Beth, Don't think of it as out-growing the frame so much as out-growing a particular setup on that frame. Angus makes a good point about just keeping albatross or porteur or some other kind of upright, low-reach bar on the bike. Typically you need a frame with a longer TT to run those bars anyway-- because in most cases the reach of the bar is actually negative (the bars put your hands behind the steering axis).
Anyway I hope you find the comfort sweet-spot on it. I'm sure that you & that bike have been through a lot over 12 years. Matt On Dec 30, 7:47 am, Angus <angusle...@sbcglobal.net> wrote: > Beth, > > I'm 6 foot and middle aged, don't know that I have shrunk much, but > things have changed. > > I was on a ride with the local bike club, riding next to a 20 year old > LBS mechanic (riding a Surly Steamroller with very low drop bars) and > middle aged lady. The young man and I were chatting about handle bars > and he asked why my bars were so high..."Low bars make my back > ache."..."But my back doesn't ache."..."Yes, but you're 20." Mechanic > looks confused....middle aged lady starts to laugh. > > In the mid to late 90s I was fine on a 59.5cm Road Standard, now I'm > fine on a 64cm Rambouillet. Touring bike was a 59cm All Rounder, now > a 64cm Atlantis. > > I took my 59cm All-Rounder and converted it to Albatross bars (RBW > made me a 14 or 15cm lugged stem to get the bars in the right place). > I ride that bike after I have done something stupid and have a back > ache. I can ride forever on that bike...my "bad back" bike. > > Low bars...I'm "beyond that" now :-) > > Angus "Middle age has benefits...a tolerant back isn't one of them" > > On Dec 29, 11:42 pm, b hamon <periwinkle...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > > I wonder if any of you have had a custom frame that you rode for years and > > more recently have found that the top tube has become too long for you? I > > would guess this happens more noticeably to the short-torsoed among us, > > since as we age our spines compress and those with shorter torsos feel the > > difference in the reach to the handlebars sooner than everyone else. > > > But I'm beginning to suspect that this may be happening to me with a > > 12-year-old custom frame that is no longer comfortable with drops on it > > (even with the shortest Nitto Techie I can find). My suspicion may have > > been confirmed at the doctor's office this week when I discovered that I > > was not only no longer 5' 7", I apparently haven't been for some time. > > > For someone who is, in her family of origin, very, very short (my sister > > and all my cousins topped out at 6' or more), it was a crushing blow, for > > at least ten minutes. > > > Seriously, has this happened to anyone else? Is it possible to "outgrow" > > (or outshrink?) a custom frame? --B -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
