Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
Best of luck- finding production priced frames that fit can be a slow and/or frustrating experience. I dont have mobility issues, but I am 6'5, so I am at the peak end of production frame sizes and even then, the majority of production frames/bikes that say a 6'5 or 6'6 person fits are really questionable for most adults my height that arent as flexible as Gumby and dont have a Thor level core.
It definitely can be a slow search, but the best way to search is with numbers you are confident in.
In addition to the stack and reach article I linked, youtube is flush with videos that walk you thru how to accurately measure your current bikes stack and reach. Then if you just add the numbers you get for where your handlebars are(I assume your position is comfortable), you can be well on your way to finding a frame or bike with geometry that will work better than your Kestrel.
As a general comment, I have never seen a Kestrel road bike that is anything but race geometry. Kestrel Tri bikes, Kestrel TT bikes, Kestrel race road bikes- every Kestrel I have seen has had relatively aggressive geometry. Even the 'endurance' Kestrel model I saw online somewhere had pretty aggressive fit numbers. Point being- hopefully you can make a bike that has better stack and reach numbers look pretty good without having to resort to too much kludging(adjustable stem at high angle for example).
When I bought the bike the only thing I did was take the stem and flip it to the more upright angle and it was great. Unfortunately things happen but i am not going to let it keep me from one of my passions in life anymore. I took the stem I had on it and held it up to the Ritchey I have on it now and based upon the distance from the steerer to the front of the handle bars it looks to be between 70-80mm and about 2 3/4" higher than the original stem. I bought an 80mm stem for my mountain bike and some rise bars and for some reason it has made my issues worse on the mountain bike (GT Zaskar XL) but has alleviated the pain on the road bike. I think I am going to order a Redshift Sports Top Shelf bar with the 70mm rise and then try the 80mm stem and see how that works. I know I will be far more confident that it won't fail on me and far cheaper in the short term of getting another bike.
The Kestrel I have is an Evoke 59 cm which has similar almost the same specs as the Cannondale Caad 8 except the top tube was 1 cm longer than the 58cm and IIRC 1 cm shorter than the 60 cm frame.
Here are the specs