Charles Wahl, basically everyone and their mother are riding frames that are too small for anything but out and out racing this is due to "straddle the top tube" sizing advice that seems to have come from no discernable source and has no merit regarding fit, but because it's accumulated knowledge and has been spouted for so long it seems to have become some kind of bicycling folklore.

Frankly it's a load of bs, stick with the fistful (or even 3 or 4 fingers) of seatpost for decent all round fit. I'm 6' and ride a 64cm frame, what bike shop would have fitted me on such a frame...none, especially seeing as they don't stock them in the first instance. Infact, who's making them?

75% of people might be able to squeeze onto a 55cm frame, but a good proportion of them are being undersized through nothing more than hear'say.

Actually there are two sets of problems. I have no doubt that I'm on a frame that's too small for me, but there's a reason for it. I'm 5'10 and I have long legs and a short torso. If I'm on a larger frame, my stem is too short and will lead to twitchy handling. I was fine on a 56 but I'm now riding a 54, which is comfortable for an hour, I still need to get the fit adjusted by the shop. I get lower back pain, which is why the fit needs to be adjusted. I do have a lot of seatpost showing, a few inches atleast.

I just sold that bike! It's a peugeot ph501 right? Mine was an 85.
I could clear the toptube when I was straddling the toptube, but I've hurt myself when I tried to stop at a little bit of a downhill. That bike was lighter than the 84 trek 760 I just bought, which is saying a lot because it was 4 cms bigger for the frame.

It's a great frame and bike, keep enjoying it!

This was mine, I just sold it the other day. It was a really nice setup. Campy rear hub laced to a mavic rim, and a 105 front hub laced to a mavic rim. I just couldn't get it to fit so I sold it with the wheels attached since I just didn't have a spare for them and the stock rear wheel had a broken spoke. I miss that wheelset haha.

Whoa, they're like brothers! I think yours may be a year or so newer than mine as I see a standard seatpost binder, and mine uses one of those internal binder things, like a stem. Stinks if you need to replace it! Is yours lugged or welded?

p.s. Yes, it is pretty darn light for an entry level road bike. No heavier than my Bertoni, I'd say, which is just a hair over 22 pounds.

I think mine might have been just about 20 lbs, if not a hair lighter especially with the newer wheels. It was welded. So mine might infact be the newer version. Well, not mine anymore, as it's gone.

Was yours 501 steel?

Yep, 501 and lugged. I'm sure the lugs add a tiny bit of weight, and those Gatorskin tires aren't terribly light either. It may actually be a bit lighter than my Bertoni, they just feel pretty close.

This was my first road bike. It's a 61cm Ross Gran Tour. I should be riding a 58 or 59 but for $20 at a yard sale it worked really well for getting me hooked on cycling..

Ok, ok.....nothing against those 60-64cm frames, they are fine, nice looking bikes....but "normal" looking proportion-wise.....

This thread is about the "big" bikes....the oddities.....the NBA player sized bikes....the 36" inseam and up bikes...the bikes that are so friggin gargantuan and out of proportion looking that just looking at them makes your 'nads hurt in anticipation of having to stop at a light and not having the best track-standing abilities....the bikes that look like they have a telephone pole for a head tube....

...you know, the BIG bikes...say 66cm and up!

I remember seeing a bike made for Bill Russell or some other former NBA player that made my bike look like a junior .... anyone have pics of that one?

Is this big enough for you?...

Heh...now we're talkin'....;^)

UNCLE!

Not quite as big as some of the frames here, but this is a 25" Schwinn Voyageur II.

At 80cm and weighing in at 27 pounds, check out this* custom build from the Waterford,WI factory:


* I have no affiliation with this bike - it is not mine nor is that me in the photo.

That bike was made for Yao Ming

That had to cost a lot of chickens and goats.....

I don't have a picture, as the bike is long gone, but I do have a story.

I'm 6'4", and went to a Newport Beach PD aucition in 1984 to get a bike. As luck would have it, the 30 or 40 other attendees were seriously height-challenged; I mean, I was TOWERING. The cop running the auction wheeled a big gold Fuji out to be bid on - I never measured it, but it was the biggest bike I ever owned, I'd guess 66 cm - and this unfolded:

Cop: Do I hear five dollars?
Me: Five dollars!
Cop: Do I hear six?
Little guy in the crowd: (Somewhat meekly) Six?
Cop: Do I hear seven?
Me: SEVEN!
Cop: I really think we oughta let him have it, don't you?

That bike served me well for five years in beach weather, and utimately rotted away from the salt...

Wow! I have been perusing old catalogs recently, to see what kind of bikes I should just give up hope on. Miyata had been crossed off my list, but this makes me wonder how many other bikes I've counted out that may be out there still.

I agree -- none of this 60cm stuff. Just how tall are you? I'm 99 percentile height, but your bikes literally scare me.

Not mine but it's big

I think I remember this builder... sort of specializes in big bikes... does lots of bikes for NBA players and other freakishly tall people.

I have a friend who is 6'8" and some of these look considerably too large for him! How many 7+ footers are there out there and what are the odds that many of them are into cycling? (don't get me wrong, I'm glad they are!)

Oh my , yes.....that is freakishly big! I love it.....I can't ride it, but I love it!

I went through the same issue last summer, and ended up with a 63cm Trek. It was the biggest I could find. I've been searching for (nicer) steel frames in my size, but they are just not out there. I love some of the nicer Japanese stuff from the mid 80's, and an 83 Schwinn Super Sport passed through my hands that I would love to find in my size, but I'm striking out.

To me it seems that all the companies who made 27 inch frames only did so with their lower end bikes. The Miyata earlier in the thread gives me hope, but not much.

Last night I put together my new 83 Trek 560, 25.5 inches, but I think it is still going to be to small.

Perhaps someday I will go custom, but it would be nice to have a classic steel frame to use in the meantime.

We should have a support group for tall riders who love vinatge bikes!

Bill Walton on a custom made track bike back in the day.

Here's my Raleigh, after a today of commuting service. I think its a 63cm. I'm 6'6"