Originally Posted by
knowledgdropper
OP may be built like me, long legs & arms- well, long for someone who only stands 5' 7".... I rode a 52cm for a few years and always felt cramped regardless of stem, saddle fore/aft, etc. My last 2 road bikes have been 54cm and I've never been more comfortable. Stem isn't super short (90mm) and I feel like I've got plenty of seat post showing (~15 cm). On the occasions that the LBS guys have seen me riding, they've asked if I'm on a 52, so I guess I look proportionally correct. YMMV.
yeah, depends on how the body and frame is built.
I use a 90mm stem on my 52cm and 100mm stem on my 50cm bikes, but the seatposts have 32mm of setback and the saddles are all the way back on the rails. 50cm and 52cm frames of 700c wheel size will be cramped due to compromised geometry.