Originally Posted by
carpediemracing
As far as slamming your stem goes, if it works than do it. Fit is a relatively, fluid thing, and as a rider gets more cycling fit the rider will tend to get into a longer, lower position.
The opposite holds true at some point, when various aches and pains (typically from age or severe change in body/fitness) makes a higher, closer position more comfortable.
Slamming stems is just one part of the equation. It's part of the whole equation that includes leg length, steerer tube length, etc. On my bike a slammed stem (on a "short as possible" steerer tube) results in a position that's 3 cm (i.e. 30 mm) too high for me. The counter is that my legs are short so my saddle isn't jacked up to the sky. My saddle/bar difference is something like 8 cm, which is not that much.
Bingo. The only thing that is relatively set in stone is saddle height, which is dictated by leg length and geometry. Everything else is fluid and subject to change depending on fitness and need.
I have six bikes. All of them feature the same saddle height, and even the same saddle. All of them have different handlebars, stem length, bar drop, and saddle setback. They all fit perfectly well; it's just they are built for different things. My track bike, when set up for sprint, is low and short; when set up for mass start, is shorter and taller (different bars, same stem: track drop and compact, respectively; neck cramps tend to result if your position is too low during a long points race). My road fixie is set up much like my track sprint setup but with slightly higher bars and slightly more saddle setback. My two road bikes have similar saddle setbacks, but one has deep drops with a relatively high stem (relatively high bar tops, relatively low drops) and the other has compact bars with a long and very low stem (relatively long and low bar tops and relatively high and short drops). I have another road bike set up for track training with short crankarms, forward saddle, and low and relatively short bar reach. My cross/gravel grinder has very wide, very high, relatively short reach bars.
The point is they all fit and they are all a little different. There is no "perfect fit", rather, there are different fits for different purposes. Aspiring racers (or fitness riders) tend towards "slamming" their stem because a long, low position is good for both aerodynamics and power production, even while it sacrifices comfort to a small extent (to which your body eventually adapts).