So, I’m looking for some input on a cockpit setup for this Hoo Koo E Koo. It’s a large frame I want to build for my dad who is 5’7. He currently has a 55’ Ford panel van that is about to finish being restored from the ground up and painted Ford Banner Blue and it would make a cool gift. He lives in Myrtle Beach so I’m aiming for a cruiser or klunker type of setup to match the color of the truck. Velo orange has some nice bars but I’m mostly concerned with his reach as I want it to be as comfortable as possible for him.
by Mission_cucumber938
5 Comments
Can you take a photo of him sitting on the bike, & reaching for the handlebars?
Folks have different proportions, & it’s difficult to generalize about reach & so forth.
Sorry to bear the bad news, I don’t think your dad who is 5’7” will be comfortable on a large frame
You could put a short stem and crusier bars with backsweep, but that bike is much too big for a person whi is 5’7” it is for someone around 6’
He would have to have the seatpost slammed down and the top tube would be in his crotch
Too aero! Not comfy after 10mins of riding
Is your dad all legs then? What’s the standover height for that bike?
If it fits him somehow, then for either setup you probably need a much steeper angled stem and then some bars with quite a bit of rise and back sweep. The VO Klunker bar is the only moto/bmx style bar I know of with any significant backsweep.
If you want to check out some inexpensive but decent quality city/cruiser style bars then the Dimension Urban Cruiser bars ($20) come in 45, 55, 70 and 90mm of rise with varying degrees of backsweep depending on which bar. It’s a guess but I would go with the 70mm rise version to test.
Lastly are you saying you are planning to paint the bike blue to match the color of the van? If so, before you go to that trouble I would really have him try to ride and standover the bike first. You may want the whole thing to be a surprise but it would be sad if you went to all the trouble and it didn’t fit him at all, yeah?