Originally Posted by
Jurgen
But they seem to have tall seat tubes relative to top tubes.
Yes, you're right, but the
head tube lengths are short relative to size, which means the long-legged rider is going to struggle to get the handlebars to a comfortable height.
Taking the C-50 as an example. I'm usually looking for a top tube about 58cm:
(Size, TT, HT length)
60cm, 58 cm, 17.3 cm
61cm, 58.6 cm, 18.4 cm
62cm, 59 cm, 18.8 cm
Those are short head tubes relative to top tube.
In contrast, the Specialized Roubaix, size 58:
58, 58.2 cm, 22.5 cm
Or the Specialized Tarmac, size 58:
58, 58.2 cm, 20.5 cm
Or the BMC Pro Machine, size 59:
59, 58.5 cm, 20.4 cm
I suspect the Roubaix would fit me the best, and the Tarmac or Pro Machine would be fine. The Colnago, no way. And I'm not talking about Grant Petersen handle-bar-level-with-the-saddle fit, either...the Roubaix would still give me about 8cm saddle-bar drop.