Originally Posted by alanbikehouston
To a "princess and the pea" member of the pro peloton, a half inch difference in the distance between the rear of the saddle to the front of the stem is "life or death". To "Joe Average Cyclist" such differences are trivial.
It is easy to make half inch adjustments in fit by moving the saddle half an inch one way or the other (KOP's is another "princess and the pea" doctrine with little value to recreational cyclists) or by getting a stem that is half an inch shorter or longer.
If a customer says "I'll never shop at a certain LBS because I have a half-inch fitting disagreement with one of their staff members", I'd suspect that the staff at the LBS is saying "I hope that guy with a half-inch brain takes his business elsewhere".
Such replies always seem to come from the uninformed, but then how could they be? When they don't have all the facts? The fact of the matter is I started having shoulder pain late last summer with the Lemond (100mm stem) and again a few weeks ago with a 90mm. The 80mm stem is by far the most comfortable position I've ever had with the bike. I still remember my fingers tingling on my first long ride with the bike. Perhaps...just perhaps Joe Average isn't as average as you may think.
BTW! what is your definition of a rec. cyclist? If I don't race then that means I don't ride fast, that I don't care about proper positioning or that I'm too weak to make any good of proper positioning.
EDIT: I just want add that with larger frames come longer chainstays, wheelbase, larger head tubes and a more upright postion. I feel noticeably more slippery on the smaller frame, it's not soley about the t-t length. I'm really suprised some of you agree with this whole moving the saddle forward thing!?