Bike & Clothing for rider who is 6'-10"

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ajel
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Joined: 9 May 2011, 11:21am

Bike & Clothing for rider who is 6'-10"

Post by ajel »

I'm looking for some advice to help a very tall friend move on with his cycling. He is 6' - 10" tall with an in-seam measurement of 39".

Currently he has Trek mountain bike which was bought for him which seems to have the largest ready-made frame available. However, even with everything adjusted to it's highest, longest, furthest back settings he is still cramped on it, and his body position looks to be a long way off from what seem to be the 'normal' settings. It has been setup by his LBS to the best of their abilities but they acknowledge that really its never going to be completely comfortable.

He would now like to get a Road bike or fast Tourer in order to ride with his partner who has a road bike,and do longer, faster rides. Having asked around we cannot find a ready made bike which would be suitable for him and I think we've all accepted that the next move is probably to go to custom built frame / complete bike. However we don't know who to contact? He lives in Manchester.

...... Do you have any advice based on experience ?


Additionally he currently finds it impossible to find cycling clothes to fit him. He is not only very tall but quite slender so the normal tailoring where the width increases as the height increases is not appropriate.

....... From experience do you know of anyone who supplies very long-length, narrow fitting cycling clothes in the UK ?


Additionally he would be looking for some cleated cycling shoes of the mountain bike / touring recessed cleat type rather than road shoe type. He wears a size 14 / 15 shoe.

........Do you know of a supplier who stock,s or manufacturer who make a MTB/ Touring cleated shoe in that size.


Thank you for any responses.
Brucey
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Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Bike & Clothing for rider who is 6'-10"

Post by Brucey »

I've seen some great large frames built by custom builders. I'd suggest Bob Jackson is worth a look.

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
mig
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Joined: 19 Oct 2011, 9:39pm

Re: Bike & Clothing for rider who is 6'-10"

Post by mig »

a visit to brian rourke a few years ago saw the frame fit prior to my own for a 6' 8" chap wanting a "micro TT frame." not at all far from manchester. ditto steve goff.

clothes and shoes i'm supposing the usa?
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RickH
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Joined: 5 Mar 2012, 6:39pm
Location: Horwich, Lancs.

Re: Bike & Clothing for rider who is 6'-10"

Post by RickH »

Lusso are based near Manchester, near Radcliffe I believe, & I think they will do one-off/ small quantities. it might be worth giving them a ring (01617245222 according to the Best of British website)
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
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531colin
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Location: North Yorkshire

Re: Bike & Clothing for rider who is 6'-10"

Post by 531colin »

Theres an American framebuilder called Lennard Zinn who is six feet five, and a member of this forum "teh" who is tall enough to use 200mm cranks :shock:
He might be worth a PM.
teh

Re: Bike & Clothing for rider who is 6'-10"

Post by teh »

There is only one place on the planet to buy a sporting bike that works for someone that tall:

http://www.zinncycles.com

Zinn's custom cranks were historically made by:

http://www.hscycle.com/

You might be able to get them cheaper there.

If it were me, I'd take a trip to the States, buy a bike, and bring it back. If you take an old wreck, leave it, and bring back a new one, whose going to charge you VAT and import duty?

As for clothes, the only option I know of is: http://www.aerotechdesigns.com/

If your friend does decide to go with a British frame builder, please post the geometry so we can all have a laugh!
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531colin
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Location: North Yorkshire

Re: Bike & Clothing for rider who is 6'-10"

Post by 531colin »

teh wrote:..........If your friend does decide to go with a British frame builder, please post the geometry so we can all have a laugh!


Ouch! that stings! :shock: .....but you might just be right. How about tube sizes as well as geometry? Do we know rider weight?

Just thought of another forum member, Malaconotus, he is six feet five, big and strong, he works in a bike shop and knows his stuff, he would be worth a PM.
teh

Re: Bike & Clothing for rider who is 6'-10"

Post by teh »

I've seen it before. Massive skinny open frame, ridiculously steep head angle, and unrideable down a hill. And, the ubiquitous 170mm cranks! What a joke! You've got to see a guy with 40" inseam and size 54 cycling shoes on 170mm cranks ...
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andrew_s
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Re: Bike & Clothing for rider who is 6'-10"

Post by andrew_s »

ajel wrote:Additionally he would be looking for some cleated cycling shoes of the mountain bike / touring recessed cleat type rather than road shoe type. He wears a size 14 / 15 shoe.


Sidi Dominator 5 in sizes 51 & 52, going cheap (comparatively)
These are what I use (but in 46/11)
mig
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Joined: 19 Oct 2011, 9:39pm

Re: Bike & Clothing for rider who is 6'-10"

Post by mig »

andrew_s wrote:
ajel wrote:Additionally he would be looking for some cleated cycling shoes of the mountain bike / touring recessed cleat type rather than road shoe type. He wears a size 14 / 15 shoe.


Sidi Dominator 5 in sizes 51 & 52, going cheap (comparatively)
These are what I use (but in 46/11)


that's a ridiculous gear !! :wink:
stewartpratt
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Joined: 27 Dec 2007, 5:12pm

Re: Bike & Clothing for rider who is 6'-10"

Post by stewartpratt »

Not sure I can be of much help with specifics, but I would offer one piece of advice. I'm 6'5" and just about get by with the largest off-the-shelf frame sizes (62-63cm, though even then only a few have the seat angle I need). And even at these sizes, steel is a problem because the tube diameters are small enough to be quite flexible; it's primarily noticeable at the front end of the bike.

So whilst you clearly need to go custom, all I can suggest is that you put large-diameter tubing at, or very near, the top of the priority list. Most custom builders use steel, though, and this may mean using titanium or aluminium (though I'm not aware of any custom builders in the UK using the latter).

Spend time making sure the geometry is right, too. If off-the-shelf frames are anything to go by, people's established ideas of suitable geometry can start to fall apart at the extremes of sizing.
steady eddy
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Re: Bike & Clothing for rider who is 6'-10"

Post by steady eddy »

I have also been exploring big frames for my tall son - thanks brucey for the help we haven't forgotten you - It seems that the only sub £1000 off the peg frames that are really suitable for those over 6-3 are the 64 cm Trek 1.5 and the new Domane ( surely that must be a deliberate anagram of Madone) opr the similarly sized Giant Defy - no body has any of these in stock and we are advised that the Trek 2013 model won't be available 'till March. SJS cycles do big framed audax bikes at about £1500 but we can go made to measure for that at Taylormade in Diss. This is proving to be very frustrating. Clothing is like wise a problem nothing is any where near long enough.

Ridgeback and Dawes seem to stop at 60cm and yet call their bikes extra large!!!

Is it only the Dutch - traditionally a tall nation - that cater for such sized people - what do they do for road bikes?

Even at 6ft with a long body and short legs I find jerseys and jackets annoyingly short. Its time that clothing manufacturers got out on the high street and spotted all those tall, thin, 20 somethings. Why is it assumed if you are tall, that you have a 48" chest and and a 38" waist.
djoptix
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Re: Bike & Clothing for rider who is 6'-10"

Post by djoptix »

I would hazard a guess that if he is currently on a Trek MTB that was bought for him, and is looking to "move on with his cycling", perhaps £1500 custom frames are a bit, well, stupid. At this stage he won't know what he actually wants, and is almost certain to end up with something that isn't quite right. Large road bikes come up regularly on ebay, here's one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/very-nice-large-65cm-peugeot-altus-pr-500-/181020817068?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item2a25ae76ac

Spend another £100 or so on more modern bits, and he will have a reasonable road bike to try some longer rides on.
pete75
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Re: Bike & Clothing for rider who is 6'-10"

Post by pete75 »

I have a friend who is 6' 8" and takes size 16 shoes. He visits Holland regularly and says it's much easier to get shoes and clothes that fit there than in England. Maybe this applies in cycling as well so a bit of research on Dutch bike shop websites may come up with the answer.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
stewartpratt
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Joined: 27 Dec 2007, 5:12pm

Re: Bike & Clothing for rider who is 6'-10"

Post by stewartpratt »

steady eddy wrote:It seems that the only sub £1000 off the peg frames that are really suitable for those over 6-3 are the 64 cm Trek 1.5 and the new Domane opr the similarly sized Giant Defy


FWIW I get on well with 62cm Surly and 63cm Cannondale frames. IIRC, Orbea are worth a look, too.


steady eddy wrote:Even at 6ft with a long body and short legs I find jerseys and jackets annoyingly short. Its time that clothing manufacturers got out on the high street and spotted all those tall, thin, 20 somethings. Why is it assumed if you are tall, that you have a 48" chest and and a 38" waist.


I'm tall and slim, ie long arms and narrow chest/waist, and pretty much the only clothing I get on with is Italian (primarily Castelli, but also Northwave and Giordana). The more expensive Gore stuff can be good, too; the less expensive Gore stuff is cut on the "relaxed" (chubby) side.
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