:roflmao::beer:

Most road bikes are very similar in fit, components and frame geo. I would have opted for an endurance road bike if I found one for sure.

I dont think there's anything wrong with the frame fit, unless I just don't fit on any road bike that's ever been designed for people my size.

What?

Precisely.

You need to post less, and read more. A lot more. We are trying to help you, but it seems pointless if you refuse to help yourself.

There's an old saying about having two ears and one mouth, and that one should listen twice as much as one talks. The problem here, it seems, is that he's got a ratio of ten typin' fingers to two readin' eyes.

Maybe we're being too hard on the OP. We know he's a tall fellow... Maybe he's oddly proportioned? Might be tough to get the right fit.

Who here remembers "Stringbean" from the old Hee haw show? I wonder what kind of bike would fit him.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/7126/vvMnWY.jpg

And if bicycling doesn't pan out, there are other way for folks of this stature to get their exercise:

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/6299/ZsHWbO.jpg

I am 6'5 and have managed to find bikes that fit me fine. Since I like old steel, my c&v frames are all admittedly a couple cm smaller than ideal, but I make it work. My main road bike and gravel bike though?- dead on fit.

Based on things you have said, you are in your mid-20s and a body builder so you are clearly both young and in good shape. You dont have some extreme fitment issue due to age or injury that is keeping you from fitting on a road bike.

Instead of trying to go for a look(which you mention you are going for on this bike), try to go for fit first.
- Just use the crankarms that are on the bike and set the saddle at the appropriate height. Ignore all your temptation to slap a goofy long crankset onto the bike and just get your leg extension set properly.
- Next, set your saddle angle and placement on the seatpost. Get it so it is in a neutral level position since when it tilts down that places weight on your wrists and makes you constantly counter the sliding by pushing back.
- Then, set your bars in a comfortable height and reach. If you need, get a 17deg rise 80mm stem so it is crazy high and short. Start there and work your way both out in length and down in angle. Stop when it is comfortable.

Thats really it- nothing magical. Notice that I didnt suggest you slam the stem for a look and then figure out fit from there. Your bike isnt built with aggressive race geometry.

He has posted some pics like that. The position reminded me of Mrs. Doubtfire, though a little bit less aero.

If y'all enjoy Moisty's fit advice, he and the other one are handing it out pretty freely in Fitting Your Bike.

Thank you guys, I will adjust my saddle a little and get some help with some pictures.

I'm not sure why you guys think I care about aesthetics with this bike? Not important to me at all. Only fit is. This is why I posted pictures.

I just ordered some surly truck stop bars in 48cm size. The reach and drop is on the fairly conservative side which should work well with the long stem and top tube.

@mstateglfr obviously you understand that everyone has awkward proportions? My inseam is 46% of my total height which isn't wildly disproportionate, but I certainly do feel that is messes with my bike fit a bit. I also have very long arms which makes things a bit more complicated still as my torso is relatively shorter, but I need extra space for my arms to stretch out anyways.

I've tried a 90mm stem +7° and it felt too short. With some small tweaks to saddle position, stem length and the new handlebars I should get into a much more effective position. I am not far off - just need to make the position more comfortable so I can sustain great performance even when im starting to become fatigued.

The bottom bracket is 267mm, which like I said will cause striking around turns even with 175mm arms. No way I'm going longer than that.

hazetguy no pictures on fantastic KHS as of yet. Fit pictures coming. Unfortunately no more riding until the roads are dry and clean.

That reminds me, gotta go check out that section rofl

shelbyfv the Surly bars are literally almost the exact same in sweep and drop/reach, just 2cm wider. So you prefer the 12° sweep over typical straight drop bars?

I'll ignore the other dross in this post and respond just to the bolded sentence: Your problem is not equipment. Your problem is not knowing how to ride a bike.

In fairness, it does look like he's got some big honking platforms on there - maybe they do strike rather easily :twitchy:

I've got some big honking platform pedals on my SS commuter bike, and still don't get pedal strikes. But then, I know how to ride.

I can't speak for others but I think you care about the look over fit because earlier in this thread you said you want to get to a specific look vs a specific fit.
As for everyone having different body proportions, of course I am aware. My inseam barefoot is 46.42% of my height. My arm length is 102.5% of my height.


I am sure you still won't understand why I think you are going for look vs fit, but its there plain as day.
If reach is all that's an issue, Amazon a few cheap stems of varying length and return the ones that don't work on initial fitting.
Grab a cheap dumb trainer from almost anywhere and use it to dial in fit at home. It's all sitting on a trainer so you will feel a poor fit relatively easily.

Yes. The Ritchey Butano bar does have 12 degrees drop flare/sweep. That seems to put my wrists in a more comfortable position than straight drops. Note the Surly Truck Stop has a 30mm rise from the clamp section, a benefit if you want to be more upright. FWIW, the Ritchey bar has about 20mm more drop than the Truck Stop. Edit- just noticed you want a downward angled stem. That will look wrong/contradictory with the rise of the Truck Stop.

@mstateglfr interesting, it looks like we are proportioned about the same, you are like a bigger version of me xD

Like I said, aesthetics is totally irrelevant to me? Said it again.

@shelbyfv I compared the drop and reach on both those bars and they were within like 2 or 3 mm of each other despite the 30mm rise.

the rise wasn't really all that important for me - I was just looking for a drop and reach at or less than stock (125,80)... I realized that going from 44 to 46cm wouldn't be worth the effort and only settled once I found something that was 48cm. Looks like I actually bought the last pair in that size from the website I found.

I'm looking forward to trying out the 12° sweep! That should feel nice.

Ultimately I'm still looking for a slight upward angle on the stem because this frame has an aggressively low stack. I think those bars will work great for me anyways because they are almost exactly my shoulder width.

shelbyfv the surly bar is 3mm less drop and 1mm closer reach despite the 30mm rise, just checked.

I just read somewhere that the width in the drops is 535mm or something like that? Was hoping to stay closer to shoulder width, would there be any issues with that on such a road bike?

I guess you could geometry the width at the ends since you know two sides and an angle. Or wait until you get them and measure. Either way, I think you would scrape the pedal before the bar end.;)

What you are saying here is that seat-bar drop is excessive for your build or capacities ...... Whatever. If you have to make one part wrong to make another part more right, neither is right. Or maybe stop trying to pretend you are a World Tour racer and raise the bars and bring them closer so you can reach them without having to tilt the saddle so much it forces your forward onto the bars?

Alos .... I don;'t care how long your cranks are, if you are hitting pavement then you are doing it wrong. (Your bike does not have 170 mm BB drop .... the pictures show that.)

Just a note---if you are leaned way over, you will be more stable with the outside pedal down and all your weight on it. And don't pedal---hitting the ground is, like pain and badly positioned parts, a sigh that you need to make changes.

Seems you want the stem angled down for the same reason you don't like spacers---you'd rather have a bike that hurts to ride but which sme imaginary observer thinks "looks cool."

Here's a tip---90 percent of the people you pass think anyone on a bike is stupid and looks stupid, and of the rest, the ones who judge will think you look like a Fred unless you have the same brand of bike, wheels, drive train, and clothing they do ... in which case they will find you threatening. Ride your yourself, set up the bike for yourself.

Or don't.

I think the bike looks okay on a website.... but to me, any real-life bike which hurts to ride is broken and needs fixing, and I don't think broken bikes look good. Again ..... whatever.

This is exactly what I am talking about...

You provide a meaningless number about your inseam...how about you provide a metric or imperial length of your inseam length? That would be a really useful thing to know, to get a baseline sizing, not a percentage. If you walked into my shop and said, "Hey, I have a wonky inseam, it is 46% of my total height," I'd just look at you and say, "Okay." And then the conversation would turn to "give me a number I can use to relate to a bike frame size." Like, how long is your inseam standing on the floor barefoot? I don't actually own or work in a shop, but you get the idea, I think.

Your approach to the bar position is disastrous as well, but you've already been given solid advice on getting it right, so I will summarize in a simple to follow step-by-step: (1) by changing out stems, and removing/adding spacers if necessary, find the right position for the bar tops, then (2) evaluate the drops, if they still don't work for you, consider a different bar with a different bend and drop. Oh, and rotate the bar so the tops make a level (0° deflection from the ground) transition to the hood. You can adjust this a bit later if necessary, but I strongly advise against it. And, level your saddle, if you need a little bit of tilt on it, fine, tip the nose down 2-3°, which is not very much.

You need to stop this changing everything all at once business. Get methodical, one thing at a time in a logical order (most of your issues would be solved by figuring out: saddle position relative to crank axle (or pedal top), then bar tops relative to saddle, then make minor tweaks from there as you ride and figure out what works better). And if the bike doesn't fit, get a new bike. If you don't know what size bike you need (which seems like a real possibility), go talk to a shop. And DO NOT under any conditions start prattling on about your inseam percentage relative to height and short torsos with orangutan arms.