It depends on the type of riding. Most people need a pretty specific reach when it comes to spending time in the saddle. Why ride a bike that is going to knock your thighs when you sprint out of the saddle? Maybe you never plan to do that so it doesn't matter. You should never push your saddle forward or back to compensate for reach, if you do and tell me it doesn't bother you one way or the other I will say you must fall into one of two broad categories, 1. you are a member of the super minuscule and lucky minority of people who can tolerate a wide range of positions or 2. you aren't really riding that much. If you fall into category one then I will tell you that your optimal power and efficiency comes from a very narrow range of saddle positions regarding for/aft and height like +/-3mm. I've worked in a shop that does comprehensive bike fitting for 3 years now and I can tell you that size matters, big time, if you are serious about riding. If you're just tooling around no it doesn't matter, but most roadies care about performance. A short stem will change the handling characteristics of a bike. I would never recommend the purchase of this bike to anyone based on your description, but that is my opinion, YMMV.