Originally Posted by
BikeGk
Are you saying to move the 3 spacers from the top of the steering bracket to the bottom? And then flip it over, so it slopes downward instead of upwards?
So far, it seems like you're trying to push everything on the bike lower.
This will work if your inseam is really short for your height; have people commented that your legs are shorter than normal? The reason why I say this is, with a really low seat, it's like you're riding on an extra-long frame -- which would be fine if you have short legs and a looong torso. However, you're not bringing the bars any closer to you by dropping them -- the steerer tube is angled so that, as you lower the stem, the bars actually get farther away.
But anyway --
Forget the handlebars for now, and -- again -- set the saddle according to your pedal stroke. If you've already done it exactly as described at bicycletutor.com (and his video is spot-on, IMO), and it
still has to be as low as shown in your pics, you can either keep the bars low on the steerer (which will result in a long reach) or get a smaller bike (which will result in an
average reach).
Looking at your pics again -- is it just me, or is the whole bike angled way back in the first pic?