Originally Posted by
oldbobcat
Speaking of things staying the same, here's a profile shot of the Great One waiting for the action to start at the 1973 Tour.
The frame is a DeRosa, 58.5 cm C-C (60 C-T), 57 cm top tube, ~73 degree seat tube, ~73.5 head tube, moderate bottom bracket drop (probably 70 mm), and moderate fork rake (probably 43 mm). 175 mm cranks, 13 cm stem, Cinelli 66 bar, 42 cm wide. Eddy's custom bikes were short in the top tube to accommodate his lanky physique.
Top tubes on stock bikes got almost uniformly longer in the '80s. Handlebars got wider, too. A lot of riders who weren't built like Greg LeMond simply sized down or got shorter stems. Today's longer head tubes make sizing down a lot easier.
Great pic. That De Rosa is beautiful, for all the advantages of carbon and sti, bikes never looked better than in the 1970s, in my nostalgic old fart opinion.
Eddy was bigger than most people realise. I like narrower bars too, and like him I find a shorter top tube works for me. Never thought I'd have anything in common with Eddy Merckx.