Steve Maasland wrote:
According to Ugo De
> Rosa, most Americans who get a custom made frames end up
with frames that
> are 2-3 cm smaller than what they are accustomed to. He
says their general
> reaction is of disbelief until they take the bike out for
a ride. They then never
> want to return to the larger frame size.
>
****
A friend--a member of this list actually--was once fitted by Colnago himself, and Colnago insisted that he should ride a 55cm c-t, if I recall right. From where I sit, frames in the 57cm - 58cm c-t are perfect for him. 55cm, for him, would require a 14cm stem and a lot of saddle set-back, not to mention a very bent-over riding position.
A small frame has certain advantages in competition...but the extreme position of the head and neck (so that a person can see ahead), can be very uncomfortable for much more than an hour or so, and can cause long-lasting injury in older types--like moi--who have already overworked the joint between the cervical and thoracic spine.
I'd love to be able to ride my 55cm c-t bikes set up for racing. I go a lot faster, especially up hills, and they do feel more like a part of my body...
Some of us get away with it. I've seen it myself and I am envious whenever I do, because I just can't do it anymore. The wages of doing it a LOT back in the bad old days I suspect... and the result of old injury to my neck joint.
Charles "been there, done that, got the tee-shirt--thank Providence for the Nitto technomic deluxe" Andrews fastcal
"...logic is man's most destructive illusion. All thinking is done with the glands, and the logic part gets stuck on afterward to neaten things up."
-- John D. MacDonald