kingpee

First off, I apologize if this is in the wrong thread. Also, feel free to shunt me off to a linked thread and give me the stern "search" command, although I searched and did not find a matching problem. Now that the intro is out of the way, here is my problem: I have been riding a mid-80's Japanese bike for the last couple of years. I ride it a couple hundred miles each week. When I stand over the bike frame, I have about 1 and a half inches clearance, which is what I understand to be correct. The problem is, when I extend my seatpost so that my legs are properly extended at the downstroke, the seatpost is almost two inches beyond the marked maximum length. Additionally, the stem is about a half inch beyond the maximum length, and I find myself changing hand positions almost every couple of miles because even then the bars are a good five inches below the seat. Obviously these problems are not completely disqualifying, as I have been riding this setup for a couple of years, but as I ride more and longer (I would like to plan some multi-day touring trips), I have started to worry about the fit. Because of the age of the bike, I have limited options about new stems, seatposts, etc (especially considering I have very limited funds). But I have become attached to this old bike (it doesn't hurt that I get a slight ego boost every time I pass some dude on an all-carbon enthusiast machine). If it makes any difference, I'm about 6', 165 lbs, with a 32 in. inseam). Any advice out there?

powpow

This is not the proper way to judge bike fit.

Sounds like the frame is to small.

Lots of people have recovery rides or easy days. Don't get cocky.

Try this and measure your bike, for starters.

powpow

Also, going beyond those max length markers is probably not so smart. They're there for a reason.

kingpee

Well, OK. I understand that my bike is not ideally fitted for me. But this is the machine I've got, and I will continue riding with it until I rack up enough money to upgrade. Now that we've helpfully established that I don't know how to fit, my frame is to(o) small, and I shouldn't get cocky (all good advice and well taken by the way), can anyone offer me advice as to how to better fit my machine for the one or two years that I will be forced to use it? I just can't afford a new bike right now, and I want to continue progressing with the machine I have until I can upgrade. Thanks.

ridethecliche

Buy a new seatpost and stem.

kingpee

That was my inclination as well, but I thought there were few modern seatposts and stems that fit mid-80's frames. Do I need an adapter? I have a threaded headset.

Pendergast

A cheap route would be a Kalloy seatpost and a Profile H2O quill stem. Won't pass muster with the weight weenies or road nazis, but they'd be okay for recreational cycling. The H20 stems are pretty flexy(ugly, too), but unless you're someone who yanks on the bars a lot the flex probably wouldn't bother you. Or you could spend time searching for cheap better used parts.
https://www.ebikestop.com/seatpost_seatposts))619.php
https://www.ebikestop.com/stem_stems))657.php

AngryScientist 

definitely buy a new seatpost and stem. the seatpost especially, running that above the min. insertion line is asking for trouble, BIG trouble.

Coop500

You might want to look at some of the 1" threaded adjustable stems. I got one off of the auction site for around $15. Not exactly sexy, but serves the purpose I needed it to do. As far as the seatpost, they sell shims to fit a smaller post to a larger frame, but I am not sure what you would do other than finding a NOS or used post the length you need.

Johnny Colnago

go to a bike shop
that's why god invented them
they can set you up on the bike you have and play with stem sizing and seatposts to give you a somewhat decent fit
jerking about it on this board is not going to do a damned thing

cyccommute 

The seatposts on 80's bikes were very short and the stems were zero rise stems. You could change to a longer seatpost (most of the 80's ones were around 200 mm). Any you could install a threadless adapter that will let you put a threadless stem on the bike. A 6 degree stem will get you quite a bit of height over the zero rise stem. Fleabay is someplace to start looking, although there are relatively cheap long skinny seatposts out there that are new. I've seen both stems and seatposts in the $9 to $20 range recently.

cyccommute 

It's a good place to start. If you can't straddle the bike or if the bike has 4" of clearance (on a road bike), you've eliminated most of the issue you might have with the bike in seconds.

I checked your link and that's just too much bother. Stand over the bike and see if you have clearance, then worry about the other stuff. If I were buying a custom bike, I might go through all the fit stuff on the website but for an off-the-rack bike, the variability between frames is just not that high.

And why measure the sternal arch?


The frame might be on the small size. An inch of clearance would be better and we don't know if kingpee is being shy about how intimate he's getting with the top tube (Hint: You need to touch the dangly bits, dude) But 80's bikes did run short stems and seatposts.

Garfield Cat

Did you go to the local bike mechanic yet? Or how about the bicycle mechanics forum?

Randochap

You need a longer stem -- Nitto makes the best 1" -- and longer seatpost. Lookee here for more tips.

Road Fan

You might really be setting your saddle too high. What is the height from the BB center to the saddle top? If 32 inches is your correct inseam (rounding it off to even inches can be a problem!), then multiply it by 0.889 to get that your saddle height above BB center should be near 28.5 inches, or 71.6 cm. I have found that millimeters can matter, but this is a relatively normal guideline. There's definitely a need to tweak from this point based on comfort and preference.

But, this 32 inch inseam is the same as mine, and I'm 5'6"! Not impossible, but it suggests you are using your trouser inseam rather than your cycling inseam, or perhaps you need to measure yourself again and not round it off. Cycling inseam is measured by sticking a book hard up in your crotch while standing against teh wall in bare feet. You'll need to stand up straight, so you must have a friend hold the book and take the measurement from the top of the book to teh floor. If you do it several times take the biggest number, as long as the top of the book is level. This gives bigger numbers than your trouser-sizing measurement.

If you get a different inseam again multiply by 0.889 to get the saddle height starting point. If this saddle height results in the insertion limit being exposed, you either need a different frame or a longer seatpost.