Build Up

Here is the latest photo. I am waiting for my Mavic wheels to come in but decided to throw my wife's Super-Six wheel set on just to see how it looks and fits. Very happy with the way it looks. Her wheels have red spoke nipples that match my red Chris King headset. The bike in this configuration weighs 19lbs. with her wheels and no chain. Hopefully the Mavics are lighter and stronger.

As for fit, it is hard to tell just coasting around the front of the house. It definitely feels good. The seat stays are a little shorter than my old frame and I hit the back of my shoes on the rear derailleur. But I had on running shoes and I think I will be fine with actual cycling shoes. Also, I am a bit concerned that the handlebars are not high enough and that the 45 rake fork (vs. 43) might make for some sluggish steering. Hard to tell as the tires I had on were low on air pressure.

Decision made

Don't I look happy? This is right after we picked up the frame. Decided to go with the 68cm Gunnar Rodie for a couple of reasons. It offered the highest head tube at 270mm tall. My Raleigh Super Course only had a 225mm head tube so I should notice a big difference. The top tube length seems just about right at 62cm, and its a virtual 68cm so the seat tube is only 65cm tall. I also liked the price and the fact that it is made in the USA. This was not the cheapest in the line up at $900 but I feel a reasonable price. I have always ridden steel road bikes so I know what to expect from ride quality and maintenance. I do love the look of carbon bikes but could not bring myself to shell out $2500 just for a frame, let alone the fact that I could not find one in my size! I will post pics as the build up commences. Also after all the decisions were made, guess the blog should have been called 68cm Tall Bike...

Couple things to note here. I chose a Charcoal Grey Metallic, it looks great. I also choose to have the decals removed. All but the made in USA on the non-drive side chain stay. Frame weighs 5lbs.

Test ride of 64cm Roubaix SL3 Pro

I had a chance to see a 64cm Roubaix SL3 Pro in person and test ride it. Well, it rides great and is a real nice bike. The carbon feel is pretty cool, hard to describe but I could feel the vibration damping qualities. Not sure how much of that is the carbon and how much is the “Zertz” inserts in the fork and seat stays. The Roubaix was plenty stiff so no problem there. Problem is that it is the same size as my current bike. Actually the bars were a bit lower and the seat post (350mm) was not able to go high enough. If you look at the secs it should be much larger than my current frame. I could get a new 400mm seat post and a higher rise 140mm stem, but I do not want to make the frame work by adding weird sized parts. I want a frame that fits.

Here are some photos of me on my current bike and me on the Roubaix.

Funny to see myself on these. Both look really small. Maybe it's just me. I do not have the correct bend in my arms. So this test ride helps me make my decision about the CAAD5 as well. The CAAD5 has roughly the same measurements except it has a longer seat tube and a lower head tube. Longer seat post - cool. Lower head tube - bad.

At this point the 68cm Gunnar Rodie is the winner.

Components

Most items on this bike are from US companies. Some parts made here in the US, others overseas. The only component I am aware of that is a non US company are the Mavic wheels. But those are real light and within my budget!

Here is the build sheet:

Fork Enve Composites 2.0 Fork 1 1/8 350mm steer tube rake 45
Headset Chris King Sotto Voce Headset Red
Stem Thomson Elite X2 Stem 135mm x 15deg or 130mm x 10deg
Seat post Collar Thomson the seatpost collar
Handlebars - 44cm Bontrager Shallow Drop (rode those on the Specialized, very comfortable)
Cranks SRAM Rival - 180mm
Cassette SRAM PC-1051 cassette
Front Derailer SRAM Rival
Braze-on adaptor
Rear Derailer SRAM Rival - 10-speed
Chain SRAM PC-1031 - 10-speed
Wheels Mavic Ksyrium Elite
seat post Thomson Elite Inline Seatpost -410mm
Seat - 142 Specialized Toupe
Tires Bontrager R2 700C-25
Tubes
Shifters SRAM Rival - 10-speed
Brakes SRAM Rival
Pedals Speedplay Light Action stainless steel
Bar Tape SRAM Cork Tape
King Cages Stainless Steel

68cm Gunnar Roadie

Specs:

Frame
270 Head Tube
72.5 seat angle
73.5 head angle
62 Top Tube length
650 Seatmast
415 Chain Stay length
70 BB drop
1041 wheelbase
897 standover

Recommended Fork
43 rake
54 Trail

MSRP - $900

64cm Roubaix SL3 Pro

Size						640.0
Seat-Tube Length, B-B Center to Top						600mm
Top-Tube Length, Horizontal						615mm
B-B Drop						70mm
Chain-Stay Length						420mm
Seat-Tube Angle						72.5°
Head-Tube Angle						73°
Fork Rake						49mm
Trail						53mm
Front-Center						643mm
Wheelbase						1054mm
Stand-Over Height						852mm
Head-Tube Length						260mm

Fork Steerer Tube Length 350mm

66cm Canondale CAAD 5

specs:

Frame

24.9 Head Tube
73 seat angle
73.5 head angle
62 Effective Top Tube length

61.5 Actual top tube length
68.5cm ST to top of clamp
40.6 Chain Stay length
27.3 BB height
102.7 wheelbase
90.4cm standover

Recommended Fork
43 rake

MSRP - $700

The Old Bike

It has been about 11 years since I built up my old bike. My old bike is a Raleigh Super Course circa 1981 with all new components (Shimano 105 groupset, mavic wheels and Thompson stem and bar). Steel frame is plenty strong and does not have much flex but also weighs a million pounds. The frame has a 57cm top tube which is a bit cramped. I use a set back seat post and a 140mm stem to offset the shorter reach. The seat tube height is fine at 65cm. Problem is I can not get my seat post high enough because the handle bars are lower than I would like due to the 300 mm steerer tube on the forks. Handle bar width is 44cm. I am runing 180mm cranks which I am very happy with. If I could get the head tube higher and the top tube longer to reduce the length of the stem I would be happy. With a  long stem like that I have always had weird steering, just feels like too much leverage on the bars.

Specs:

Frame
Head Tube - 22.5cm
Top Tube - 57cm
Seat Tube - 65cm
Chain Stays - 42cm
Wheel Base - 104cm

Standover -89cm

BB Height - 27cm

Forks
Steerer Tube Length - 300mm
Diameter -1"
Weight - 655g
Rake - 43mm

Overall Weight - 23 lb

My Mesurements

Here are my dimensions. 6' 9" and I am mostly legs with not too much flexability. My old bike had my handle bars too close and too low.

My Specs:

Height - 80.75in (2,051mm)

Sternum Notch - 67in (1,701mm)

Inseam Length - 39in (990.6mm)

Arm Length - 28in (711.2mm)

Shoulder Width - 17in (431.8mm)

Flexibility - 2 (got this from wrenchscience.com)

Weight - 215lb

Foot Size - 14 mens

The wrench science calculator told me I need the following:

Road frame size center to top - 66

Handlebar Width - 44

Overall Reach - 75.12 (can achieve with a 62cm top tube and 130 stem)

Saddle Height - 87.47

My Options

I have been looking at a three new bike options to date:

• Cannondale CAAD 5, Aluminum - 66cm
• Specilized Roubaix SL3 Pro, Carbon Fiber - 64cm
• Gunnar Rodie, Steel - 68cm
  

The Project

Time to build up a new road bike. My fiancee is getting me a new frame as a gift this winter! Very cool, she's the absolute best. I have narrowed my frames down to a couple of choices short of a custom ride. I am researching a Cannondale CAAD5 66cm. Cannondale keeps a small amount of these aluminum puppies in stock unpainted for freaks like me. I believe these frames are still US made as well. I am going to post details of my build on this site mostly for my record keeping but maybe there is another tall guy out there with advice or looking to do a build themselves. That said I am off to ride!