Jeremy: well said. Even that Trek doesn't look horrible, and CJ's Atlantis actually looks quite good to my eyes except for the excessively fat tires. I used a similar seatpost for a Flyer when others would not give me enough setback.
My brother scored a beautiful 57 cm square Sequoia that is ***just my size*** and selfishly kept it for himself; he's 4" taller at 6'2". He set it up with a longish post and a 11 cm Tech Deluxe and swears it fits him perfectly. (He has more experience than most bike shop employees when it comes to buying, building, and fitting bikes, so I believe him. Of course, he can comfortably ride a bar 3" below saddle, which I no longer can.) My earliest builds, 15- 16, were truly bastards. My first build had a frame incompatible with the wheels, so there were no brakes except my right Ked shoved into the fork blades on top of the tire -- I put hundreds of not thousands of miles on that one. About the same time, I converted my brother's kid's bike (he was far smaller than I, back then) using a piece of pipe for a seatpost supported by struts from a wheelbarrow running between seatpost clamp bolts and rear axle. I also adapted Raleigh Sports brake levers to drop bars by beating them with a hammer until they submitted to the right curve, then covered the damage with decorative plastic covers. A contemporaneous build involved tack welding a second sprocket to an AW driver to convert an old Varsity to six speeds. And listmember RS Watson bastardized an Electra cruiser with fat, 650B tires, a sprung Brooks and a fixed drivetrain -- wonderful bike! Frankly, I think intelligent bastardization often ends up probably more practical and certainly better looking than modern racing bikes, most of which I've seen are ugly. I can't judge their comfort or handling or fit, since I've never ridden one. On Thu, Nov 1, 2012 at 10:29 AM, Jeremy Till <jeremy.t...@gmail.com> wrote: > Well, if there is such a thing as geometric bastardization, I'm guilty of > multiple counts. Probably the worst is my Trek 520, which I bought long > before I knew much of anything about geometry, fit, etc. To make matters > worse, I was in love with flared drop bars like the On-One Midge, which > needed to get up high to be comfortable, and I had long ago cut the fork > way short. This was the > result<http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimg/4026122717/in/set-72157622495201619>, > pictured on a Riv ride a few years ago. Midge bars, hi-rise stem on > steerer tube extender. The thing is....it worked great! It fit me (in > terms of the contact points being in the right place, if not fitting the > frame well) and I rode many comfortable miles like that. I also had an old > bastardized low-end schwinn road bike with slack angles that I made even > slacker by using a long touring fork, and built up as a townie fixed gear. > That was totally weird but again, was one of the nicest riding bikes I've > ever owned, so much so that I regret selling it and am looking around for > one of those frames so I can try it again*. > > I think that this whole "bastardization" thing is basically a normative > response built into the culture of cycling, perhaps supporting successive > bike purchases until you find the "one" (as if that's possible) that meets > your particular aesthetic and fit ideas. And by all means, if you have the > resources to do so, finding the "one" can be a rewarding experience, as > many on here have shown. But my point is this....if your resources are > limited such that modification makes more financial sense than buying a new > frame or bike, don't be afraid to try out-of-the-box things with a bike you > already own, even if you feel it goes against some "rules" of aesthetics or > bike design. If nothing else, experimenting with a current bike can tell > you what to look for in your next bike. > > And remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. While the > Atlantis in CJ's picture might have been the "height" of bastardization for > him, to me it looks really nicely proportioned. Maybe that's because I've > spent a lot of time pouring over pictures of old drop bar 26" MTB's, and > that Atlantis seems to have similar lines. > > Another thing...I bet the "bent shafted seatpost" in question was a > Thomson, which many people complain about being weird for having "so much > setback," when in truth the setback Thomson only has about 16mm of setback, > less than many "normal" setback seatposts which are usually in the 20-25mm > range, including the popular nittos and the so ubiquitous as to be > unnoticeable kalloy laprade. I bet the LBS owner in question wouldn't have > batted an eye if the bike had come in with a seatpost like this > one<http://images1.excelcycle.com/images/P/fsa-components-k-force-seatpost-32mm-set-back.jpg>, > which at 32.5mm of setback has twice that of the Thomson. So really, it's > just that a lot of people are put off by the aesthetics of the Thomson. I > love 'em. Great clamp hardware. > > *Anybody have a 1989 or 1990 Schwinn World Sport in the 25"/62cm size? > > On Wednesday, October 31, 2012 10:08:13 PM UTC-7, Michael wrote: >> >> I was in an LBS (now defunct), and the owner pointed out how a traded in >> road bike/fit had been "bastardized" by the previous owner by using a bent >> shafted seatpost for more setback. >> The owner was pointing out how the bike was too small a size for the >> customer, and the bike owner had to resort to this. >> >> I have been wondering. *Is there really such a thing as "bastardising" a >> bike/fit* to get yourself where you are comfy on a bike? >> >> I don't design bikes, so the only two of things I could imagine you could >> do on a bike that might be considered to have "bastardising", negative >> effects might be: >> >> 1. "Geometric Bastardization" - Altering the intended geometry of a bike? >> Would it throw off the benefits of what the rest of that frame's geometry >> was intended for, resulting in a worse ride quality? Like using high flat >> bars on a modern time trial bike, or something to that effect. >> >> 2. "Aesthetic Bastardization" - might be if you put, say, a >> one-piece, full carbon drop bar/stem assembly on a cruiser bike? >> >> Other than that, I cannot see how improving comfort would be bastardizing >> anything. Of course, getting the right frame size from the beginning would >> eliminate the need to go to extremes for people. >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/eYecjn83YZoJ. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@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. > -- ------------------------- Patrick Moore, Albuquerque, NM, USA For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW http://resumespecialties.com/index.html ------------------------- -- 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-bunch@googlegroups.com. 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