Hi all, I’m getting an all-round/light-touring/rando whatever you want to call it frame custom-made next as they won’t make bike this small stock (good way to justify getting custom). My proportion is different too: Big and ong head + neck, longer torso, shorter leg with an even shorter femur compare to tibia. But more on that later, for now general info are:
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comfortable and on the livelier end, comfort >>>>>> speed. Relatively upright
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design for 650x38/650x42 tires, also accomodating a 58mm wide fender
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5-10kg front load(pretty fixed), 2-5kg saddle bag (for ease of use since I dont want too much rear weight or having to deal with a second rack)
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currently a 10cm clearance horizontally from pedal to ground with smaller tire (260 BB height - 160 crank). I’m wondering if this is too low even though I want to experiment with low COG to help deal with bumps. But wondering if that might reduce compliant, and/or redundant since body wise I’m much more bottom-heavy alreayd.
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centerpull rim brake, quill stem JIS i.e. the whole retro thing. Rider weight 145-150lb + 35lb luggage max on a very small (i.e stiffer) frame so I think I can afford really thin and light tubing but may another post on that.
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Speaking of dimension, currently they are: 44.5 Top Tube, 55.5 Down Tube, 46.0 (or 47 doesnt matter) Seat Tube, 435 Chainstay and 48.5 Seat Stay.
These might changes but not much. The biggest change I’d make is maybe slacken the STA and seat more upright. Below is my current fit but I think it can be improved. Please advise me on this if you think is needed:
This leads to me my biggest concern: COG or front/rear weight distribution. I think I’m too far forward on current pic so will try to fix it in the next fit…But it wont be better than this: 430 horizontal CS to 565 horizontal front-centre. I dont want a shorter CS because of the fender and I want to experiment with minimum 435, nor can I extend myself further for a longer front centre.
Thus, I tried to move front wheel further by slacken HTA (70-71) while maintaining a lower trail with a 55-60 rake. The other variable i’m wondering about on front end is how long should A2C be, 375 or 380 (just straight down, not counting rake).
It’s very hard probably, but I would want ideally a frame in the middle where I can easily adjust it to be more upright or more agressive just based on moving stems, bars and saddles. As well as, changing postures throughout the ride.
Look forwards to your insights, thanks all!