When Steve inquired about a custom frameset, I knew it was going to be big. At 6 feet 3 inches, the off the shelf bikes just didn’t fit him that well. To accommodate a tall bike like this, I opted to use larger diameter thin wall tubing so it wouldn’t feel so willowy. Some people like steel frames for their liveliness but there are limits to what is and is not pleasant to ride. The tubing is True Temper as they could supply me with the lengths and diameters required for the seat tube and down tube. Similar to one of my earlier builds with the oversize 31.8mm seat tube, I was not happy with the availability of 30.6mm seatposts on the market so I opted to turn down a Nitto oversize seatpost to 30.6mm on the lathe and re-polish it. The main components on this bike are from the Campagnolo Athena 11 speed alloy group. It’s silver crankset, shifters, and derailleurs go very well with the Velo-Orange brakes, stem, and wheelset. The handlebars are Deda 44cm wide that I polished silver. The pump on the drive side seat stay is a Lezyne painted to match. Steve picked out a bright red for the color which definitely makes this bike stand out of the crowd.
See the full slideshow of pictures.
Almost as tall as they come
January 6, 2013
When Steve inquired about a custom frameset, I knew it was going to be big. At 6 feet 3 inches, the off the shelf bikes just didn’t fit him that well. To accommodate a tall bike like this, I opted to use larger diameter thin wall tubing so it wouldn’t feel so willowy. Some people like steel frames for their liveliness but there are limits to what is and is not pleasant to ride. The tubing is True Temper as they could supply me with the lengths and diameters required for the seat tube and down tube. Similar to one of my earlier builds with the oversize 31.8mm seat tube, I was not happy with the availability of 30.6mm seatposts on the market so I opted to turn down a Nitto oversize seatpost to 30.6mm on the lathe and re-polish it. The main components on this bike are from the Campagnolo Athena 11 speed alloy group. It’s silver crankset, shifters, and derailleurs go very well with the Velo-Orange brakes, stem, and wheelset. The handlebars are Deda 44cm wide that I polished silver. The pump on the drive side seat stay is a Lezyne painted to match. Steve picked out a bright red for the color which definitely makes this bike stand out of the crowd.