Originally Posted by
carleton
I would venture to guess that the bike may be one size too small which is why the saddle is place so far back. Also, the neutral grip of the bullhorns is on the flat part, not the tip.
Another *general* rule of thumb is to place the handlebar in or near the line of sight to the front axle. If the bars are waaay in front of the axle, stem or TT are too long, and vice-versa. This becomes an issue when out of the saddle sprinting or climbing as too much of the weight is over the front wheel tipping the balance point.
Also, it doesn't make much sense to stack a stem high just to run a downward shaped stem. The stem is most stable when it has no spacers and is against the headset...even if it's pointed up.
Further, the bullhorns should be shoulder width apart (the bone socket). Bars that are too narrow will restrict breathing, too wide are uncomfortable.
Do your knees hit the back of the bars when sprinting/climbing? If so, that's a problem.
As ichitz says, if it feels right, it's right. But, I'd venture to guess that if you got on a better fitting bike, you'd get more power more efficiently from your engine.
Well, there you go! Thanks a lot, this all sounds helpful. My knees have never hit the bars at least to this date. Of course, my previous stem used to be longer, so the bar was farther away from me. Now, I still haven't hit the bars, but I won't know for sure until I get off and go for a good climb.
As far as the overall frame size, the thought did cross my mind once or twice. Sometimes I think that, despite all the measuring and research I did, I ended up erring too far on the conservative side and picked the frame one size too small. I remember being torn between 51 cm and 53 cm, and ended up going for the 51.
I'm going to try a longer stem, to see what happens. If I end up deciding that the frame is indeed one size too small, then I guess I'll have to make some decisions as to what my next step will be. The thought of having to sell this frame and get another one is dreadful.