RE
it really is true that Americans were growing taller in the
> 1960's and 1970's. When my parents, 5'11 and 6'1.5" arrived in
> central Illinois in 1956, they towered over all the UIUC students. By
> the mid-70's, they were not so tall any more ...
Yeah what was that whole thing of supersized frame sizes? I will say that we Can Not blame it on Mr Euegene, however long he has been laid to rest. I recall the supersized frame sizing issue going way back to very very very early 70s, and perhaps even 1960s, well before the Sloane tome. My first higher end bike was fitted to me at 59cm with my inseam only 32inches!!
This resulted in more goosing with a saddle tip than I can to think about and not to mention impact to other areas by the top tube; but the swelling has gone down enough that you can hardly even notice it after all these years.
I ended up riding a 57cm one time and realized something was askew since it handled so much better for me. Then again, I confess i was never realy properly fitted until 1981 and then found out that 56cm ws my size. We can not blame any of this on poor Mr. Eugene...Lord rest his soul.
Seriously, I wonder how many years passed between most members first higher-end bike and getting properly fitted for performance and comfort. Granted I got a lot of miles on a 59cm frame and fun ones too, but once I started on a 56cm size, a whole different world opened up for me. Then again, Eugene is gone and maybe it ws his fault after all for making me ride a frame made for Miguel Indurain.
Best Regards
Nels Cone
Seattle WA
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:06:24 -0700
> From: gillies@ece.ubc.ca
> Subject: Re: [CR] Eugene A. Sloane
>
>
> The thing about Sloane was that he knew his audience PERFECTLY WELL!
>
> Whenever it was time to show the disassembly of some elementary part,
> did he show Shimano 105 hubs? Suntour VGT derailleurs? Never! When
> disassembling your bike, only the finest Campagnolo Nuovo Record or
> Dura Ace parts could be removed! Even when adjusting the handlebars,
> they were always cinelli!! These parts were unobtainium in much of
> the midwest, where Sloane lived (Chicago), so just seeing photos of
> this stuff was MechE and/or artistic titillation ..
>
> And Sloane always had a really hot babe in hot pants straddling a bike
> in ALL of his bike-fit photos. Turns out she was his neighbor's
> daughter or something. Anyway, she was always there to demonstrate
> (what was she there to demonstrate?? I already forgot !! I think she
> was the main DEMONSTRATION!)
>
> Bike porn, and softcore porn, all in one handy volume!
>
> - Don Gillies
> San Diego, CA, USA
>
> P.S. it really is true that Americans were growing taller in the
> 1960's and 1970's. When my parents, 5'11 and 6'1.5" arrived in
> central Illinois in 1956, they towered over all the UIUC students. By
> the mid-70's, they were not so tall any more ...