Yes, I know the title is ridiculous. But I can explain.


I bought a Vitus 787 that had been serving as shed decoration for a few decades at a decent price, despite it looking small for me. I was thinking I can restore it and in the process make it work for me with stem, seatpost and handlebar adjustments, or sell it.


It turns out the stem is frozen. Really frozen - I've tried penetrating oil, liquid nitrogen, boiling water and emotional pleas for release. No movement. And yes, the wedge is free! So I'm getting terrible hand ache from this thing, most likely as a result of the bars being too low and too close. Part of that might be that it came with riser bars, but I strongly suspect it's mainly due to the fact that I'm 6" tall and this has a 53cm seat tube and 50cm top tube.


So according to the plan I should sell it - but the problem with that is I've already fallen in love. This bike is what inspires me to get out of bed in the morning. Only a Vitus 787 will do! And only one with rims that can accomodate 32mm tyres! And stronglight cranks! And a Sachs-Maillard Aris freewheel!


Late last night I had an idea - what if I buy a bigger 787 frame, take all the cool components off this one and transfer them to the new frame?


So I have a few questions -


1) is there anything that makes this a bad idea/harder than I might be anticipating? I've never built a bike from a frame before, but I've been enjoying the restoration of the 787 I have right now.

2) If I'm getting a new frame I want to make sure I get one that fits. It seems every guide out there gives conflicting info on what measurements I need. My inseam is 85cm, my torso length is 64cm and my arms are 70cm. What should I be going for? Some guides say I need a 60cm seatpost, some a 55cm seatpost. I haven't been able to get any real guidance on top tube length, which I feel is probably a big factor with hand pain.

3) As a last ditch attempt at getting on with the frame I have now, is getting drop bars worth a try? I've tried positioning my hands where the hoods would be while sitting on the bike, and no immediate loss of balance, so perhaps less weight would be put on my wrists - but the angle is quite severe.


Bonus question:

4) Anyone know of a Vitus 787 frame in the UK (or able to be posted to the UK) up for sale that's not on eBay?


Pic for this interested:

What material is the 787 steerer tube? I've heard there are some solutions one can essentially melt the aluminum stem out with.

The whole bike is aluminium except for the wedge itself. So there's no way to target just the stem with something like ammonia unfortunately.