Originally Posted by
ArgoMan
I want to lean forward too. But with this bike it seems that I can't get my arse back far enough to get into a comfortable position. It's too small, even though it's a 54. And there's just no "ummph" to it. With my other bikes I hit the cranks and take off. This bike doesn't react. I think it's because of shorter seat stays? And climbing? Forget it. Oh well, I had a really nice time riding though.
Can you just replace the stem to get more reach? Not sure how you like your bike set up, but I would also "flip" the stem to get the bars lower (I prefer a pretty big drop from my saddle to the bars on my tri-bike. I agree, the Zaffiro tires are atrocious (I had a pair for a vintage bike that needed 27x1 1/4 tires and they were all I could find locally). I doubt you can really pass judgement on the wheels with these tires.
I would change the tires and the stem, then pass judgement on the bike.