My grandfather surprised me earlier last week with a relic from his attic: a silver Raleigh competition frame. He explained he rode it frequently when he was younger, but eventually parted it out and hung onto the frame for sentimental value. It's in really good shape and is much nicer than anything I've ever had the pleasure to call my own My grandfather said he'd decided to give it to me as a sort of reward for making it through all five years of college on my free spirit cruiser (salvaged from a dumpster!). The problem is that in my excitement, I didn't even consider that he's 5'9" and I'm 5'5". I put a friend's pair of 700 wheels on and I DO fit......just not terribly well. I can sit comfortably on the balls of my feet, but can barely put my heels down when straddling the top tube. However, the reach is completely fine!
I know some people will think it's silly to put so much effort into this, but I feel determined to give it a genuine shot. How can I make this frame a better fit? Would putting 650 wheels on make much of a difference in the stand over height? Are there brakes out there that would even reach? Any advice would be ridiculously appreciated. My friend said if anyone had the answers, it would be you guys! (THANK YOU!)

I ran into the same problem with an old Bianchi frame I picked up. It was comfortable enough to ride, but the saddle was as low as it could go and I had very little stand over. I eventually ended up letting it go, but will admit that I still miss it. Are you planning on building it into a fixed gear?

I had a bike that was a little too big for me (standover height). I just learned to lean the bike over to one side when coming to a stop. As for 650b's, this approach may work if you get the brakes from an old one. The tire width would be the real issue, as well rear axle spacing and fork spacing should be measured.

I have a '78 Competition GS that I've converted to 650B; it worked out quite easily and rides great. But I'd suggest you ride it a bit with 700c wheels first and see how the fit feels to you. How often do you plan on standing around straddling the top tube?

Neal

I was actually leaning more towards a single speed. I get the feeling hunting down a fixed 650 wheel would be a bit of a chore. This bike would take the spot of my commuter, so dismounting wouldn't be totally infrequent. Neal, I'm glad to hear that it was a good fit! Does this mean I can buy basically any pair of 650's and it should work out or is that way too simplistic of an approach?

You have to use the narrower 650B tires that are available (or at least I did). The Panaracer Nifty Swifty at about 33mm wide was definitely the max.

Neal

Yeah, really. The percentage you have to "struggle with the straddle" is probably only 5% of the time. Why deal with all the expense and hassle of swapping parts around for so little time?

There is that upcoming "Alternative pole-dancing competition" coming up...