Seeking 70cm frameset
 

Hi, Got bored with life; need to work on aother bike.
Am looking for a 70cm (center to center) frameset; I have one - the 70cm Panasonic; see my signature under Univega.
Color doesn't matter; shoudl be Reynolds 531 or similar - 4130 steel alloy works.
Fuji makes a Valite frame - has small percentage of vanadium in the steel alloy.
No carbon fibre or aluminum, thanks, Beaverstuff

Wow, that's tall. You must have to lean really far down to reach the dt shifters on the Schwinn. I don't believe I've seen anything that tall on the local ads recently. Only a couple 64cm frames, and I thought those were tall. Good luck, I know there are some other giants on here.

Some of the Japanese manufacturers made 27" (68.5cm) frames, but they were typically for the most popular market segment, which was upper entry level. Hence those VALite Fuji models and others, like the Miyata 110/112 variants. For slightly sportier geomtetry, there was at least one year in the very late 1980s that Miyata offered the 312 in this size. It had a full CrMo frame but a Mangalight fork. IIRC, the down tube was STB (splined, triple butted) which would be a welcome contributor to stiffness on such a tall frame.

There is a really tall Cannondale on Offer Up west PHX for a few hundred I believe. With thick top tube it's is listed as 68ctc 72ctt. Aluminum, but thought I would share as you don't see them that tall often.

How light must it be? I have a 4130 frame. I think it's 68cm. But it's low end 4130, and it feels heavy to me. Forgive me, because I think we may have spoken already, but on the off chance we haven't, I'm mentioning it. I have pictures somewhere.

Also: https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/...654642123.html

Wow. All are 20-30 years old road bikes with 27 inch wheels. No 700c, 650b, 27.5, 26 inch.
No mountain bikes.
No hybrids.
No fat bikes.
No e-bike.
No recumbents.
No touring bikes.
No cargo bikes.
No In fact no options whatsoever.

That says a lot about the current state of the industry.

My sympathies on your search.

FWIW, & if you can bear the expense, a custom frame can be built. Depending where you live there may be several capable rame makers in your area. Most major cities have a few.

Keep an eye on the BigBike PSAs thread on The Paceline:

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=107521

Many of the bikes people find turn out to be vintage (or nearly vintage) steel. That's another advantage of steel. The bikes could be built in pretty much any size. I don't think there is any profit in large frames for the carbon fiber types.

Also, you will have to forgive the "little people" who post to the thread thinking 61cm frames are "big." ;)

68cm Bridgestone for $50
https://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/bi...634482014.html
https://images.craigslist.org/00d0d_...i_1200x900.jpg

I know Bike Works here in Seattle has a ~1984 Panasonic DX2000 in that 70cm size in their 'as is' section ($25 or $50 IIRC). It's complete, but not as minty fresh as your current DX2000. It is all black, though. You'd have your work cut out for you a little bit cleaning and polishing/waxing the paint and applying touch-up, but I'd be optimistic (from what I've seen). I can barely straddle it, but it's probably a real smooth rider. The frame is proportioned well in that the rear wheel isn't massively far away from the seat tube, so that helps overall aesthetic. I can take some pictures tomorrow if you'd like.

Don't want to give unsolicited advice, but just a word on Valite, if you've never used it before... I've heard it has a bit of aluminum in it as well, and my experience is that it's VERY stiff, pretty heavy, and bulletproof. I certainly don't know anything about framebuilding, but I imagine there is a chance a 70cm Valite frame might have some desirable and hard to find attributes.

The Miyata 312 that I mentioned previously, in post #5 , used 700C wheels.

I've done some reference work on Valite. It is a cabon steel that has the usual Manganese and Chromium in less than 1% quantities. Valite also have 1/4 % Vanadium, which removes inclusions.
Inclusions are non-metalic compounds that reduce the alloy's strength.

Pretty Bridgestone; you must be tall than I.

Nope, not mine. I am only 6'04" and ride 62cm frames.

But I have some experience in finding big bikes as several of my friends are in the 6'07"+ (ie 2m) size. For my other sport (rowing), I am on the smaller side....

I also think it cute when people refer to their 60cm frames as "XL" or "huge".... :D

I classify VALite with the Japanese carbon-manganese tubesets, such as Ishiwata's Magny series, Miyata Mangalight and Tange Mangaloy. They all came out during the same era and bridged the gap between hi-tensile and CrMo in terms of cost, ease of brazing, tensile strength and consequently, frame weight.

While the exact compositions of these tubesets are unknown, they are likely similar. It would not surprise if VALIte was re-branded Magny, given the close relationship between Fuji and Ishiwata, and the fact the gauges for their respective triple and quad butted sets are identical.

I've always considered 6'-4" to be about average for a senior, male rower.

I think my overall point of the OP's options being limited still stands.

The guys with 60cm bikes are in a world very different than mine,(or yours)

700c wheels
 

I term [700c] is common, butnot accurate. Wheels of the 700c genre have a rim size of 622mm.
This year, I am starting to change my nomenclature to 622mm; it's more exact.

When I see them, the biggest I ever see is 27 inch frame (68.5 cm), which is almost always seat tube center to TOP, not center to center. I've stopped picking them up, donated the few I had left, never again. Extremely limited market, and based on your sizing request, a 27 inch one is too small. Sold the Fuji 27 incher that I had a few years back, it was center to top.

And many of the tall bikes had shortish top tubes. Bikes that would be square on smaller sizes didn't stay that way on the big ones.

I did have a Clark Kent custom once that was 74 cm center to top. Gave it away.

My guess is your Panasonic and Univega are both 27 inch center to top, at least all of the Panasonics and Univegas I have ever owned were sized in that matter.

Since an image of the Bridgestone was posted, I will not be undone: my Panasonic (1989).
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8737d70357.jpg