Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 9,625
Likes: 40
From: South of Raleigh, North of New Hill, East of Harris Lake, NC
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Specialized Roubaix, Giant OCR-C, Specialized Stumpjumper FSR, Stumpjumper Comp, 88 & 92Nishiki Ariel, 87 Centurion Ironman, 92 Paramount, 84 Nishiki Medalist
Riding a smaller frame is up to you. If your legs clear the bars, you can ride the bike. I'm a tad over 5'8" and usually ride a 56cm vintage frame. I currently have a 50cm Bianchi Campione that I've upgraded to STIs. I added an adjustable stem to send the bars out a little and find I can ride this like any other bike. It looks awful, but I have no problems riding it. I have a 52cm Lemond Maillot Juane where I added a Nitto long stem to lift the bars. That one works too.
On my MTBs, I just moved to two "small" framed bikes. I was never fast on an MTB until I bought the small frames, what a difference.
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