Originally Posted by
thook
So, in what way is the 54cm bordering on too big for you? Reach or standover?
It's the reach. The Cross Check's short head tube effectively increases the reach (see
here for a discussion). It also has a longer top tube than I like to begin with.
Originally Posted by
thook
The seat tube, and the head tube, are at 73* on my 614. Forgive my ignorance here, but how would this affect fitting if the reach/TT length is still about the same? The Cross Check seat tube angle is the same, but has a sharper HT angle. Will it be the sharper HT angle throwing the stem a bit further forward?
The seat tube angle effects reach because to get your hips in the same position relative to the pedals you need to slide the saddle back on a bike with a steeper seat tube angle (relative to what you're used to) or forward on a bike with a slacker seat tube angle. As a rule of thumb, every degree decrease in seat tube angle makes the bike feel longer by about a centimeter -- at least in theory. Head tube angle makes an insignificant difference in this regard because the distance from the head tube to the bars is so small.