Originally Posted by
alcjphil
Stack and reach no longer have the same meaning. What you are interested in is the position of the handlebars relative to the saddle once you have figured out where your saddle position should be relative to the bottom bracket. Then you need figure out whether the handlebars can be adjusted to a comfortable position without having too many spacers under the stem or having to have a stem that is unreasonably long for the frame size
Thank you - That makes sense. The last frame that fought me to insensibility needed a "riser stem" to get the height right. THEN the reach was so excessive that I'd have needed to reverse the stem to use the bike at all. Without an extreme "set back seat post," my knee was a few inches in FRONT of the pedal spindle at the 3:00 position of the cranks. All this despite the fact that I could barely stand over the compact frame. The thing handled like a pig too.
This was the second compact frame that I've not been able to fit on. The first was selected by the bike dealer for me (supposedly a 60cm, which I couldn't stand over). The second was a CL find, but it could at least be stood over. Neither were ever comfortable. This may be less than fortuitous circumstance. I understand that many love the compact frame geometry. I still, however, find it confusing, less than consumer-friendly, and FAR more difficult to fit to the rider than older frame styles.