Recommended bike for tall person in urban area

Hello, I'm not too knowledgable on what the differences are between
various types (road/mountain/etc.) and makers, so I was wondering if
anyone had a suggestion.

I live in Tokyo and love covering the city on my bike. I currently
have what they call a "mama-chari", which essentially is a cheap
aluminum job from China with fenders and a basket. It does ok, but
with constant road construction and bumpy sidewalks, it wears me out
after a while (though I don't feel like my leg muscles are really
getting a good workout).

Anyway, I was looking for a bike that would be well suited for a long
day (8+ hrs) out through the city, over sidewalks, main streets, back
alleys, etc. It's may also worth noting that I am rather tall (almost
190cm) but quite slim. I suppose I want to buy one of the largest
bikes I can find? (what would that be?)

I've read that steel frames and "traditional" geometry ones are more
desirable than aluminum, compact frames. I'm not sure how relevant
this is.

I love the feeling of cruising through the city more than almost
anything, so I'm willing to pay for at least a mid-level bike.

If anyone has a suggestion for a type/maker, or what particular
points/elements I should look for/compare to, I'd be much obliged.
Thank you!!

"HeroOfSpielburg" wrote in message
om...
Hello, I'm not too knowledgable on what the differences are between
various types (road/mountain/etc.) and makers, so I was wondering if
anyone had a suggestion.

I live in Tokyo and love covering the city on my bike. I currently
have what they call a "mama-chari", which essentially is a cheap
aluminum job from China with fenders and a basket. It does ok, but
with constant road construction and bumpy sidewalks, it wears me out
after a while (though I don't feel like my leg muscles are really
getting a good workout).

Anyway, I was looking for a bike that would be well suited for a long
day (8+ hrs) out through the city, over sidewalks, main streets, back
alleys, etc.

Is an "urban" bike available to you in Tokyo? I'm thinking of something like
the REI Buzz:
http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...ory_rn=4502048

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Claire Petersky
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Hero-san asked about what type of bike to ride in Tokyo.

When I lived near Tokyo over 20 years ago it seemed there were
competent frame builders all over the place, although most bikes on the
street were mass-produced but servicable bikes like your mama-chari. I
imagine you could find a real bike shop and they could help you out. I
think I would avoid the depato stores, but my observations are 20 years
out of date.

I was a teen and owned a junky BMX-style kid bike but I often rode my
dad's custom bike, a very sweet road/touring bike. This was on the
junky roads all over the town I lived in. I don't recall there being
sidewalks where I lived. I always rode in the street in conditions that
would horrify most of today's bike lane advocates. My first bike-car
collision was when I was about 12 years old and I mis-judged a gap and
*I* knocked the side mirror off of a car. My friends hurried off while
I muttered gomenesais to the driver as I picked up the mirror and
dropped it through his open window.

I used the mama-chari for shopping trips for bokuno okasan.

For all-day and long distances, nothing beats a touring bike with drop
bars. Mountain, hybrid, and commuter bikes are suited more for shorter
distance riding, though their wider tires means they do better in rough
conditions. In your case, it seems either touring or commuter bikes
would work well in different ways. Personally, I would use a touring
bike with 28mm or wider tires, but that's because I can't handle flat
handlebars for much more than seven or eight miles. Other people have
much better luck with them and a commuter or hybrid works well for
them, even with longer distances.

RFM
http://www.masoner.net/bike/

HeroOfSpielburg says...

Hello, I'm not too knowledgable on what the differences are between
various types (road/mountain/etc.) and makers, so I was wondering if
anyone had a suggestion.

I live in Tokyo and love covering the city on my bike. I currently
have what they call a "mama-chari", which essentially is a cheap
aluminum job from China with fenders and a basket. It does ok, but
with constant road construction and bumpy sidewalks, it wears me out
after a while (though I don't feel like my leg muscles are really
getting a good workout).

Anyway, I was looking for a bike that would be well suited for a long
day (8+ hrs) out through the city, over sidewalks, main streets, back
alleys, etc. It's may also worth noting that I am rather tall (almost
190cm) but quite slim. I suppose I want to buy one of the largest
bikes I can find? (what would that be?)

I've read that steel frames and "traditional" geometry ones are more
desirable than aluminum, compact frames. I'm not sure how relevant
this is.

I love the feeling of cruising through the city more than almost
anything, so I'm willing to pay for at least a mid-level bike.

If anyone has a suggestion for a type/maker, or what particular
points/elements I should look for/compare to, I'd be much obliged.
Thank you!!

If you love urban riding, get a full suspension mountain bike and mount
slick tires. Nothing else compares. I don't know what is available, but
I would think that at the very least Giant bikes would be common. Road
bikes are fragile and harsh for urban riding. Hybrids aren't much better
and usually have cheesy components like cheap suspension forks and
suspension seatposts that either don't work or won't last, or both.

On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 14:54:29 +0000, Super Slinky wrote:

If you love urban riding, get a full suspension mountain bike and mount
slick tires. Nothing else compares.

Really now, why do you want to haul around ten pounds of unecessary weight
on a bike that you can't mount a proper rack or fenders onto? Nothing else
compares because nothing else could come close to being as impractical.

I'm going to agree with a lot of folks and recommend the
touring/cyclocross bike route. Get a big frame so that you can get the
bars up to saddle height or higher. I think drop bars are most comfy, but
that's up to you. I like steel bikes better since many of the aluminum
models are overbuilt, giving a harsh ride. That's not to say that there
aren't some nice aluminum models to be found. Jamis makes affordable bikes
in this category.

Mount full coverage fenders and a nice sturdy rack with panniers for all
the tchochkes you'll find pedaling about.

You might want to get a suspension seatpost, but most of your suspension
on such a ride will be from decent tires such as a set of Continental top
tour, or Schwalbe Marathon. 700x35 or therebouts would be a good size.

Hero-san wrote:

I've read that steel frames and "traditional" geometry ones are
more desirable than aluminum, compact frames. I'm not sure how
relevant this is.

I forgot to address this part of your inquiry in my earlier response.

The geometry is the angles of the tubes in your frame. More relaxed
geometries such as found in touring bikes, commuters, and hybrids
result in a ride that's not as stiff as that in the tighter geometries
of many modern road bikes.

RFM

On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 09:44:05 -0800, Fritz M wrote:

The geometry is the angles of the tubes in your frame. More relaxed
geometries such as found in touring bikes, commuters, and hybrids result
in a ride that's not as stiff as that in the tighter geometries of many
modern road bikes.

Not to be contrary...but I thing the geometry has much more to do with how
a bike handles, The more relaxed the angles, the more "comfy" it feels in
the sense that it's less responsive and "twitchy" like a race bike. I'd
say tubing gauge, type, and composition would have more impact on the
amount of road vibrations encountered and the feeling of rigidity.
Rigidity is a double edged sword--it makes the bike less comfortable, but
increases efficiency at time, like when you're standing and hammering it
on a hill. Your energy then goes to the rear wheel, and not into bending
the frame. I'm of the ride a compliant frame and learn to gently spin
school of riding myself. :P

I was looking at a bunch of bikes on the web the other day, touring,
cyclocross, and road, and it did seem to me that the head and seat angles
were pretty much the same, perhaps with the touring frame a degree
shallower. The biggest difference seemed to be with the wheelbase,
the touring/cyclocross bikes were quite a bit longer in the top tube
and chainstay areas.

: I was looking at a bunch of bikes on the web the other day, touring,
: cyclocross, and road, and it did seem to me that the head and seat angles
: were pretty much the same, perhaps with the touring frame a degree
: shallower. The biggest difference seemed to be with the wheelbase,
: the touring/cyclocross bikes were quite a bit longer in the top tube
: and chainstay areas.

my touring bike (an 84 Schwinn) handles like a plow horse; my road bike
(2001 Bianchi Veloce) is like riding a mosquito.
the frame geometry is more relaxed on the touring bike and i can feel it in
the stable ride, resistance to turning, no ability to accelerate, and
climbing difficulty.

pat in TX

On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 20:10:24 -0600, Pat wrote:

resistance to turning, no ability to accelerate, and climbing difficulty.

I'll buy your "resistance to turning" since that's the idea--long term
stable comfort with a leisurely turn here and there, but the no ability to
accelerate and difficulty with climbing are pretty subjective. Certainly a
pedal masher will experience maximum efficiency with an extremely rigid
bike, but that same rider could also pedal at a more efficient cadence and
by using technique, pour more energy into speed than into the frame.

I'd be the first guy in class to recommend the super rigid frame to mister
thunderthighs low rpm sprinter dude, that makes sense. :P I think a lot of
average riders would benefit a lot more from learning to spin more
efficiently, something that's a lot cheaper than just buying the latest
super duper frameset...

"maxo" wrote

Not to be contrary...but I thing the geometry has much more to do with
how
a bike handles, The more relaxed the angles, the more "comfy" it feels in
the sense that it's less responsive and "twitchy" like a race bike. I'd
say tubing gauge, type, and composition would have more impact on the
amount of road vibrations encountered and the feeling of rigidity.
Rigidity is a double edged sword--it makes the bike less comfortable, but
increases efficiency at time, like when you're standing and hammering it
on a hill. Your energy then goes to the rear wheel, and not into bending
the frame. I'm of the ride a compliant frame and learn to gently spin
school of riding myself. :P

Congratulations, every frame myth in one paragraph.