What are the disadvantages in riding a frame that is too big?

[Manonabike]

A friend of mine has an old frame in his garage that wants to sell but it's too big for me..... I'm 6' and I ride a 58cm frame.... however my friend's frame is 65cm. I quite like to build a single speed out of that frame but I'm afraid it could prove to be rather uncomfortable.

Is anyone here riding a frame that is too big and if so, what are the disadvantages?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Hacienda71]

That is one large frame! I am 6'3 and ride a 60 cm. The practical thing to check is if the stand over height is too high for you. If it is dismounting could be lets say painful. Also the whole geometry of the frame is likely to be for someone altogether bigger than you. The reach can be adjusted by a different stem length but only by so much. I would suggest mocking it up with some wheels to see if you can even fit on it.

 

[Manonabike]

Yes, you're right..... I need to fit some wheels to have a better idea but I wanted to hear from anybody riding a frame that is too big, if any :-)

It will probably be a painful dismount but I guess one can find a way to dismount to avoid any contact with the top tube.....

 

[fossyant]

Aesthetically, it won't look too good, you'd have the saddle as low as possible..... That is a huge frame........... (54cm short ar$e here)

 

[palinurus]

I can't be certain but I don't think it'll work out.

I do ride a frame that's a bit too big, a 57 when I usually ride a 54. It's a compact frame though so there's no problem with standover height, I've got a pretty short stem on it and it measures up pretty close to my other bikes.

 

[raindog]

It's madness for anyone to buy the wrong sized frrame, whether too small or too big.

 

[accountantpete]

The only disadvantages are

1. The bars obviously won't drop as far in relation to the seat height - an adjustable stem may help if this is a problem.

2. You get a shorter amount of seat post - making it slightly more uncomfortable. I suspect that a carbon seat post won't be of much better but you could try.

3. The top tube will be correspondingly longer - I use a 90mm to compensate. This is not quite as smooth as a 110mm but you get used to it.

Other than the dismounting/mounting which you soon get used to I can't think of any other problems.

 

[biggs682]

doing damage to your manhood

i swap between a 21" and 23" frame and do have a 25" to ride when i feel brave

 

[HLaB]

I don't know if its been said but I found out the hard way that riding a bike that was too big for me was bad for my knees; I just couldn't ajust the saddle enough forward to get my knee over or ahead of the axle. On the plus point, not suggesting for one second that you repeat it but I found that the larger frame also gives you a few extra inches in a crash!

 

[Fab Foodie]

Don't do it without knowing it will really work for you.

I've had two frames too big and they're generally too much of a compromise to ever get set-up properly, it was a shame because one of them was a beautiful Columbus Nivachrome handbuilt Omega, but I could never get properly comfortable or effective on
The other is a 1950s design with old geometry a really laid back seat-tube compared to modern bikes and somehow I managed to make it work with the saddle far forward it gives a modern riding position, but the stem is fairly short to make it work.

The other factor is that too big frames set-up for a smaller body also look crap.

 

[HJ]

What are the disadvantages in riding a frame that is too big? You need up riding a bike like this...

 

[MacB]

Aesthetically, it won't look too good, you'd have the saddle as low as possible..... That is a huge frame........... (54cm short ar$e here)

Yeah but he's fairly tall so not too bad, whereas the little set of mini steps you'd need to mount this bike would be hilarious

 

[screenman]

If the frame is too big for you by a long way you might find that you have your head in the clouds when riding it.

 

[andrew_s]

If it's a very old frame (before 1975 ish), it may be usable.
Back it the day, it used to be the fashion to have as big a frame as you could manage, with the saddle set very low. The frames would have been shorter for the same seat tube length so you could ride them without being too stretched out. I'm 6'1", and started out on a 25.5" frame, now on 58cm.

In the end, it's a case of try it and see. It depends on whether you are willing to put enough parts on it to make it rideable, and take them off again if it's no good.

 

[Manonabike]

Thanks for all the replies..... I've come to a decision and I will give this frame a miss and look at a frame in my size.

A while ago I saw a beautiful bike, all in black, without brake levers and it was a single speed..... I wish I stopped to look at it in more detail as I have been wondering how the braking works and it is something I would like to replicate in my next project bike. Does anybody know how do a bike like the one I described brakes?

Thanks in advance.