Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
There is a problem with moving up a frame size to gain the taller head tube. When they make a frame bigger, they tend to make it bigger all over. That means a longer top tube. When you rotate your torso to match the new, higher handlebar position, you'd like the handlebars to come closer to the seat rather than farther away.
I generally avoid add-on gizmos but I'd be more inclined to experiment with one of those stem riser things before committing myself to a larger frame size.
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Thanks Retro, yes, the risk of moving up a size is certainly a consideration. Folks seem to be evenly split on the merits/demerits of doing that. I'd mention that reach doesn't seem to increase as much as stack in moving up a size, but this a broad generalization and takes nothing else into account. I'd be interested to know if there's a rule of thumb which says that as frame sizes move up, stack increases proportionately more than reach. But that's just a stab in the dark.