Can I save this old bike for me ?? (size problem)

Hello all,

I picked up a 1979 (?) Nishiki road bike for a few Dollars and have fixed up
most of its problems --- all but one.

The dang thing feels small. The stand-over is ok, just a couple inches less
than my regular ride. In fact, stand-over is better with the Nishiki.

But, the drop bar is too close to me and to low. The whole feel seems like
the bike would be better for a smaller man. My foot touched the front wheel
while turning the other day.


Any way to save it for me --- or just let it go?

Thoughts?

--
Regards, Joe

In article , Joe Potter none@h
ome.org writes:
Hello all,

I picked up a 1979 (?) Nishiki road bike for a few Dollars and have fixed up
most of its problems --- all but one.

The dang thing feels small. The stand-over is ok, just a couple inches less
than my regular ride. In fact, stand-over is better with the Nishiki.

But, the drop bar is too close to me and to low. The whole feel seems like
the bike would be better for a smaller man. My foot touched the front wheel
while turning the other day.

Well, the foot hitting the front wheel is not uncommon, and not really
size-related. It is not really a problem, either, since when the bike is
moving more than a couple miles per hour, you will not turn the wheel enough
to contact your foot. It only happens at very low speed, and even then the
foot just rotates up a bit from the motion of the wheel.

The bar height and reach might be fixable with a longer, taller stem. How
long is the stem now? If it is 10-12cm, you probably can use a longer one.
If it is already 14cm, then there is not much chance.


David L. Johnson
Department of Mathematics
Lehigh University

Zoot Katz wrote:

Sun, 24 Aug 2003 23:36:53 GMT,
, Joe Potter
wrote:

Hello all,

I picked up a 1979 (?) Nishiki road bike for a few Dollars and have fixed
up most of its problems --- all but one.

The dang thing feels small. The stand-over is ok, just a couple inches
less than my regular ride. In fact, stand-over is better with the Nishiki.

But, the drop bar is too close to me and to low. The whole feel seems like
the bike would be better for a smaller man. My foot touched the front
wheel while turning the other day.


Any way to save it for me --- or just let it go?

Thoughts?

A longer stem extension and moving the saddle all the way back can
partially compensate a too-short top tube.

You may also need a longer stem quill to raise the bars higher. The
Nitto Technomic stem, at $40, might cost more than the bike.

The toe overlap could be a sign of a slightly bent fork or just normal
clearance restrictions on a tight bike.

Thanks for the info. I like the old thing --- it taught me what friction
shifting was all about. But, since it could use a paint job to boot --- I
think I'll try to give it away.



--
Regards, Joe

Mon, 25 Aug 2003 22:32:42 GMT,
,
Joe Potter wrote:


Thanks for the info. I like the old thing --- it taught me what friction
shifting was all about. But, since it could use a paint job to boot --- I
think I'll try to give it away.

Try a different bend bar, maybe like a moustache bar.
http://www.rivbike.com/webalog/handl...ape/16027.html

Rivendell's site says people switching to moustache bars from a drop
handlebar usually go for a shorter stem extension.
Yours is already short.

If it doesn't work out, you've still got a dandy pair of bars for the
next bike.
--
zk

Ryan Cousineau wrote:
In article , Zoot Katz
wrote:
Sun, 24 Aug 2003 23:36:53 GMT,
, Joe Potter
wrote:
I picked up a 1979 (?) Nishiki road bike for a few Dollars and have
fixed up most of its problems --- all but one.

The dang thing feels small. The stand-over is ok, just a couple
inches less than my regular ride. In fact, stand-over is better with
the Nishiki.

But, the drop bar is too close to me and to low. The whole feel seems
like the bike would be better for a smaller man. My foot touched the
front wheel while turning the other day.
The toe overlap could be a sign of a slightly bent fork or just normal
clearance restrictions on a tight bike.
Fabrizio Hey, if your toe doesn't touch the front wheel when you turn
it, then you have a problem: your bike is too big for you to be a
serious cyclist./Fabrizio
The toe-overlap is a semi-normal thing on smaller bikes. I ride about a
52 cm Pinarello, and I have toe overlap. This is one reason really small
riders go to 650c wheels. It's not a real issue unless it really bugs
you. If it does, you may want to dump the frame anyways.
That said, Zoot has suggested some good adjustments. A '79 Nishiki is a
perfectly rideable bike, but if you find you're changing too much, bikes
and frames like that are common at garage sales and in want ads, and go
for nothing (if you pay more than $25 for a moderate-quality road bike
of that vintage, you probably paid too much). Buy a slightly larger one,
and build one good bike that fits you out of two sets of parts.
--
Ryan Cousineau,
http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousinehttp://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President,
Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club



I have both a Nishiki Sport - size unknown, and I have a Lotus Elan,
the Lotus appears to be of the same manufacture, due to the style of
the frame, frame stays, and such. However the Lotus Elan is a much
larger frame and is better for us taller people (I'm 6'3"), I'd be
willing to sell the Lotus but I think shipping would kill the
price......so look for something like it. All the components are
compatable, including the crank.

Randy Lovelace



--
Randal Lovelace



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