ehcoplex 

My 58cm '72 PX-10, with the seatpost and stem maxed out, and still not 'tall' enough. After this photo I went to a tall Technomic stem and a longer seatpost from Velo Orange. It worked, but..... I managed to find a '72 62cm blue PX-10 last summer, so everything has been moved over to that frame and it's a better fit (and I can use the original stem and Simplex seatpost). I also picked up a 175mm Stronglight 93 crankset- I was a little skeptical about whether I'd even notice a difference (and if pedal strike would become a problem)- I definitely notice a difference, especially on hills.

ehcoplex 

French-fit, ne plus ultra....!

noglider 

Here is my 1971 Raleigh Super Course. I figured I should use a tall stem, but now I find it's too tall for me. I've left it like this for a few years anyway, because it's close to good enough.

slow rollin

First picture off the lighthouse didn't work. Full on only on the tops with extended fingers. Bike is a 53 ctc seat and 57 ctc top with at the time 130mm stem.
Went to a 100mm technomic and it's kinda high and maybe not long enough, but I haven't been riding it enough to see. At least it's doable now.

Benotto is a 54 ctc top and seat. Need to ride it more but it's reasonably comfortable. Isn't fully setup yet.

Found I can do with a normal stem a 56 ctc up to a 62 ctc seat tube. Long legs and arms short torso build. Also found 44cm bars fit me the best but most bikes seem to come with 40's.

Velosophy

What a bunch of sweet rides you’ve put together out there. Impressive bunch.
Great thread! I think I will be showing a bunch of seat post and stem on my Nishiki repaint. It’s only 52 and I ride 56. But hey I wanted to save the frame so mission accomplished.

Chr0m0ly 

24” (60cm) a bike that fits

57 cm (and I think this is measured CtT so really a 56cm)
The attempt to make one fit.

grumpus

That was probably their attempt to reduce toe strike. But stand over is low, so we'll call it a good fit. 😁

John E

Interesting point. The OEM UO-8/AO-8 fork has a long offset, presumably to avoid toe strike.
Since I bought mine as a bare frame, I was on my own for a fork, and the one I installed brings the front wheel closer to the bottom bracket, and yes, I do have toe-to-tire overlap, even with a 700C front wheel replacing the original 27" and 165mm cranks replacing the original 170s. Turns out not to be the big issue the Consumer Product Safety Commission claimed it was.

Fredo76

Besides the Nitto Technomic extra-long stems, this quill stem adapter is an option for threaded forks:

High Rider Stem Adapter 28.6 to 22.2mm - Soma Fabrications

Velosophy

Ehcoplex, that PX-10 is sweeeet. That can’t be original paint can it? Either way it’s a beauty

georges1

The jamis dragon is a 17 that I made fit to me thanks to a long seat post, 30° ritchey stem and high rise bar, the result is very good

georges1

Another one is the 1993 Giant Tourer, where I took the stem and seatpost out to the limit, again very good fit and the Giant is one ofmy most comfortable bikes

non-fixie 

The first bike I ever took on a vacation trip was this Gijs van Tuyl Racing Feather touring bike. The tall stem I had available for the build at the time was a bit short, but the bike turned out to be pretty comfortable nonetheless. A really nice frame. If only it were a couple of inches taller ...

beicster 

I prefer 25.5” or 26” frames. Unfortunately, Raleigh did not make the International in that size. This is a 24.5”. Not terribly small. I just prefer the look of less seat post and stem. It rides incredibly well so it is allowed to stay.

Mr. 66

The Pro Miyata is right on brink. Here it is, with the seatpost at minimum insert. I need a tiny bit more extension. It is set up with 170mm cranks. The bar reach and drop are more than more of the recent build.

I think a 172.5 crank may take that feeling of small away. A 175 would definitely give me the extension at the stock seatpost maximum height.

daywood 

I recently also posted this as part of a discussion about how stem length affects fit and stability but seems appropriate here, too. This bike is small for me but it works with lots of seat post and the 110mm stem that was original on it. I think it being small is part of why it’s a blast to ride. Probably waxing too philosophical now, it may be a time machine back to when I was a kid and practically lived on my bike, and that bike was too small for me except in the first year I had it.

Robvolz 

I apologize if this is redundant info…

the Nitto stems,
the dynamic is normal geometry like you’d expect

the dynamic 2 has a great upward slope, for a more relaxed ride.

merziac

All good, anything that makes any of this work is golden.

Many of us are past the point where form can still overrule function, whatever it takes to get down the road well is what it is, again, all good.

I've gotten plenty of grief for many of my setups and I have no sense of humor about it, my bikes, my rules, nobody else will be riding them.

jdawginsc 

Mountain bikes seem to be easier to morph to a usable size (not too big...just ranging on the small side).

I have ridden 15” frames comfortably up to about 20/21” (likely my “true” size).

Larger seatposts, angled quill stems...

Pompiere

I bought this Takara for $5 to scavenge a few parts. I put it back together with mountain bike parts to make it into a hybrid runabout.


Mid 80s Takara Advantage

SJX426 

This is my smallest size in the stable, 56.5.
I wanted to keep it all Campagnolo.
The only way to make it ridable was to use a Brooks saddle which I like anyway. The saddle is still a bit low for me and the post insertion line is just above the lug.
There might be 5k miles on this configuration. It is not ridden much as I don't ride as much as I should and this is only ridden on special occasions.


In contrast, the Langster is the largest frame at 61.

daywood 

That’s what I find, too. And they tended to have long top tubes relative to their seat tubes, and long stems with flat bars for a laid-out riding position. The challenge for me is that the low stack height that also contributed to the laid-out position means I usually need riser stems and sometimes riser bars to get the bars up as high as my elevated seat post. But taking that on has yielded some versatile and fun bikes.

For me, if I can get 36” from the top of the saddle to the top of a pedal at the bottom of the rotation, ~28” from the sit-bone area of the saddle to where the bar goes through the clamp (without putting the saddle at an extreme fore/aft position), and if where I grip the bar is at least level with the saddle, I consider the frame a fit for me. I think I’d run into problems with this approach at the extreme ends of the size range (like you noted), but I think it otherwise works.

celesteguy 

I love this saga of getting the right fit. Reminds me of a lot of my builds for various features. Also curious... what happened to the 22" frame !?

genejockey 

Still sitting in my garage. Frame and fork, Sante headset minus the covers, Sante BB cleaned and regreased in 2021.

celesteguy 

I see. Pm otw