> Jay Sexton wrote (sniped)
The Bates has a 59 cm top tube! Depending on top tube length, I can ride anything from a 53 to a 56, but in order to ride a 59 I would have to use a very short stem, which would affect the handling negatively I imagine. What kind of bar/stem combo would have originally been used with this frame?
Better question to start with is what is the setback, with the Bates I bet the setback is very large, if you set this up with a more modren position and bars, the seat post (probably seat clamp) could be easily reversed to move the seat forward. One could even want a dog leg post but those were from even earlier. Bars /brake levers of this era also had an effect. Narrower bars, less drop and levers that guided one to the drops or top of the bar, not "on the hoods" also played a part of positioning a rider.
'Correct" position has evolved with time, but 59cm is on the longer side.
Perhaps as like often with a Mixtie frame, flat bars or some version of were planned. A long front triangle mixtie makes much more sense with a flat bar set up. My Phillips roadster has a very slack seat tube coupled with a generous top tube making flat bars not a bad choice.
Short stems do translate into requiring less movement, otherwise one finds themselves darting around, but it is not that different. Wider bars have a similar effect.
John Jorgensen
Torrance Ca