Hi folks. Newbie here. I'm returning to pedalling after a 15 year break. I still have my faithful Bontrager Privateer which, after a service, is good to go. Here she is :-
I'm open to suggestions here to remedy this situation. The problem really is that when the bike was purchased it was from a store that just wanted to sell and I just wanted to buy. There was no mention of whether I fitted the bike or not. When I got the bike serviced recently the mechanic suggested that my 6' 1" height was not suited to the frame size and suggested the extension with spacers ( 8 btw). I must admit that I just used to ride the bike the way it was originally and never thought anymore about it.
I should perhaps mention that I have also purchased a new Specialized Rockhopper 29er which is a good fit for my size. I didn't mention it here as I thought this was for old school stuff. I like the Bontrager a lot as it has a lot of good memories for me when I used to go out for weekends with my two sons. I really wanted to get it roadworthy again and so got it serviced and then fitted the extension to the headset. All ideas however will be greatly received as my knowledge is very limited.
with the saddle up so high and the spacers looking like a african neck stretching contest...it's clearly not your size in original form but hey you've made it work and it works for you
You've pretty much done what can be done to make it work so I'd keep it as it is and if you need a better fitting bike..buy something different but keep the bonti
Just spend a bit of time on here perusing the forum. Give it a few days/weeks/months (depending on your willpower) and you'll see something for sale that you fancy and in your size. Buy it, sell the Bonty on here, and that will be you on the endless merry-go-round that is Retrobike
Nice bike but if it doesn't fit then you'll never enjoy it as much as you should. Welcome to the forum btw
Interesting. I went out on the Bonty yesterday for the first proper ride with the extended headset and didn't like it all. The ride felt 'unsure'. I came home and put things back the way they were when I used to ride the bike. Everything felt nice, normal, and 'sure' again. I don't understnad these things. I did notice however that when I put the Bonty side by side with my new 'fitted' Specialized Rockhopper that the difference in height between the handlebars is negligible whilst the saddle height is the same. Am I in the twilight zone? Anyway, here's a couple of pics with the bike restored to 'normal'.