Quote:
Originally Posted by deluz
Doug,
Thanks for the thoughtful comments. I will try to address as best I can.
I am 64 years old. In my 20's I used to race and in my middle age (30-50) I would go on fast group rides and ride at my limit. I am now at the point where I ride much slower due to age, injuries and health problems. Even though I am riding slower I enjoy it just as much or more. I am not fat or overweight, I weight about what I did 20 years ago which is 140lbs. There are times where I like to push myself but that is only for short periods. I already have what you call a "go fast" bike which is a Cannondale EVO. This bike is to be a complement to that bike being steel and have a more relaxed geometry. Also being a second bike I have a limited budget. I realize that many here have unlimited resources to pick any builder and get a fitting. I simply do not have $5K to spend on this. So lets just call it a semi custom bike. I am going to very lucky if my wife even lets me go ahead with this.
Even though we are the same height we have very different proportions with your saddle being over 3 inches higher than mine.
My whole life I have ridden 170mm cranks and I am not going to change that now. The BB is actually lower than my Cannondale by 10mm. Most of the bikes I have had have a 74 STA and it works fine for me. In fact I usually use a zero offset seat post. Making the STA slacker would push my saddle further back which could be problematic. I have pretty much settled on 28c tires as I ride only on the road. I have recently spent a lot of time learning about geometry and have a lifetime of experience adjusting the fit on my bicycles. I have serious doubts that a fitter is going change anything substantial. There are not that many around and how do I know if they are any good? Not trying to be cynical here just putting down my thoughts.
|
This extra information about the kind of riding you expect to do and your body type is helpful. Many people base their next bicycle design on what they used in the past with small adjustments. This is a sensible plan but it doesn't mean it is the optimum plan. Production bikes are influenced to put the front wheel where rotating toes won't hit it or the company gets sued for rider injuries. Often this means a steep seat angle - especially on smaller bikes with shorter top tubes. I'm not saying a 74ยบ seat angle is wrong for you but my experience says that for a guy already in his 60's and hoping to ride for many more years, the odds are it probably should be slacker because you will continue to sit more upright. However I wouldn't know until I put you on a fitting bicycle that didn't have any position restrictions to verify. I've learned over the years that many riders thought their position was okay until they had a fitting done. And then its like "oh"! These experiences are why I don't just take the word of a customer/student that they have found by themselves their optimum position based on adjusting their components on a production frame.
I built a go fast frame for myself 30 years ago when I was in my 40's so I could (barely) stay with the big boys on fast training rides. I still ride that bike today but my stem is 2 centimeters shorter and higher than it was when I built it. You should plan for this to happen to you too.
Bottom bracket height is another area where a custom frame design can be superior to the higher heights common in production frames. Those heights were established in the days of quill pedals when that point sticking beyond your foot would scrape the ground when pedaling at speed through corners. Companies took no chances with whatever length of crank or type of pedal or cornering style. They were high enough so a pedal always missed. There are big advantages I've already explained to lowering your BB height if you don't need that clearance any more. That bike I mentioned that I built for myself that used 170 cranks had a BB height of less than 260mm. I'm no longer jumping out of corners trying to stay in the draft. I didn't need a higher bracket height than and even less so now. If you aren't riding crits, you don't need a crit height height.
Just like fitters, there is a huge variety in the knowledge and ability of custom builders. The ideal is Tom Kellogg at Spectrum. He was a knowledgable fitter, and excellent builder and painter. Unfortunately he retired and not everyone has his skills.