I’m surprised, too that there are any Charlies left to be had.. I adore Charlie. He and I are having a TIME together. He is a rascal and I cannot say no to him. We go running off every week together. It’s like the other people in the club ride aren’t even there. Today, I bought him a Varia radar to go with his Garmin so we get warned before we get hit by aggressive drivers. Of which there seem to be many these days.
I’m so excited for yours, Mike. I am sure your report will be a little different than mine, but great. Keep us in the loop! Thanks for all the great comments everyone. After a bit of handwringing, I decided to go with the 61. It pretty much rules out any drop bar configuration, but I seem to be weeding out these anyway. It’s also going to be the only side pull brake setup I have, so I’m hoping clearances remain acceptable. I’m a little surprised that, as of right now, none of these are sold out. Maybe this model has yet to catch on?
Mike
On Wednesday, October 1, 2025 at 7:46:01 AM UTC-7 Pat McCullar wrote:
I went over to Walnut Creek in late February to test ride some of the new models, especially the Charlie. I have a PBH of just about 85cm, close enough to Grant's that I rode a few of his bikes. According to the geometry chart either a 53cm or 57cm Charlie would work for me. The 53 seemed a little cramped, but the 57 was great. Then Grant put me on his 61cm Charlie, with "don't pay any attention to the size, just ride it". It was just as good as the 57cm.. Grant basically says if you can comfortable straddle the bike, you can comfortable ride it. And the larger size comes with a quality that Grant can describe but I can't, that makes it more stable.
I eventually went with a Homer frame, but only because I wanted more luggage carrying capacity that Charlie is recommended for.
And, if I didn't live in a second floor walkup studio apartment, I would absolutely get the platypus giganticus, the 60cm. That bike has the most deluxe ride I can recall experiencing.
Don't be afraid of the 61cm Charlie.
Pat
On Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 9:48:50 AM UTC-7 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:
I have an 81 cm PBH and I stand at 5’6”. I could have gone either 53 or 57, said Grant, but I went with 53, and I like it a lot.
On Friday, September 26, 2025 at 12:12:19 PM UTC-4 Mike Gillespie wrote:
I’m considering a Charlie purchase for this round of frames. At 5’11” and a PBH of 86.5cm I’m in the middle of the sizing range for the 57cm and just over the lower limit for the 61cm. After seeing the attached photo of Grant’s ride on a Blue Lug blog, I’m considering going with the 61. According to the blog post, Grant’s PBH is 85cm, and he’s actually under the lower sizing recommendation of 86cm. From the geometry chart it appears the greatest difference between the 57 and 61 frames is increased stack height (+4.9cm) with only minor increase in reach. The effective top tube increase is only 1cm. Meanwhile, the reach calculation shows an actual decrease of 0.7cm. (This seems counterintuitive to me and I’m thinking it’s a typo, or am I wrong)? Regardless, I’m intrigued by Grant’s setup and wonder if there’s any downside that I’m missing. Any recommendations?
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