Sizing Down for a Dream Frame...
 

Hi

This is my first post...

I'm 6'3 and I've always ridden large frames (60cm or even bigger)

I found a nice japanese track frame for a good price, however its a little smaller than what I traditionally ride (its 58.5cm)

I've been told, and surmised for myself, that I could ride a much smaller frame and just use a bigger seat post and different stem / bar orientations to achieve a comfortable ride with a smaller build. does anyone forsee any problems with this?

Thanks so much and sorry of this has been tackled on this forum already.

Ehh, it might work. I'd be inclined to pass.

only on bikeforums can your "dream bike" be one that doesnt fit.

https://i.giphy.com/media/zjYAqVJit6NWg/200w.gif
https://media1.giphy.com/media/zjYAqVJit6NWg/giphy.gif

How are you planning on using the bike? Everyday commuter? Track Racer?

How do you plan on mounting the stem/bars?

• As low as they'll go for an aggressive riding style?
• As high as you can get them? Ohh... the old back!!!

The answer to how you are planning to configure the bike likely holds the answer to whether you want the smaller frame or not.

There are only two sizes of frame:
The one that fits properly and the others.

-Bandera

OP, I suggest you start here:

https://www.bikeforums.net/singlespe...ead-first.html

I'm not going to get too aggressive with the bars. I usually build with a slight rise on a classic looking nitto stem or something like it.

I do want to put a nice set of drop bars on this thing though -- likely meaning that this isn't the frame, and i should go for this one instead..

(LOL i can't post a link because im such a n00b) anyway - there is a 59.5cm peloton frame on NJS

I wonder if there is a problem with importing tall used bike frames from Japan. Is that 1cm truly worth $500?

You might have better luck looking for vintage frames here in the USA, or in Europe. Several brands were rebadged Japanese bikes.

This one looks interesting on E-Bay.
Cinelli Olympic Pista Chrome Lugged Columbus Thron Steel Track Frame Set 60cm

I'm not real familiar with Cinelli models, it doesn't have the classic Cinelli seat stays that many have, so someone else should have more info to confirm models.

Looks great, but that "60cm" frame has a 57cm top tube. Which exposes the real issue: we have no idea if OP's "58.5cm" dream frame will fit, because that number is relatively meaningless, or at least highly misleading.

Yeah, a lot of "big" track bikes have kinda short top tubes for their size, which is annoying. You really need the full measurements to judge it.

I assume some of the frames the OP is looking at are these:

https://www.njs-export.com/collections/frames/58-5cm
https://www.njs-export.com/collections/frames/59-5cm

I see the issue of the shorter TT on some of the frames, with 56.5 or 57.5 TT on the 58.5 frames, and 57.5 or 58.5 TT on the 59.5 frames.

Perhaps one way to approach the problem is to take the OP's favorite bike, and then try to figure out what would have to be changed to put the seat & bars in a similar position on the new Track frame.

As mentioned, importing a tall used frame from Japan may be a problem, but another option is to give it a few months and hunt for the perfect frame or bike. Something is bound to show up. Also contact your favorite retailer and ask if there is anything new coming down the pipeline.

There is a lot of flexibility with stems and etc, although perhaps fewer options with the vintage quill stems. Fewer options for stems greater than 120mm, or long riser stems (which may not match the intended bicycle aesthetics).

There was a period about 15 years ago when fixie foos were all riding frames that were too small because they were supposed to be "stiffer". I even remember a couple cases of people getting a frame that was too small because they wanted to make sure that the logo on the seatpost was completely visible. I rode a frame that was too small for a long time and didn't feel like I was sacrificing much.

We had a customer recently who get a "stellar deal" on a disc brake equipped carbon road bike that is way too big for him (so he wanted a really short MTB or BMX stem) and wanted to slam the seatpost which was seized into a carbon frame and we sort of joked about smaller cranks and he was almost ready to pounce on it. The frame is some cheap China carbon garbage of unknown quality but it has decent enough parts which could go on another frame.

The only time a bike that doesn't fit me is a stellar deal is if it has top end parts that are worth way more than the frame and maybe the frame is worth reselling or donating to a good cause. If the bike doesn't fit you must quit and find something that does.

A bike that is too big is much worse than a bike that is too small.

gotta get [MENTION=471448]iheartnyc[/MENTION] [MENTION=471454]iheartnyo[/MENTION] and [MENTION=471536]iheartnyp[/MENTION] in here. Dude loves little bikes :)