Road Cycling - Compensating for downsizing

I measured myself out to a 56cm today... I currently have an inherited 54cm road bike

the height and leg extension is pretty darn good for me... but its just that the top tube is a bit too short... i can almost get my knee to touch my elbows on the top stroke

so im going to compensate by getting a slightly longer stem. the seat has already been pushed back as far as it can... so i wonder if there are some seatposts out there that are curved backwards? this way i can squeeze out a bit longer reach

Legs and the upper body are fitted separately. There is a relationship between bottom bracket and saddle locations that is optimal for your legs. You shouldn't move the saddle forward or backward from that position to optimize your handlebar reach. That's what different-sized stems are for. Rarely, there are people who need more saddle setback than most frames provide. Given that you are not going to switch to a larger frame immediately, your best choice is a longer, taller stem.

Legs and the upper body are fitted separately. There is a relationship between bottom bracket and saddle locations that is optimal for your legs. You shouldn't move the saddle forward or backward from that position to optimize your handlebar reach. That's what different-sized stems are for. Rarely, there are people who need more saddle setback than most frames provide. Given that you are not going to switch to a larger frame immediately, your best choice is a longer, taller stem.

Agreed. If you are set properly and are comfortable on the saddle then you don't want to move that back to get more reach. But yes they do make seat posts that have a bend in them to get you more length.

Masi and Raceface make seatposts with extra setback. The Masi is a lot cheaper.
You may not need one, but if you, there's where to look.

Thomson Setback seatpost. Or find an oldschool
campy which had sufficient setback.

Marty

Are there any cheap tall & long quill stems out there?

I found the 225mm ht, 120mm length Nitto Technomic but they're all ~35$+

That is still cheaper than a new frame, or physical therapy from riding a bike that is too small. Give up one cup a day from Starbucks for a couple of weeks, and you'll pay for the #%@^%$ thing.

The Thomson setback doesn't set you back much relative to a regular seatpost. It's setback compared to their regular posts, but their regular posts have absolutely no setback at all. If you hold a Thomson setback up next to an off the shelf Easton, you might be surprised.

Hi,
unless your bike is old, it has an aheadset. It won't take a Technomics. I have one, btw, nice stem. Well worth the money.

Late-

Since he specifically asked for a quill stem, he probably has a threaded steerer.

yes, it is a threaded steerer. here is a real problem, though. i removed the stem yesterday and measured its diameter... it is ~.825!!! someone told me that the 2 standards in the yesteryears were 1" and ~.883...

it's going to be terribly hard to shop for a stem now? i suppose i can file/sand it off...but going from a 1" to .825 is kinda extreme

The INNER diameter of a 1" us .883". You have a 1" steerer tube.