alj

Hi There! I'm new to this forum.

I'm quite tall (about 6'6), pretty heavy (220lb), looking for road bike with steel 853 frame.

AFAIk the most comfortable ride for me would be in 63-64 range, according to what I have test ridden already. 62 might work also in worst case.

I spent tons of time browsing internet and visiting local stores in Seattle area (REI, cycle center, cycle recyclers etc) - I cannot find not only steel bikes.. I cannot find any bikes with 63 frames (not in store catalog, however listed . Even 60-62 frames are on on special order usually.

bikesdirect.com has 1 bike with 853 frame but it comes in limited sizes, Fuji stopped making steel frame bikes according to the website.

I was looking for used bikes but noone sells big enough bikes to fit.

I'm ready to get used/new bike or dont mind building it myself within $800-$1500 budget approximately. Shimano 105 would be fine. Would even go for tiagra or otherwise ultrega if bike has correct size.

Can anybody recommend me a bike which would match those requirements?
Is there any internet store which sells bikes of any size? Factory outlet perhaps?

If the only way is to build bike yourself - where to get decent steel frames and shimano components so it would not burn hole in the wallet?

Thank you for your help.

/eugene

s4one

Dont know if im much help but since you are limited on sizes, go with a smaller frame than a bigger frame. You can adjust parts on the bike to make it fit.

Cyclist0383

What size top tube do you need?

Check out some of the frames from Torelli, although they might be a little spendy for you.

https://www.torelli.com/torelli/cstig.html
https://www.torelli.com/torelli/countach.html

Cyclist0383

Also check out the Soma Smoothie ES - it goes up to a 66cm, and costs a lot less than the Torelli.

https://www.somafab.com/extrasmoothie.html

bsyptak

You could also give Tom at GVH Bikes a call and see if he can come up with something.

PM bikesdirect here and ask Mike about availability.

Any reason why you're only considering 853? How about titanium? Consider buying a Bikes Direct bike with build of your choice (pick a bike, large) along with a Habanero Team Issue ti frame for $900. Swap frames and Ebay the Motobecane frame. Probably not too far away from $1500.

There should be a fair amount of used 853 framed bikes out there as people poo poo them for aluminum or carbon.

alj

Thanks for the hint.
It seems like the cost of the bike from bikesdirect is about the same as the cost of shimano on it. So swapping frame might be great idea and prob. cheaper than getting shimano separately.

alj

Titanium is fine, I only said steel because titanium probably will be out of 1500 budget (unless I'm wrong).

You mentioned couple good websites to look for the frame, is there a list of such sites/names/lables somewhere on the forum? Who else makes titanium/steel frames?

Thanks!