Oversized bike?

[Manonabike]

A gentleman I know asked me how to achieve a very upright position without rising the stem too much......

He has a road vintage bike 23" frame and because of his age now he finds it difficult to ride it. My first suggestion was to raise the stem but he is reluctant to do so because the bike would look rather ugly...... I then suggested that perhaps a frame that is a little bit bigger might be better for him.

Could a frame that is, say 25" , be better for him? He is 6.0 foot

 

[lulubel]

I would have thought a bigger frame would be less upright because of the longer top tube.

 

[TheDoctor]

It's surely about comfort rather than aesthetics?
*backs nervously away from empty can and worms everywhere*

 

[GetAGrip]

Having lowered the saddle of Mr Grips over-sized (for me) Giant in order to ride it to the LBS for a service, (he's in a sling at the mo) had me in a much more upright position.
This was fine for pootling along and for a short distance only, for me anyway.
Surely though, a bike that is too big, will always be a bike that is too big. Will it not?

 

[Manonabike]

I would have thought a bigger frame would be less upright because of the longer top tube.

Well, my suggestion was based on somebody I saw riding a bike that was too big.... his riding position looked quite upright so I made a mental note of that

Having lowered the saddle of Mr Grips over-sized (for me) Giant in order to ride it to the LBS for a service, (he's in a sling at the mo) had me in a much more upright position.
This was fine for pootling along and for a short distance only, for me anyway.
Surely though, a bike that is too big, will always be a bike that is too big. Will it not?

Your experience would confirm what I saw ( see above) - thanks for that.

 

[mickle]

It's a shame that his aesthetic sensibilities are getting in the way of him setting up his bike the way it wants to be. Form follows function and all that.

Tell him that he wont be able to see how ugly it is when he's in the saddle.

And maybe send him to Rivendell's web pages, they have a lot to say on the subject of positioning and bar set-up.

 

[brockers]

Break it to him gently that his wannabe racing days are, or should be, behind him! It's quite a strange scenario in that a 23'' (58cm) frame would be ideally suited to your average six footer using a modern fit standards, but somebody that size who grew up with bikes in the 1950's and 60's would probably have chosen a bigger frame - maybe a 25'' - from the outset, with less seat-pin showing, and with the bars at the same level as the top of the seat.

Without raising the stem, or getting a bigger frame, the only thing I can think of would be to get a shorter stem, or to bring the seat forward. But that would screw up the aesthetics also!