After a few years in the saddle I want to share the delights I have experienced by riding across this great country of ours and by way of detailing the routes I'll be riding/re-riding. There will be some fantastic photographs of the places I'll be visiting along the way - not my own; they will be taken by a willing assistant, who it should be said has a better eye for a photograph than myself.

As The Tall Rider, my experience of buying bicycles and associated paraphernalia that have been designed with the taller gentleman in mind is also something which may be of interest. It has been deeply frustrating, sometimes perplexing, but mostly confusing as to what bike/gear to buy and where to buy or barter it from. I'll be posting it all here.







Friday, 6 July 2012

Koga, Cube and Rose Cycles



Back to the original brief of the blog, which was: bicycles for taller people.

Rose Xeon

Scanning the pages of cycling plus a few weeks ago I came across an article about the Rose Xeon. http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/rose-xeon-crs-3000-double/aid:556682. they come in a 63cm frame, which claim Rose, is good for a 94 -96cm inside leg. Bike radar gives them a good review and although I have chosen to point you towards the carbon variant, their aluminium bikes get a good write up too: http://m.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-rose-xeon-rs3100-12-45931

Kimera Alloy 6069 Ultegra (G)

Koga bikes http://www.koga.com/koga/#5 make an unbelieveably big 66cm alloy frame - I think this would be big even for me! They also make 63cm carbon framed bicycles. I have never ridden one but if you want well specced carbon or aluminium in a big frame, then this Dutch company's products are probably worth having a look at.

Cube Agree GTC

Cycling plus were raving about the cube agree. http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-cube-bikes-agree-gtc-race-12-45968, and I would say that this is a brand I will be looking at in the future. Carbon 64cm frames are offered with finishing kit options to meet anyone's need.

http://www.cube.eu/road/pro-comp/agree-gtc-pro

Amazingly however, when comparing the geometry of all these bicycles against my own and the Trek Madone (I talked about in one of my earlier posts) the label claim of 63cm or 64cm frame seems to be a bit of a red herring. All the frames discussed here, bar the enormous Koga, seem comparible in the seat tube length at around 610mm and head tube length of about 220mm (240 for the 66cm Koga), which is all good. Seat tube length is not the only cosideration for a tall rider however. Looking at the top tube length and angle will give you an idea of how much reach you might have - no point in being perched high, but cramped up in the cockpit. Seat tube angles here range between  73 and 74°. A steeper 74° vs 73° angle adds about 5mm to the reach of the frame.

So, in summary: looks like theres a few more options to consider but be weary about manufacturers quoted sizes. Remeber that an actual on-bike fitting should always be undertaken to guarantee a good fit.

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