03 Feb 2010

This sort of thing is what custom bikes are all about.

Geoff got in contact with us initially back in April wanting a custom Ti frame. In between bouts of being a goody-goody working for some NGO making sure the bad guys don’t bork things up, we exchanged lengthy emails about bike fit, what he was riding now and what issues he was having. I was horrified that at 6ft 6ins, he was riding a stock carbon frame and in his words -

“Getting a comfortable seat position versus arm and hand position is difficult.”

It was difficult because he was trying to fit on a bike barely big enough for me at 6ft 3ins!

Initially he was going to get fitted up by Steve Hogg, but the timing didn’t work out, so to coincide with his global galavanting, I managed to track down a fitter in DC who was recommended to me by a ‘pro bike fitting’ organisation who shall remain nameless because, to put it mildly, they’re utterly useless. The fitting I got back was that ‘old school’ method of fitting big guys - the one where the biggest downtube you can get is 660mm so you make the head tube angle 74 degrees, keep the chainstays as long as someone 5ft 9ins so they can pop wheelies when climbing, you know, just for fun. There were alarm bells going off bigtime, and I couldn’t with a clear conscience make a bike to the specs’ I was given, they were that wrong.

So in a tip of the hat to the good parts of globalisation [the part where our bike fitters crap all over those in the US], I got Geoff to send in a shed-load of measurements and gave them to Chris @ Bike Coach to interpret them. Between what I thought was right and what the numbers told Chris, we came up with a frame that frankly breaks all the old rules. Check out some of the numbers -

• Head Tube - 240mm
• Top Tube - 64cm
• Chainstays - 450mm
• Saddle Setback - 130mm
• Seat Tube Angle - 70.5 degrees

Now, even the most confident bike designer [unless you're Leonard Zinn perhaps] has got to have some trepidation in doing a bike like this. The vast majority of bikes are fairly averagely sized, and not being a ‘Specialist’ other than the fact that I’m not a little guy myself - and with the inertia of ‘tradition’ - bikes like that are always going to be exciting to do. I’ll just let Geoff sum it up -

“The measurements of the frame are as close to perfect as I could have wanted - and being in the right place now I’m actually riding a different saddle comfortably. What can I say, Iove it. I won’t ever ride something not made for me again. The feel on the road is way better than carbon and I can actually feel my weight properly proportioned between the wheels, rather than feeling like I’m perched precariously on top of the rear. Cornering and acceleration are both excellent, the oversize chainstays do a great job.”

Thanks for your faith and patronage, Geoff!

Posted by warwick @ 8:27 am

2 Responses to “Great Success!”

1. brett Says:
   February 4th, 2010 at 1:06 am

   Looks great!!!

   It doesn’t look like it was designed for a giant either (until you take a look at the length of the head tube that is).

   What finish is on the Ti?

2. thylacine Says:
   February 4th, 2010 at 1:41 am

   This is the standard finish now - a very fine media blast. I love brushed, but everyone thinks that the ‘Moots’ finish is brushed when it’s not….plus I hate spending 3 hours sitting in a pile of Scotchbrite slowing losing sensation in my fingers.

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