How much can you "just get used to"?
 

I've been searching for a frame to make my new touring rig. I've built up, ridden, toured, and dismantled a couple bikes now. I have found a couple things I can't "just get used to": 1. A frame that is too small, 2. Weak brakes, 3. Narrow tire clearance. All three of these lessons came from my pet peeves about previous bikes I've built. Most recently, I thought I had solved all of these with a new frame. (It's an old police bike!) As it turns out, number 4 for me is a frame that is too big. I love this bike except for the fact that I can't stratle the bike without leaning to one side because the top tube is the same height as my inseam. It has caused me to crash with the bike in an emergency stop instead of hopping off to the side. Getting on and off is a pain and stopping at traffic lights is scary now. I've had it for about a month, put about 230 miles on it, and I'm pretty sure it's not something I can put up with any longer. I'm not looking for the PERFECT frame, but one that meets these standards and works with components I already have.

Am I just being picky?

What other things could you never get used to?

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c8ac94f39d.jpg

I won’t get used to a leather saddle. I can’t imagine acquiring a frame that didn’t fit anymore than I’d by clothes that didn’t fit. Not having sun glasses or hat.

Bike fit is important because it needs to be comfortable for longer times in the saddle. A frame too large has never been an issue, but I'll pick a stem length and saddle height that makes sense.

Most every thing else I've worked out over time, e.g.
- setting up with low enough gearing to shift down for hills
- using sturdy wheels that will be reliable
- having racks to carry gear I want to carry
etc.

It is unfortunate that your top tube is too high for adequate standover height. Decades ago when all road bikes had horizontal top tubes, generically you wanted a fist full of seatpost. Meaning, exposed section of the seatpost should be roughly the width of your hand across the knuckles. It looks like that frame has that much exposed seatpost, but it does have a sloping top tube, not horizontal, thus a higher top tube where you stand over it.

That front fork looks like it is for a larger wheel size. Are those 26 inch wheels? If that fork is for 700c wheels, perhaps the correct fork would be shorter and give you a lower top tube?

That said, I think every police bike I have seen had a suspension fork. If that frame was designed for a 100mm suspension seatpost, maybe they needed that extra tall fork to make the bike ride right if a solid fork was used instead of a suspension fork?

Just thinking out loud here. If you knew the bike model and year, you might be able to find out if that is the correct fork or it it used a suspension fork.

More accurately, things I MUST have are a correctly sized frame, comfortable seat (for me a leather that has formed to my anatomy), very padded handlebar tops, and water bottles (hate a Camelbak on my back though this qualifies as never got used to).

• Number 1: That’s on you. Learn how to size bikes better.
• Number 2: That’s a set up issue. Learn how to set up and adjust brakes properly. I’ve worked on just about every brake out there with the exception of spoon brakes and I can adjust any of them to the point where they will stop the bike when and where I want. My current touring bike has…oh the HORROR!…cantilever brakes! I have no problem hurtling down steep hills with a full touring load at speeds that even I would admit is pretty stupid. Never had a moment where I doubted that my brakes would stop me. I’m also an old mountain biker who learned how to mountain bike on cantilevers and never thought they were inadequate.
• Number 3: Learn how to assess a frame better for touring. I don’t know what bike frame you were trying to use but there are tons of choices out there that allow for all kinds of tire widths.
• Number 4: See number 1

Honestly what do you “love” about this bike? Why did you pick it in the first place? Are you picking out the frame and then building around it? Or are you rebuilding an existing bike? It sounds like the former. In that case, find a whole bike that fits you…something between the bike that is too large and the one that is too small…and use it as you guide for finding a frame that fits properly. I’ve built up a couple of dozen frames for myself but I knew what fit before I started looking for the frame. I have ample opportunity to buy just about any bike that I want but I would always pass on a bike that isn’t the right size. Trying to fit a frame that is too large or too small is a fools errand.

No but it sounds like you need a bit more education. For example, looking at the frame below, I can see that you thought a frame of a certain size is the frame you need. The bike below is a mountain bike. Mountain bike sizes are 3” to 4” smaller than the corresponding road bike size. The bike might measure 20” but that doesn’t mean that it is the same as a 49cm road bike in proportion. A 20” mountain bike is meant for someone between 5’10” and 6’1’. The top tube is proportioned for a much taller person. The seatpost should extend much further out of the frame. A 49cm road bike is meant for someone between 5’3” and 5’8”. If you are looking for a 20” (49cm) road bike and want to use a mountain bike , you should be 15” frame, not a 20”

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c8ac94f39d.jpg​​​​​​​

You're not too picky.
Proper bike fit / sizing is the most important thing when it comes to cycling in general, let alone touring when you're looking for comfortable but lengthy saddle time.

I wouldn't want to live with a bike that is not the correct size but then again I wouldn't buy a bike that doesn't fit and certainly wouldn't keep it especially not for touring. Weak brakes are usually a function of pads, shoes, cables and housing if using cable actuated stuff and that is easy to fix. There are certainly some really crappy calipers out there that I wouldn't recommend to anyone but I would have just avoided those from the start or replaced them before touring. Narrow tire clearance is something I avoid when getting a bike these days anyway but I have lived with it in my current fleet of bikes, not ideal but I had different tire wants back when I got some of these bikes. Luckily nothing super narrow so not a huge problem.

I would say if you are having issues find a framebuilder and get them to build you something and then have them help you choose components to work best for you. That is a great way to go if you have specific wants and needs. Though plenty of great stock options of frames out there that don't have to be a compromise.

Well since it was mentioned, I really cant get used to bikes that are not the correct size.
Seems kinda obvious, especially for an activity that is presumably 4-10 hours in the saddle day after day, but it was mentioned so I guess its not obvious.

When I worked the odd hour or two at our local bike shop, may it RIP, I was always amazed at the mis-sizing of bikes that people came in on, often looking for a new saddle or handlebar because they just weren't comfortable on their bike. When truth be told, they were two sizes off and nothing could be done to make it comfortable. What's really bad is when it was a new bike purchase and you just know that the bike shop sold the person what they had on the floor and wanted so badly to get rid of it, a very myopic view imo, making that sale today but will never see the person again because they won't continue to ride.

I could never get used to a crotch shot by that top tube in an emergency dismount. I mean, I've seen fighters take them in training montages in kung-fu movies...

Hah! When I was about 17 years old I retired my Schwinn Varsity and ordered my first high end bike ... a Schwinn Paramount! My local Schwinn dealer said, "Boys your age usually ride a 23" frame" and he ordered one. I was (and still am) about 5'6". I rode the bike maybe two years with the seat as low as it would go right down on the top tube. I sold it to a buddy.

Definitely not being picky, no. As others have suggested, frame fit is vital.

My own preferences center on frames that would normally be considered too small. Yet they fit me better, feel better, cause fewer problems (of aches, strains). As I'm a mostly-upright rider, anymore, so long as the seat tube length and the standover height are great, then I can make adjustments around the reach and stack (ie, via stem+bar changes) to accommodate.

In my case, building-up a '90s Trek 970 to an upright commuter/city bike has done wonders. 2x11spd, suspension seat post, riser/swept bars. And in a puny 16in frame sizing that (with the stem+bar choices) allows my smaller frame to fit very nicely. One great thing is, it's got a sufficiently low SOH to tolerate my short legs. Nearly every other frame on the market just feels too darned big these days. (Surly Troll XS was very close, and the 15.5" and 16.5" Trek MTBs worked well. Most others were too tall SOH, and/or with TT far too long.)

I can't get used to a frame that's a grossly "off" fit. I can't get used to a SOH that's in the noogie-knocking realm. I can't deal with a TT that puts control of the bike and comfort out of reach.

Uncertain what your reach and stack measurements are, for a "perfect" sizing, but Velo-Orange has their Polyvalent Low Kicker step-through frame on sale right now (~$600). For 650B or 26" wheels, with 12x100 and 12x142 hub spacing and through-axles, up to 2.3" tires, made of double-butted 4130 chromoly. With the curved-and-sloped TT it ought to resolve your SOH issue. If you're okay with another build-up, and if the geometry numbers get close to your ideal frame size, it might be a way to keep most of your components and eliminate your primary pet peeves RE your current frame.

https://velo-orange.com/collections/...lyvalent-mk5-1

I think it was about 15 years ago my niece bought a high end carbon wonder bike. She told me she was really surprised that she needed a much bigger frame than she used to use, but that is what their expert bike fitter recommended. And she was lucky that she got the last one in the store of that model, she was so lucky that it was her size.

Same as you, seatpost shoved all the way down. Every time I fly out to see her, I see that same bike hanging in the garage with a couple more years of dust on it. She has moved four times since, but still keeps moving that bike from new garage to new garage every time she moves for a new job.