Originally Posted by
thenomad
How tall are you? How long are your arms and torso compared to legs? That makes a big diff too.
Modern bikes can have small seat tubes and longer top tubes. Your reach may make it comfortable for you at that frame size.
I feel that I can be a little less stretched out, hence the short quill stem. But I'd also like to try some bars that have less drop and less length to them which puts the hoods farther out. Soo many options!
Correct! Body dimensions and proportions are key. I'm 5'8" with a 34" cycling inseam -- long legs, short torso, long arms. I find those dimensions will parallel my fit on a bike. In other words, I will always have a lot of seatpost, medium TT (54-56) and medium to long stem (110-120). Here is a somewhat extreme and aggressive example of my cockpit, but it rides well and is comfortable for me in the drops.
