Custom Steel

In my foggy memory back to the late 80's I had 2 custom J P Weigle road racing bikes made by master builder Peter Weigle. I competed successfully on these steel beauties for several years; before being seduced by the the allure and light weight of Ti (Litespeed Ultimate) and carbon (Trek 5900). My Weigle's were custom fit to my long legs and short torso. No need for odd length steerer's and stems for a comfortable fit. I can't complain about my Trek addiction -- I won a lot of races over the years on them. None the less, I have fond memories of the Weigle's, and the custom, 6-9 month process of measuring my body, optimizing my positions, and coming up with a nearly perfect build. Surprisingly, after many years, custom steel bike builders are still around and flourishing. Even the race oriented crew at GCN is jumping on the custom steel bandwagon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4wAeTk4wAU .

For more information on why custom steel refuses to fade into ancient history, here is a recent blog post from Jan Heine of Compass: https://janheine.wordpress.com/?utm_source=Retail+Customer+Newsletter&utm_campaign=4e80e9e193-WHY_STEEL_2017_05_22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f74fbd5ca8-4e80e9e193-108609665&mc_cid=4e80e9e193&mc_eid=2e5f71b642

In my own return to "steel", I'm currently riding a Ritchie Steel Swiss Cross as my preferred gravel grinder. While the Swiss Cross isn't custom, the frame is well designed and manufactured. When I finally get the itch for a replacement to the Swiss Cross, I'll very likely be heading down to my neighbor Kris Henry who builds knock out gorgeous custom bikes right here in Lyndeborough NH - 5 miles from my house: http://www.44bikes.com/road

owly wrote:

You're long-legged/short torso, and riding a Ritchey? 

You must have long arms

Doesn't everybody?

Zman

owly wrote:

You're long-legged/short torso, and riding a Ritchey? 

You must have long arms

Good point. Look at this pic. though. This is a 57cm Swiss Cross (57 cm effective top tube). To make it work I use a big stack of spacers on the steerer; an extra long seat post and and a ultra short stubby stem.
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPNaeV2PRPzEtKa_iafrxecMr1nU_JSqDzbTpWpqKWxBTLM9eEBtNnVm14YlbToew/photo/AF1QipNUZYWzOU1Zqzkk9pQhFR3HS1FYZkx32PvLOL-g?key=Qlh1VFFMMHpaTm5mR3FkWWNDV1BKTkV4dEtEVEJn

My custom Weigle's also had 57 cm top tubes (actual), but 60 cm seat tubes, and longish head tubes, to make everything work. Back then, my lumbar spine could handle  90-110 mm flat stem. Sadly, I have no pic's of my Weigle's; just fond memories.