OK I take it back.... Old fart!

Yeah, I pretty much had no choice. Reynolds steel was what bikes were made of when I was a kid.

TimothyH

I did notice a lot of seats that looked way too low.

I don't know that this necessarily correlates to the age of the owner or even upright riding position as much as it does poor setup or people posting random bikes from the internet which they don't own.

Jarrett2

My secret is out!

rpenmanparker 

Good example of the opposite situation to what I was observing. And I completely agree that body proportions are a significant determinant in saddle-to-bar displacement. I know how it works for you. I wouldn't say more than age, but the two certainly work together to determine the right setup along with flexibility (regardless of age). I was just noticing the unusual (for the 41) number of high bar photos and wondering what that had to do with steel. Age seemed to me to be the most likely correlation. I don't recall seeing so many carbon and aluminum bikes set up that way here. Some for sure, but not to the extent we see here. Maybe it isn't age at all, just that a lot of folks riding steel are seeking a different experience from the bike than most folks riding carbon. I'm totally open to learning more about this.

dr_lha

For the record, my saddle is now higher than when I took the photo I posted in page 1 (which was literally just after I finished the build and hadn't ridden the bike yet).

BillyD

Robert, ol' buddy, I trust you're not unconsciously trying to inch this appreciation thread towards an off-topic frame materials thread. Unconsciously, of course.

rpenmanparker 

Trying, no. Succeeding, quite likely yes. I actually thought my initial comment about bar drop was right on topic since it related to the whole notion of modern steel. But I can see how we are straying. Nuff said.

Scooper

I'm 73 and don't apologize for the short saddle to bar drop.

Jarrett2

Bob Ross

Yep. Ordered the Sachs in December of 2007, should receive it next month (unless Richie has some problems sourcing the components I requested). Ordered the Strong in August of 2010, received it the last week of December 2010.

dr_lha

Trouble sourcing the components because they're now 8 years out of date?

I admire your patience. As lovely as those RS frames are, I don't think I could wait 8 years for anything.

chaadster

That's utterly absurd to me. I love bikes, madly appreciate craftsmanship, and have a collector's tendency, but that is just an absolutely absurd scenario to me.

I hope you're over-the-moon when you receive the product, but man, I just can't imagine how you must be engaging with the process, the man, or the bike that would generate that outcome.

Please, post, pics, I guess?

stevemtbr

Have had my CoMo for two years now.

Bob Ross

Ha! No, Richie won't even discuss components until the frame comes back from paint. It's getting all brand new 2015 or 2016 stuff. I had some very specific requests as far as wheels and saddles, not stuff he usually procures, so it's taking a few more weeks than is (apparently) usual.


Well, the trick is you don't "wait" for it: You put down your deposit and then you forget about it. You get on with your life, you ride your other bikes, and then eventually out of nowhere you get an email and it's like "Oh yeah, right... Woo-hoo!"


I'm not even sure I understand what you're saying (bolded, above) but if you want to get an idea of what my thought process was back in 2007 when I placed my order, read this entire thread:
"The way-yay-ting is the harrrrrrrr-dest part"

Oh, and don't worry, when I finally receive the finished bike I intend to spam all the cycling forums with pics!

dr_lha

As a guy who has an app to check the status of his UPS packages, and checks them approximately 10 times per day, I can't see this working for me!

RJM

Nice looking bike....how does it ride?

rmfnla

Hell, I went flat bar when I built up my Curtlo.

Yes, at 61 I'm not as limber as I once was but I also really dislike brifters (and love MTB-type shifters).

At least my seat is still above the bars, even if only slightly...

himespau 

That was my first thought as well. At the very least, the bars could be rotated downward (and then the clamps need moving too).