Why are all retro road bikes massive?😀

[domwelduk]

Did we all ride bigger bikes back in the day? Looking at photos from the peloton there was very little seatpost showing and they looked to be more stretched out.
I normally ride a 54cm modern bike and would like a nice shiny steel retro steed. Every bike I fall in love with is either a 57cm or larger!

 

[The History Man]

 

[foz]

 

[Takingabreak]

Did we all ride bigger bikes back in the day? Looking at photos from the peloton there was very little seatpost showing and they looked to be more stretched out.
I normally ride a 54cm modern bike and would like a nice shiny steel retro steed. Every bike I fall in love with is either a 57cm or larger!

They were ridden with a fistfull of seat post showing, as per The History Mans bike

 

[domwelduk]

They were ridden with a fistfull of seat post showing, as per The History Mans bike

And they look much better imo

 

[bagpuss]

Search and ye shall find.
What are you looking for?

 

[domwelduk]

Search and ye shall find.
What are you looking for?

Something with an early 90s flavour. Lemond, Merckx Motorola, Banesto etc.

 

[bagpuss]

I will ask around my ex racing contacts . What about British built frames?

 

[domwelduk]

I will ask around my ex racing contacts . What about British built frames?

Cheers. Yeah anything considered

 

[foz]

Are you sure what size you need? There is a big difference in sizing between older steel frames and modern ones - just because you ride a modern size 54, doesn't mean you need a 54cm in older steel (My "modern" carbon bike is a 54cm pinarello, yet all my older bikes are 58 or 59 cm C-C). And even just among modern bikes not all size 54 frames from different manufacturers are the same size, depending on how the measure them there can be large differences between frames that are of the "same" size. If you go with a smaller retro frame because you want plenty of seatpost showing, you might find the TT is too short.

I see lots of nice retro bikes, but most are smaller than what I could ride!