6'6" beginner rider wonders: 62cm or 64cm Trek frame?

Per (PeteCresswell):

What I got from him was that once one exceeds 6'3" in height,
off-the-shelf solutions are not going to fit.

Written in haste....

I should amend that to "... off-the-shelf solutions are not going
to fit perfectly."

I've got four bikes. They all fit more-or-less, and they're all
off-the-shelf (one I ordered as "custom", but the measurements
just happened to turn out exactly the same as their off-the-shelf
"XL" or "XXL" size - can't recall which and the frame's been
discontinued).
--
PeteCresswell

In article ,
SMS wrote:

I don't think the issue here is saving a few bucks from Bikes Direct
versus going to an LBS, it's that there are no new, non-compact,
large frame, road bicycles sold by any shop in the U.S. anymore.

That's hardly true, Steven. Maybe that's just the situation around your
house, but my LBS has a nice selection of non-compact big framed bikes
on hand (as well as some "compact" ones too). But their product line
mix is not aimed at racers and wannabe racers like most shops. There's
not a scrap of CF in the store, for one thing.

--
Faith is believing what you know ain't so.
-Mark Twain

Kyle Bramblesglarb wrote:
Thanks for all the advice.

I'm a little discouraged that I can't just go into a store and put
down $1,000 to get something brand new in the right size. I really
didn't want to get into ordering stuff online and parting together a
bike.

There's a lot of things to take into consideration on this thread, so
I'm thinking on it. I really don't want to buy a frame on eBay and
peice stuff together. I don't know how to fix this stuff myself and I
don't want keeping the bike operational to be a constantly ongoing
effort. It's going to be hard enough for me to find time to ride, let
alone hot-rod around with tweaking it.

The benefit to buying a new bike from my local shop is that they'll
fit and re-fit it for me and give it free lifetime tuneups.

I'm using the bike this year to train and my end goal is to complete
the Seagull Century in October. Even though I'm really large, does
anybody here think a 62cm or 64cm compact will be "good enough" to not
kill my back or knees? I'm not going to ride it across Europe or
anything, just around Maryland.

Before taking that plunge into a compromised fit, see if
there is a Gunnar dealer near you:
http://gunnarbikes.com/site/shops/

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Tim McNamara wrote:
In article ,
SMS wrote:

I don't think the issue here is saving a few bucks from Bikes Direct
versus going to an LBS, it's that there are no new, non-compact,
large frame, road bicycles sold by any shop in the U.S. anymore.

That's hardly true, Steven. Maybe that's just the situation around your
house, but my LBS has a nice selection of non-compact big framed bikes
on hand (as well as some "compact" ones too). But their product line
mix is not aimed at racers and wannabe racers like most shops. There's
not a scrap of CF in the store, for one thing.

So what are the makes and models of those non-compact big frame
bicycles? I'm sure the original poster would love to know this
information. I sure haven't seen such an animal in any of the shops in
my area.

SMS wrote:
Peter Cole wrote:

If you're not interested in racing or fast club riding, consider a
touring bike, they're generally a bit nicer for tall people. Other
than that, a competent bike shop should be able to get you comfortable
on a frame that's a bit smaller than ideal. Mountain bike seat posts
are plenty long enough, there's just the problem of getting the bars
to a comfortable height and "reach" (the distance from the saddle, so
you're not scrunched up).

There are always extra long seat posts, steer-tube extenders, and longer
stems. But if it's at all possible, it's better to get a larger frame so
the use of these devices is limited. They do affect (negatively) the
ride quality.

I don't think the issue here is saving a few bucks from Bikes Direct
versus going to an LBS, it's that there are no new, non-compact, large
frame, road bicycles sold by any shop in the U.S. anymore. Anything you
buy from an LBS is going to require some creative (and non-free)
modifications to make it work.

Here's what the o.p. needs:

"http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/bik/1638512330.html"


Which planet was that again?
Gunnar builds to 68cm stock, larger customs 4 to 6 weeks.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

In article ,
SMS wrote:

Tim McNamara wrote:
In article ,
SMS wrote:

I don't think the issue here is saving a few bucks from Bikes
Direct versus going to an LBS, it's that there are no new,
non-compact, large frame, road bicycles sold by any shop in the
U.S. anymore.

That's hardly true, Steven. Maybe that's just the situation around
your house, but my LBS has a nice selection of non-compact big
framed bikes on hand (as well as some "compact" ones too). But
their product line mix is not aimed at racers and wannabe racers
like most shops. There's not a scrap of CF in the store, for one
thing.

So what are the makes and models of those non-compact big frame
bicycles? I'm sure the original poster would love to know this
information. I sure haven't seen such an animal in any of the shops
in my area.

I'm sorry you live somewhere that is so benighted. Two brands available
there, off the top of my head, include Rivendell and Gunnar, both of
which make frames up to 66 or 68 cm. They've had a Soma frame or two,
IIRC, and they go up to 66 cm.

Tall bikes not that hard to find, although a lot of bike shops won't
stock them for fear of never selling the things. Someone who is 6'6" or
6'10" is a fairly rare customer, after all.

--
Faith is believing what you know ain't so.
-Mark Twain

Tim McNamara wrote:
In article ,
SMS wrote:

Tim McNamara wrote:
In article ,
SMS wrote:

I don't think the issue here is saving a few bucks from Bikes
Direct versus going to an LBS, it's that there are no new,
non-compact, large frame, road bicycles sold by any shop in the
U.S. anymore.
That's hardly true, Steven. Maybe that's just the situation around
your house, but my LBS has a nice selection of non-compact big
framed bikes on hand (as well as some "compact" ones too). But
their product line mix is not aimed at racers and wannabe racers
like most shops. There's not a scrap of CF in the store, for one
thing.
So what are the makes and models of those non-compact big frame
bicycles? I'm sure the original poster would love to know this
information. I sure haven't seen such an animal in any of the shops
in my area.

I'm sorry you live somewhere that is so benighted. Two brands available
there, off the top of my head, include Rivendell and Gunnar, both of
which make frames up to 66 or 68 cm. They've had a Soma frame or two,
IIRC, and they go up to 66 cm.

Tall bikes not that hard to find, although a lot of bike shops won't
stock them for fear of never selling the things. Someone who is 6'6" or
6'10" is a fairly rare customer, after all.


I think both bikes are well outside the OP's stated price range.

The Gunnar bike frames look very nice. It's good to know that they
make something for large sizes. But you're right, Peter, the frame
alone costs about what the budget for my whole bike is.

My local bike shop has a fitting station contraption, so I'm going to
head down there this weekend and see what they say my geometry needs
are.

Per Kyle Bramblesglarb:
The Gunnar bike frames look very nice. It's good to know that they
make something for large sizes. But you're right, Peter, the frame
alone costs about what the budget for my whole bike is.

I looked at Gunnar's "Ruffian" SS frame: $1,125 off-the-shelf...
Sheesh!

My Surly 1x1 was a little under $300 with
fork/shipping/taxes/chasing & facing the BB shell.

I had to do some cruel and unusual things to the Surly to get a
comfortable fit... but it seems tb working for me.

The Ruffian is nicer - especially the disc mount locations that
don't contend with a luggage rack.... but, in the context of my
own budget, it's not $800+ nicer.
--
PeteCresswell

In article ,
Peter Cole wrote:

Tim McNamara wrote:
In article ,
SMS wrote:

Tim McNamara wrote:
In article ,
SMS wrote:

I don't think the issue here is saving a few bucks from Bikes
Direct versus going to an LBS, it's that there are no new,
non-compact, large frame, road bicycles sold by any shop in the
U.S. anymore.
That's hardly true, Steven. Maybe that's just the situation
around your house, but my LBS has a nice selection of non-compact
big framed bikes on hand (as well as some "compact" ones too).
But their product line mix is not aimed at racers and wannabe
racers like most shops. There's not a scrap of CF in the store,
for one thing.
So what are the makes and models of those non-compact big frame
bicycles? I'm sure the original poster would love to know this
information. I sure haven't seen such an animal in any of the
shops in my area.

I'm sorry you live somewhere that is so benighted. Two brands
available there, off the top of my head, include Rivendell and
Gunnar, both of which make frames up to 66 or 68 cm. They've had a
Soma frame or two, IIRC, and they go up to 66 cm.

Tall bikes not that hard to find, although a lot of bike shops
won't stock them for fear of never selling the things. Someone who
is 6'6" or 6'10" is a fairly rare customer, after all.


I think both bikes are well outside the OP's stated price range.

Well, he may be stuck there given his size. At 6'4", which is really
not that unusual since I see a *lot* of people my height when out in
public places, I have a hard time finding stuff that fits properly
(pants, shirts, shoes let alone biking equipment). For every inch
taller than me, the options must get significantly fewer.

If he really has to stay within that price range, he'd probably be best
off looking for a used bike that's big enough on Craigslist or eBay
(having a quick look just now I saw nothing larger than 62 cm, though).

--
Faith is believing what you know ain't so.
-Mark Twain