I am 5,9" I have a pretty new jamis Quest Comp. size 54. 105mm stem.

1. I feel to stretched out on the hoods.

2. When on the hoods, I can look down and see that the front axle is a good inch or two behind the handlebars (in my sightline).

Does this sound like a good candidate for a shorter stem? Maybe 90mm?

I don't think "bars hide the front axle" is the end-all-be-all of fit (much like KOPS, 2" crotch clearance to the top-tube, and other rules of thumb), but it sounds like you're on the right track. Try it.

I agree with Thermionic, but see if you can reduce the stem length 5 mm at a time (find cheap stems!). Small changes can make a big difference in how it feels.

Hi, first of all, lucky you for scoring that Jamis - I've been lusting after a Quest Elite myself, but can't justify selling my Masi Carbon (yet, that is...). Anyway, as far as the bar being in-line or not-in-line with the axle, everybody sees it a little differently. In my own experience, my Masi came with a 110 stem, and I felt stretched a bit since Masi's have long ETT measures anyway - so I began experimenting and ended up being comfortable with an 80 - 90 stem. I have an 80 on it right now, and coincidently my line of sight has my bars directly over the front axle. Go figure...

One thing to keep in mind: the shorter your stem, the 'quicker', or maybe 'twitchier', your steering is gonna be - so, the closer you get to your steering axis (the steering tube), the more 'on top' of the wheel you're gonna feel. When I went from my stretched out 110 to the 80, I had to get used to the new front end behavior. While you can adjust bikes a lot for your body, there are consequences to your adjustments. I have found the most important measure, once you get a ballpark frame size, is the ETT measure. Once you have that figured out for your body (torso, arms, etc), then further adjustments are made simpler. A good fitter, then, becomes important. You can also research it for yourself and take your own measurements if you are confident....

Hope this helps.

5'9 " I put an 8cm stem on my RB1 with a 565mm top tube ..

IDK how long the top tube is on yours .. or the bars and brake levers it comes with .

Brifters are longer than brake levers that dont need room in them for shifters, so there are short 'ramp' bars to compensate.

"Bar tops in line with axle" sounds funny, but empirically it works quite often. But only for dropbar roadbikes and a reasonably "performant" body position.

Rather than playing "hide the hub behind the handlebar," look at the angle from the back to the humerus. When seated firmly in the saddle, hands on the brake hoods, and arms very nearly straight, this angle should be around 90 degrees, or a little less. There's nothing scientific about this angle; it just seems to work as a good compromise for stretch, balance, and control of the bike.

Remember that using a shorter stem will raise the back angle, so if you're happy with the back angle you may want to lower the shorter stem.