I remember from my teenage years reading The Custom Bicycle and becoming somewhat obsessed with getting the right ride set-up (even though I never raced). I studied the illustrations and the models religiously and had it etched into my memory IIRC such things as: handlebars should be set-up so that the front hub is obscured from view by the bars when one's hands were on the brake hoods or saddle height should allow for a slight bend in the knee when the pedal is at its lowest point of the arc. etc.
Recently this has led me to muse over a dilemma which I would imagine we all face from time to time when buying framesets which were not custom built to our own specifications but, instead, were originally fitted to someone else's specific requirements: body type, riding style or the requirements of a different era. Often the lack of suitable period stem-extensions or the ability to set the seat back makes for compromises. But, how much to compromise so that one doesn't have inches of seatpin showing above the seat-lug or is not bent like a pretzel, hanging over the handlebars with the front hub in clear view?
How many others on the list have puzzled over how best to set a frame up which is comfortable to ride but period-correct? The reason I ask is that I have been keeping an eye on a couple of stems on ebay which would be perfect for my latest project but, in terms of my preferred set-up, are respectively too short or too long. I am now beginning to ask myself what difference a couple of centimetres might make one way or the other - or, in this case, one which is 5cm too short and the other 4cm too long.
Paul Williams,
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada