That ^^ is the problem with pouring a small person on large wheels. The headset is actually lower than the seat, so the handlebar is necessarily even higher, resulting in an upright position, all the rider's weight on the saddle, inefficient pedaling, and so on. Pretty terrible.
I think you got that backwards. The bottom of the headset is
higher than the saddle. Just sayin'.
One wonders how the industry can get away with it, but of course the person riding a bike like that has never had a chance to ride a bike that fits and had no idea what it could be like.
We, all of us, taller and shorter people alike, use the same stairs. The standard step rise, whatever it is, feels normal to everyone. Crank arms are the same way; anyone can ride a bike with 170mm crank arms, and since that's what most bikes come with, that's what most people have, and it feels normal. That's not to say it's the correct length, but no one complains.
You've kind of hit the nail on the head, in my opinion. It took the better part of 25 years to convince my 5' tall wife that her bikes were too big. Her first "10 speed" was a 27" Sears bike which, in actuality, was sized for my "normal" frame. In other words, it was likely a 23" frame (58cm for the rest of the world). When she stopped on the bike, she would have to hook one leg over the top tube at the knee so that she could touch the ground with the other one. It didn't help matters any that for most of that 25 years the bikes that she
had to choose were 19" "small" bikes that were still 3" to 4" too tall. She still had to hook a knee over the bar but at least she could get her foot flat on the ground at a stop.
To experience the same thing, I would need to ride a 30" (76cm) frame. No even makes something that large. I have had occasion to ride a 63cm frame...my normal frame is a 58cm...and I couldn't stand to ride it around the block!
Things have gotten better but bike manufacturers seem to have back slide a bit lately. Carbon frames have kind of put the sizes back in that 19" frame is for small people mindset. It's getting a little better but there still needs to be work done. I also don't understand it from a manufacturer perspective as well. Why are you neglecting such a huge potential market?