Subtitle - Does this bike fit me?
Five bikes. I've put significant miles on all except the Bertin. The Raleigh, Masi, and Bianchi have a carefully chosen stem.
BB to top of ST dimension:
Peugeot UO8, Bianchi Brava, Raleigh Gran Sport - 59cm.
Masi Gran Criterium, Bertin C32 - 56cm.
When I mount the Bianchi I think "This is exactly right", but it does feel high up in the air. (And it is agile but it rides hard.) When I mount the Masi it feels different, smaller but extremely comfortable nevertheless, and very agile. I always thought the Raleigh felt perfect but I haven't ridden it enough this year to do a full comparison. The Peugeot feels long but a shorter stem would probably fix that. Nevertheless I've put many miles on it. The Bertin feels both close to the ground and small. Of course I haven't had time to dial it in, and don't know how much or when I'd ride it anyway.
Some measurements - The BB heights are curious. One would have thought they'd be similar, but no. Why would the Bianchi be so much higher? Was it intended to be an entry-level criterium bike? Or the Bertin so much lower?
Except for the Bertin for which the jury is still out, they all fit me just fine, thank you. It doesn't prove anything except that you can't judge a frame's fit by just one or two numbers. Or maybe that almost any frame can be made to fit.