What Newbie Tourer for £600?

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531colin
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Re: What Newbie Tourer for £600?

Post by 531colin »

belgiangoth wrote:
531colin wrote:whats your saddle to pedal measurement that can't be accommodated by a 60cm frame?

come on colin, you know better than that - one measurement is not enough. Some people like large frames, some don't. I had someone 4" shorter than me ride my bike, he thought it was far too big for him and I think it's far too small for me. Sure, you can make bikes work with raised stems and seatposts, but that doesn't mean the bike fits.


With off-the-peg frames, one measurement is all you get.
I could turn your argument back on you, you say some like large frames, what do they mean by large frames?....do they want tall frames or long frames?
Most people who say they like large frames are people of my generation ( :oops: ) who have a fashion requirement for a tall frame with a horizontal top tube. Whatever happened to Freddie, who used to come on here and say "buy the biggest frame you can get your leg over"....I kinda miss him!
Back in the real world, I'm talking about production frames, and the trick is to make them as near as possible universally acceptable. So you have a sloping top tube, so theres plenty of clearance for folk that are bothered about that, and so you can get the bars relatively high for the "size" of the bike, but it can't be too sloped because some like their bars below their saddle, and steep slopes offend the traditionalists who actually wanted a horizontal top tube. Then you make sure the steerer is nice and long, and you have a range of bikes that will fit the huge majority of customers, with the usual trade-off between handlebar height and reach for somebody who could have either of 2 sizes.
Sure, no production series is going to satisfy everybody's aesthetic and fashion requirements, what with some not liking big stacks of spacers, some really wanting a 60s bike, let alone the occasional customer who could really do with a long or short top tube.....but you can fit the huge majority of customers.
Ayesha
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Re: What Newbie Tourer for £600?

Post by Ayesha »

OTP bike frames.

Important measurement is 'Stand over height'. This is based on the rider's LEG LENGTH, which is TOTAL HEIGHT minus SITTING HEIGHT. NOT inside leg.
S/O height is the height of where the upper (top) of the top tube meets the head tube.

All the other frame dimensions are based on AVERAGE human male skeletal ratios.

Seat height is a straight forward adjustment. Reach ( centre seat tube to centre head tube along the horizontal ) will be based on the average human male upper body dimensions for a man with the appropriate leg length.

Now some would argue REACH is the important measurement. It is important, but distance to the handlebars can be adjusted by fitting a different stem, and S/O height is adjusted by fitting wider or narrower tyres.
fatboy
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Re: What Newbie Tourer for £600?

Post by fatboy »

Before they mucked up the ctc website there was a good cj article about frame sizing that encouraged you to work out whether you were small, medium or large and working out frame sizes in the same way.and ignoring the inch or cm size. If someone knows where it is or get cj to repost it it is a really good guide to otp frame sizes.

Good luck

Chris

P.S if I were picking a bike I'd choose either the ridge ack or the dawes
"Marriage is a wonderful invention; but then again so is the bicycle puncture repair kit." - Billy Connolly
maxglide
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Re: What Newbie Tourer for £600?

Post by maxglide »

P.S if I were picking a bike I'd choose either the ridge ack or the dawes


Ridgeback ------ ?

I considered Dawes but, a few opinions I've heard & read say they're somewhat overpriced, and you could buy a similarly specced bike from other brands for less cash.
Ant
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Re: What Newbie Tourer for £600?

Post by Ant »

...
531colin wrote:Now as far as I'm concerned, the steerer is cut woefully short.....anybody who is tall enough to need a decent bit of seatpost showing is going to have the bars lower than the saddle unless they buy a high rise stem.
Ant has more or less bought a "size up" and got the bar height, then bought a short stem to reduce the reach...


Yes you're right about me buying a size up and the steerer is a little short, however the headtube is really quite tall which compensates somewhat. Personally I much prefer the look of a shortish forksteerer tube than the ones where the stem is set below the spacers (like the Spa images in this thread) leaving a random "pole" above the stem, which to my eyes look awful...

It also gives the options of long and low or upright and short with a simple stem swap OR an adjustable stem, which for this type of bike (commute, longer rides, possibly touring) seems ideal to me.
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531colin
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Re: What Newbie Tourer for £600?

Post by 531colin »

Ant wrote:......... I much prefer the look of a shortish forksteerer tube than the ones where the stem is set below the spacers (like the Spa images in this thread) leaving a random "pole" above the stem, which to my eyes look awful...............


Bear in mind that those are test bikes, their function is to be ridden by all sorts and sizes of people who come into the shop.
Once somebody had bought a bike and is happy with their riding position, the steerer is cut to suit.....they all start out this long.......

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Big T
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Re: What Newbie Tourer for £600?

Post by Big T »

maxglide wrote:
P.S if I were picking a bike I'd choose either the ridge ack or the dawes


Ridgeback ------ ?

I considered Dawes but, a few opinions I've heard & read say they're somewhat overpriced, and you could buy a similarly specced bike from other brands for less cash.


But if you buy from Spa Cycles you get a substantial discount on your Dawes, which makes them good VFM. The Vantage is RRP £600 but they are selling it for £480.
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maxglide
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Re: What Newbie Tourer for £600?

Post by maxglide »

But if you buy from Spa Cycles you get a substantial discount on your Dawes, which makes them good VFM.


Your JOGLE blog shows you on a Panorama. Were you happy with it? I've read nothing but positive reviews of the Ridge - although as a newbie, it's more than I'd want to spend. I'm interested in the Ridgeback Tour. No one in this thread has yet mentioned the Steel/Alu issue which I mentioned in the OP - so I'll assume it isn't a biggie.
Ant
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Re: What Newbie Tourer for £600?

Post by Ant »

531colin wrote:Bear in mind that those are test bikes, their function is to be ridden by all sorts and sizes of people who come into the shop. Once somebody had bought a bike and is happy with their riding position, the steerer is cut to suit.....they all start out this long.


Fair enough that does make sense, but bizarrely I've seen a few people riding around with bikes like that, strikes me as a bit dangerous too...

Still having the facility to raise/lower/lengthen reasonably easily does seem to be a good thing in my eyes, especially if you only have room for one bike. Certainly sizing and stem issues seem to consistently vex people, which is all the more reason to go to a "good" shop if you're lucky enough to have one nearby...
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531colin
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Re: What Newbie Tourer for £600?

Post by 531colin »

I might feel a bit safer on the road if cars all had a six inch metal spike in the centre of the steering wheel.......... :wink:
Ant
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Re: What Newbie Tourer for £600?

Post by Ant »

Yeah that might work!
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