Originally Posted by
Indie
Make sure it isn't just an adjustment problem -- you can probably lower the seat and handlebars, and move the seat forward.
No no no no no..
Don't move the seat to compensate for reach. Move the seat for best
pedaling, then either change the stem or change the frame to alter the reach.
I'm 5"5' and I'm currently riding an 18" mountain bike, which I think is a bit of a stretch for me. The seat doesn't move any farther forward and I feel like I'm reaching too much for the handlebars. If the seat were any lower I wouldn't get enough leg extension in pedaling, but as it is I can barely stand on one foot when stopped at a traffic light.
I can barely reach the ground with either foot on any of my bikes, but that's why I get off the saddle when I stop, too.
Bikes with sloping top tubes are more deceptive with their sizing than older bikes with horizontal top tubes. Besides almost eliminating standover height as a good estimate of size, it leaves a lot of room for seatpost
misadjustment. You can drop the seat awfully low, thinking that the bike is still your size, even though the handlebars are simply too far away.
Look for other bikes in smaller sizes to try out. Maybe you can get lucky and swap bikes with someone who needs the size you have now. Speaking from experience, staying with a bike that's very much the wrong size gets pretty old after a while.