Do I need custom?
 

I was just talking to someone who insisted that anyone over 6 feet tall needs a custom bike. I am about 6-3 and ride old steel producton bikes just fine. By the way the person preaching this is well under 6 feet. Opinions?

There are plenty of taller bikes out there, you don't need custom unless your proportions are vastly different from "normal".

Even at the tall hieght of 6'4" or so you should be a able to rock a clasic 24 to 26 inch bike with some setup. These big bikes actually seem to sell pretty cheap on CL big guys seem to get some of the best deals.

If you've convinced yourself you do, and have the money, than yes! Everyone needs custom!

I suggest you don't listen to any advice from this person in the future. If he works at LBS find another one where the employees actually know something about bike fitting.

Brian

I agree you likely don't need custom but a nice stiff frame like a SLX/SPX, TSX or EL OS would be a better ride than SL level bikes.

There are so me tall people who have extraordinarily long femurs (thigh bones) like Carly Simon or Tommy Tune, and some have long torsos, but not really any moreso than us shorter people. It is just that once you get into the 'large' frame size, there isn't a lot of fit selection you can do - one build requires longer seat tube, one requires longer toptube. With us 'normal' people, the selection of frame geometry is greater.

6'3" and 275lbs here. At least one of my bikes was custom-made, but not for me. I have no problem getting stuff to fit me and ride great for me.

As was said above, unless you are a freak of nature in terms of body proportions, you should be able to find good lugged steel frames out there in a size that will ride great. I have found pretty much all of mine on eBay. I wouldn't call any of them a steal in terms of price, but they were a fair price for a rider (as opposed to a flipper, which I don't do).

This doesn't mean you shouldn't get a frame custom made for you - if you want that fits-like-a-glove feeling and can afford it, I say go for it - just that 6'3" is not a height that requires it. Gettin' kinda close, though.

It depends on how you are proportioned.
I'm a hair over 6'2, with long legs (over 37" cycling inseam) a slightly short torso, and long arms. My ideal frame is 62-63cm seat tube, 55-56 top tube. Not many "stock" bikes offer that. I've always made do by riding 58-60cm bikes with alot of seatpost and a big saddle-bar drop (my long arms do okay with that).
I'd love to try a custom frame some day to see how if would be.

You are a perfect example of someone for whom a custom frame makes a ton of sense. While we are almost the same height, my leg/torso ratio is much more in the normal range (my jeans are 32" inseam, which I know is not the same as my inseam for frame-measuring purposes, but it gives you an idea.) I go for the 62-65cm range, with 63 or 64 seeming to be the sweet spot for me. My top tubes range from 58cm to 60cm - hand positioning is dialed in via stem length.

I can see how it would be a bunch harder for you to make these fairly standard larger frame dimensions work. I say, hi thee to a good custom builder posthaste.

Thanks, guys. I'm not tall, but any and all rationalizations for a custom frame are welcome.
I think Toby Stanton and I will be talking about a new Hot Tubes for RobbieTunes.

The big decision is: Have it made, or make it myself in his class?

EDIT: In line with OP title, I don't need a custom, per Maslow. I just need the self-esteem.

Have it made first. Then you have an excuse to go and get another one! :thumb:

Sounds like a plan....
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i...s/YFoil006.jpg

A frame building class is on my "want to do" list. Thanks for the reminder to keep Toby on my list of possibilities.

For a C&V spin, there's always Bohemian Bicycles in Arizona http://www.bohemianbicycles.com/frame%20class.html
But Koichi Yamaguchi lives less than an hour from me, and also offers a course http://www.yamaguchibike.com/w/index.php?title=School
....or Mike Flanigan at ANT, of course. And Doug Fattic. .....and......

;)

Custom bikes can be very nice, did the LBS guy introduce you to someone that can make it happen? Custom bikes can have some nice options tailor made for you, especially if you are looking for - say - a fully equipped rough road touring bike or a tandem for you and your 4'9" partner. Otherwise, no, I do not believe there is a hard and fast rule about 6'3" riders need to have a bike built just for them because they are freaks - the LBS salesman wants to upsell you because his boss won't stock the taller bikes.

I've been having conversations with the folks over at Bill Holland Cycles (who builds Ti and Ti Exogrid frames) and curiously enough people at his shop think that I need a custom frame as well, even though I'm 5'9" with perfectly average dimensions.
When I started asking them why I shouldn't just buy one of the frames they had hanging on the walls (people sometimes return a custom frame and have something new, usually Titanium Exogrid, built for them) I was given several good answers. Even though the bikes there may "appear" to be right for me, there is always discussion about what type of riding I do, what height I prefer my bottom bracket, how my weight may require a thicker down-tube because its different than the rider with the same height, arm and leg length, or that I may want longer chainstays, or any of a myriad of other "options", like braze-ons, etc, on a frame built just for me. They were very persuasive, and so of course we continue our discussion.

I ride 55/55 and am five foot 10 with a 33 inch cycling inseam... finding a frame that is 62/55 falls into the realm of customs as very few production frames have ever had a shorter top tube than their seat tube.

We build custom frames for people with these kinds of dimensions... for regularly proportioned folks we build when their needs fall outside what they can buy off the peg.

Being six foot three with normal dimensions and weight does not rate a custom frame for fitting reasons.

Well if you have a lot of $ not earmarked for anything then by all means go for it. How long have you been riding, what is your current bike? If you haven't been riding very long perhaps wait and see what types of riding you enjoy the most, how often you ride, etc. Of course they are very persuasive, they need to sell frames to pay the bills(like any other business), they aren't trying to sell you a frame for altruistic purposes or out of the goodness of their heart. Go slow with it, if you are serious I highly recommend talking to at least a couple of other framebuilders as each will lave their own ideas of bike fit and whatever else you want/need.

Brian

In the world of modern carbon bikes that come in small, medium and large, there is going to be an upper limit. Also a lower limit. I suspect the upper limit is above 6 feet though. Was this guy you were talking to talking about modern carbon or C&V steel? There were plenty of steel frames made for very tall people over the years. Many were custom but some companies made really big stock frames. Having said that, any excuse is a good excuse for getting a modern custom steel bike.

Sounds like you're selling yourself a nice bike:)

No, THEY are trying to sell me a nice bike, but I wasn't born yesterday, and certainly didn't start riding yesterday. I've got 2 titanium USA built bikes already, as well as multiple steel frames from Japan, England, Belgium, and Italy. All of them are enjoyable to ride and I have a hard time imagining how a custom frame could possibly be an improvement over my current favorites. I'm taking everything with a grain of salt and completely understand their need to sell new frames, but don't feel obligated to help them pay their bills.

When it comes to purchasing a custom frame, my problem is not a lack of funds so much as the fact that I'm really cheap when it comes to spending money on myself. All of my current bikes are used, most are C&V, and frankly the idea of buying 1 bike frame for more than 5X what I've spent on any other complete bike just seems way out of whack to me.

SP is good to find, also. Many large frames done with 531 and SL are far less stiff than smaller frame sizes of the same model.

If the user is 6 feet tall and has normal proportions finding an adequate frame is not too difficult.

If the user is looking for that just-right combination of frame stiffness and features, a custom can be justified. Most bikes are not really engineered for larger riders, a custom can solve that issue.

busted.

The most difficult thing about a custom is the waiting list. Given the prices at the LBS for comparably equipped bikes, I don't feel like a custom is extravagant as compared to retail. The cheaper option is to upgrade a nice older frame with components ordered at a big discount from across the pond (but then you have to luck into just what you want). If you're an odd size so the comparably priced LBS options are few, then a custom makes perfect sense.

I didn't mean to give the wrong impression, I am definately not in the market for custom. This was bad advice given from one freind to another. I have been perfectly comfortrable on my old steel as soon as i learned to set them up properly. I do have my eye on those King Of Mercia frames, they are sort of custom. :)