@Salamandrine off the top of your head can you think of any CV bike types that might have a more favorable seat to top tube length ratio for my shorter torso?

How shirt or long of a stem can I reasonably do without it affecting handling negatively? I’m mainly concerned about twitchiness.

For instance, I ran across some tempting options (non CV though) while perusing CL - two 2002 LeMond Zurich Reynolds bikes for steal prices around $300: one is a 53 with 545 mm top tube, 110 mm stem, with 116 mm head tube. the other is a women specific 49 with a 510 mm top tube, 90 mm stem and 100mm head tube.

I would probably more ideally fit to the 51 between them. Would it be a fools errand to try either? The women’s has a lot less wear, appearing almost new, and is priced cheaper but I don’t know the extent to which I could reasonably fiddle with the fit. The headtubes on the women’s are higher relative to the men’s sizes.

Thought it might be a cheap solution to get out on a reasonably fast steel bike and see what I like and don’t like before attempting advanced high end C&V build.