Keith, I'm just shy of 6' tall and I've always thought of myself as short legged and longer torso'ed but I'm no longer sure that is accurate. My 1983 MTB has a seat-tube of 57.5cm and a S.O. of 83 and I'm perfectly comfortable riding it. In fact, I like how little seat-tube is showing and how easy it is to get the handlebars high, even with a very short quill stem. Another bike has about a 57cm seat-tube and 84cm S.O. and I can ride it but wouldn't want to go any taller. My saddle height might be closer to 74cm as I've recently realized that the one I set at 75cm has a lot of padding I probably compress, My much flatter, less padded saddle sits at less than 75cm from the BB.
I've never ridden a Rivendell but I've looked at the geo charts of the bikes I'm interested in: I would ride a 54cm Hunqapillar. No question about it but the tires I would run would put the S.O. higher than I would want for anything rougher than smooth dirt. The next highest size would be way too big for me. On the Atlantis I think the 56cm would be the best height for me but given my experience with my other two bikes, I could ride a 58cm. The main appeal of the Atlantis for me is the 26" wheels so that would preclude the 58cm, regardless. I was thinking that maybe the 59cm Clem might be right for me but when Grant said up to 95 PBH, I pretty much counted it out. That's a huge jump and I'm thinking the 52 has to be the right size for me but it still sounds too small. The three framesets I'm currently considering are the Surly LHT (56cm/26" wheels), Troll (18") and Ogre (18"). The LHT would be just the right size although I might be able to stretch onto a 58cm. The Troll and Ogre will have a ton of seat post showing but that's normal for that type of bike and the extreme angle of the top-tube would make it very, very easy to get my handlebars where I want them. Plus, I really like the way MTB's ride. I'm currently riding a 26" wheel bike that is comparable in front-end geometry to the 26" LHT and it's a little too twitchy for me, even with Big Apples. I am coming off 3 weeks of riding an 83 MTB with 80 mm of Trail, though! I test rode a stock 26" LHT and the 26" wheels with 1.5" tires were just too twitchy for my tastes. I had thought maybe MTB bars and 55mm tires would fix that but my current bike with similar front geometry shows me that's not the case. I'm always on the lookout for a medium (18") Troll, Ogre or Karate Monkey with a saddle set at 75cm so I can see what the proportions look like and just his weekend a guy posted a Troll that fit the bill. It doesn't look too bad and given the Ogre has the same length seat tube, it should look the same. 18" Troll with 75cm saddle height: <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-18B1ZYRq_fA/VHvZghlZiJI/AAAAAAAAADg/EHSp-JwyoRs/s1600/Medium%2BTroll%2Bwith%2B75cm%2Bsaddle%2B001.jpg> On Sunday, November 30, 2014 7:04:19 PM UTC-6, iamkeith wrote: > > Chris, > > If that Trek is a 52, the seatpost actually looks just about right..... > for the era it was made. Funny how, once you know better, those old bikes > just don't seem right anymore. Another funny thing though is that a lot of > people still jack the post up even further when they take photos to share, > because they still think that the head-down, NORBA style looks authentic. > So it probably only looks hideous to you. > > You and Peter now have me wondering, though, as we all three seem to be > about the same size (87 PBH, 75.5cm saddle height). I had been expecting > that the 59 was going to be a good fit for me, but I'm not so sure after > Grant's comments above. If either of you don't mind answering, I'm > curious: > > How tall are you, overall? I'm just shy of 6'-2". I always describe my > self as freakishly long-torso/short inseam. Would be interesting if your > more "normal" proportions confirm this, though. I have three 60cm > Rivendells (Ram / Quickbeam / All Rounder) which all fit pretty darn well. > All have roughly the same (perfect) standover height, but progressively > longer top tubes. Unlike you, I like the longest best though > > Another question: Do you find yourself "between" sizes on other Rivendell > models? I do. For instance, (not having tried either) I really think I'm > squarely between the 58 & 61 Atlantis, and the 54 & 58 Hunquapillar. Which > is part of why is I've been hoping that this bike was going to work: A > fat, 700c Rivendell in *MY* size. > > FWIW, I don't think I'd worry about selection in 650b tires any more, > given the clearance that this model will likely have and the abundance of > mountain bike tires out there. I worry more about getting an > ideal fit..... but I fear, once again, that I'm going to fall in the > middle. Maybe the new Joe Appaloosa, if it has similar clearance and is > truly based on stretching the existing Sam Hillborne?????!!!!!!! A 58 > Sam could be just about right...... > > Crossing my fingers. > > > > > On Sunday, November 30, 2014 4:19:16 PM UTC-7, Chris Lampe 2 wrote: > >> I prefer a short top-tube but I'm worried about how much seatpost will be >> showing. I don't mind a lot of seatpost if the top-tube is sloped like a >> modern MTB. Riv's 2/6 degrees just won't work with a lot of seatpost. >> >> Actually, my primary concern is that I already have a set of Rich Lesnik >> built 700c wheels. I wouldn't mind having a set of 26" wheels built, and >> in fact, that's part of my tentative plan, because I know I like them and >> the tire selection for my riding style is good. 650B is an unknown >> quantity and I'm afraid I might be limited by tire selection. >> >> >> This is a 53.5 cm bike with the seatpost at the appropriate height for >> me. It's hideous. >> >> >> <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qlJY1HqdzIM/VHulu_VU0fI/AAAAAAAAADI/UNmEagrqRCQ/s1600/IMG_0774.JPG> >> >> >> And this is a 50cm. >> >> >> <https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-QD61-BVYSYc/VHul3axTnEI/AAAAAAAAADQ/EwlkBuHBJSw/s1600/0000000000000%2BRockhopper%2B%284%29.JPG> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On Sunday, November 30, 2014 2:31:44 PM UTC-6, Peter M wrote: >>> >>> I am the same size as you Chris and am wondering the same thing. I'm >>> afraid on a 52 the tt will be too short for my taste. >>> On Nov 30, 2014 1:52 PM, "Jim D Massachusetts" <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Any pictures? Jim D Massachusetts >>>> >>>> On Wednesday, November 26, 2014 2:48:04 PM UTC-5, James Warren wrote: >>>>> >>>>> It was smooth and stable and comfortable and responsive, the way all >>>>> Rivs are. It's going to be a great bike. And tire clearance. Wow! >>>>> Hunq-like. >>>>> >>>>> -Jim W. >>>>> >>>>> Sent from my iPhone >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to [email protected]. >>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>> >>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
