Bob there is an even simpler way to affect the correct positioning without extended headtubes and without goofy stems with horrendously long quills and extensions. Use a 0-degree stem instead of a -17-degree stem. Yea it looks a little goofy when you first see it. The stem points up a bit, but I feel it's an easy trade-off.
Altering the frame design from ideal (particularly when we're talking about custom frames) just to suit a single small component is just silly. Stems come in a vast array of styles and materials to suit every fit possibility. If for some reason you can't find a stem that works, heck those can be custom made to for around $100. What's cooler
than a custom stem to go with your custom frame?
The other problem is folks think a lot about the width of their bars, but not about the drop or depth. Also rotating your brake levers higher up on the the curve helps too best, Brandon"monkeyman"Ives spending the day at home designing bikes in Vancouver, B.C.
On Monday, Mar 20, 2006, at 07:29 US/Pacific, BobHoveyGa@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 3/19/06 3:02:51 PM,
> classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.or
> g
> writes:
>
>
>>
>> We have just about beaten this tired old horse to death, with some
>> folks
>> abhorring those extended head tubes and others, like myself, not
being
>> bothered by the look of them and even liking the functionality of
>> them.
> Joe
>> Stark presented a link to a very nice bike with an extended head tube
>> http://rivendellbicycles.com/
>> http://rivendellbicycles.com/
>> I'd like to mention something that hasn't yet been touched upon, I
>> believe
> .
>> Those of us who ride smaller bikes often have the esthetic value if
>> the
>> lugwork around the head tube diminished by the fact that with such a
>> small
>> head tube there usually isn't enough room for the lugs to develop
>> fully to
>> please the eye because this space is "cramped". Note how on this
>> bike t
> he
>> full pattern and flow of the head lugs has been allowed to develop
>> and
>> imagine how it would have looked if they had been compressed into a
>> normal
>> head tube length. Hope I am articulating this well enough, It's a
>> tough
>> thing to explain my thoughts fully, but very small bikes often seem
>> disproportionate and suffer to my eye by the head tube being too
>> short to
>> allow the bikes design to be represented fully.
>> I think this bike does this very nicely.
>> Tom Sanders
>> Lansing, Mi
>>
>>
>
>
>
> Good point, Tom. I ride an even smaller frame than you do and it's
> painful
>
> to look at some of the fancy-lugged bikes in my size, especially if
> they als
> o
> have large head badges. Sometimes, they are more than cramped,
> they're
> butchered... bits of the lugs or headbadge get nipped off, or they
> substitut
> e a
> smaller decal or head badge.
>
> As long as we're airing our complaints, I have to say this about
> Rivendells
> (from a purely visual viewpoint). When Grant was at Cirque a few
> years ago
> ,
> he spoke at some length about his "alternative" riding position and it
> made
> a
> lot of sense, and not just for us folks whose backs aren't what they
> used to
>
> be. Still, I think his method of acheiving this end may leave a bit
> to be
> desired. While I do not find the extended head tube hideous (I'd
> prefer it
> not
> be there, but frankly I don't find it too objectionable), what I do
> react
> strongly to is his increased use of the sloping top tube. For me,
> this is
> where
> the bike crosses the line into "hideous" territory. There is an
> elegance a
> nd
> implied stability in a bike whose top tube is parallel to the ground
> and no
> matter how many moodern bikes I look at, the sloped top tube is a
> feature I
> just
> cannot get used to (even when it is only a few degrees, as on some
> Rivendells).
>
> Frankly, there's gotta be a better way to acheive the more upright
> riding
> posture that Grant suggests, besides the sloped top tube, extended
> head tube
> ,
> ridiculously long stems, or non-existant seatpost extension on a
> taller than
>
> normal frame. To me, all these are inelegant solutions (visually). I
> think
> what
> we are really looking for here is perhaps a modification of the only
> item
> left... the handlebars. I'm not sure why so many of us seem
> reluctant to m
> ess
> with the traditional dropped bars, but if you're really looking for a
> more
> upright riding position without monkeying with the frame or installing
> a goo
> fy-long
> stem, it sounds like this is the way to go. I've seen some very
> appealing
> upswept bars, designs both vintage and modern, and I'm wondering why
> so many
> of
> us would rather return from a long ride with sore backs than consider
> their
> use (and I must ask this question of myself as well, since at this
> point, al
> l
> my bikes have dropped bars).
>
> Bob Hovey
> Columbus, GA