Thanks for your thorough and knowledgable response. If you don't mind. I'd like to cover the points you said and emphasize why this fit has been a challenge.
Originally Posted by
Iride01
You can always run your body measurements through a fit calculator and compare that to the frame geometry of the bike you are looking at.
Yes, I've done quite a few. They generally come out as Medium or 52. (or 16", which apparently refers to the height of the center bar.) One person at Poseiden said my seat abound be slammed to the frame if I went with a Medium.
Originally Posted by
Iride01
Glancing at the bike at its website I don't know why they are considered aggressive by some, but I don't gravel bike or do cyclocross. I also tend to not be swayed by reviewers that don't give specific and detailed information. So in what way was it aggressive to them, how do they use their bike? For actual gravel riding in a fitness type, high effort or are they just a casual rider out for leisure?
One review was quite specific on their view, comparing the aggressive stance of the frame against several others. It appears to be driven by the relative height of the head tube (10 cm compared with almost double other bikes in that category). Their point was that it definitely makes it hard to sit more upright for casual rides, which is likely to be my typical ride.)
Originally Posted by
Iride01
Don't forget that geometry specs alone will fail to tell you if your position will be aggressive as many bikes come with a lot of spacers under the stem that raise the bars to levels more equal to seat height if that is what you are wanting. .
That was one of my questions: Can I add spacers to raise the handlebars if needed? Should the handle bars be level with the seat? Right now in their pictures the handlebars seem quite a bit lower than the seat, which suggests a fairly aggressive stance.
Originally Posted by
Iride01
Also, for casually riding on gravel roads and paths almost anything you can put wide tires on will be very suitable. Maybe even a fat bike (fat tire bike). So don't just think only gravel bikes can ride gravel. If you stick to just bikes marketed currently as gravel bikes, then you will probably be in frames that are intended for a more aggressive position than you are wanting.
I have not found a road bike in my price range that can take a fatter tire. I'm not looking for a cruiser either, just something where I am not crouched down low for 10-15 miles. As well, my understanding is that gravel bikes are actually generally less aggressive in stance to keep weight back in the seat.