Seriously, was this necessary? Are you the o.p.? My advice was for him. But if you want some personal attention, that can be arranged.

What no one is saying is that your bike looks like you are 5'7" and are riding a bike for someone over 6'. You could lower that stem all the way and it would still be relatively high by road bike standards.

Which is fine, if that's what you need. But starting out with a more "normal" setup might be instructive.

And I have no idea if your saddle is anywhere near high enough. The heel method is still on the low side.

Your saddle isn't a little low, it is a lot low. With a sloping top tube like that you should have twice as much seatpost showing as you do. No point in having this forum if you can't say to someone that their saddle is 3" too low. Can you flat foot a stop without getting off the saddle? An earlier poster described the 'heels on the pedals' method, which requires the rider to know what a 'reasonable' bend in the knee looks and feels like. I will be the first to admit that left to my own devices, I am more likely to set my saddle too low than too high. There are more specific formulas involving carefully measuring your femur and multiplying by a constant (for some reason 1.09 is in my head) and that may be a valid starting point for experimentation.

I am 5’10”

I have had people here saying my saddle was too high.
If I can’t figure this out myself I will break down and pay someone to fit my bike to me. It feels like giving up.

I am 5'10". The bike in the picture is a 58cm. Most fitters would put me on a 56cm (you too). This bike should have been $1200 but it was half off (previous year overstock). You think I was going to let 2cm get in the way of a 50% off? The OEM stem was 105mm. I now have an 80cm on it. If your bike is remotely the right size, your saddle should be much higher.

Do you have relatively short legs for your height? If not, your saddle is likely low.

I think it is probably time to use the "cycling inseam" x .883 method and get a healthier saddle height.
https://www.cyclist.co.uk/tutorials/...-saddle-height

Bar height is dependant on saddle height. You don't need to pay for a fit, but you need to do some of the basic things a fit does.

Who here said your saddle was too high?

as others stated - the seat height might be too low - or possibly the bike is a tad or even size too big … ? .. but regardless could / might work with a little fiddling ?

the size appears to be in the ballpark for a 5-10 rider .. ?

how does the length of the bike feel ?

face forward next to the bike - place your elbow on the nose of the seat and extend your arm / hand toward the front of the bike in line with the top tube

where do the end of your fingers rest ? before the stem ? … somewhere on the stem ? … on or past the handlebar ? …

( this is just a quick and dirty method to evaluate length )

Talking about length when you don't have a height is largely a waste of time.

But add - lean FORWARD to what your actual 'position' would be riding - hand on the bars... then put heel on pedal spindle - very light contact...
when you lean FORWARD, the natural movement of the pelvis will actually 'Lenghten' the distance that your leg reaches to the pedals - keep the hips square, when you do this...
Ride On
Yuri

the good news

if your current seat height is too low - and especially if it is significantly low - you should feel much stronger when you ride with the seat up higher

Anytime One makes a change in posture/position, it will fell STRANGE, at first... If the Change feels good immediately, you WERE prolly very far off !

So, not going into frame sizing rabbit hole... working with what you have...

If the saddle Height is now working for you - WHAT is it about the Stem that makes you want to make a change ? Pls explain...
Some riders do well with No Drop/even saddle, some do well with lots of 'drop', some ride with very high bars...
WHAT are YOU trying to have happen with your 'position' ?
Without actually being/riding with you, an 'internet fit' is really quite difficult and sometimes not going in the diirection desired.
Tyr, letting us know, what you want to get to/have happen...
Ride On
Yuri

Thanks for all of the tips. I am close but something just feels off.
I do tend to ride sitting more upright.
I will get my seat height adjusted then lower my bars and see how that feels.

easiest 'fit' adjustment, absolutely the lowest cost, completely reversible, MOST productive !!!

... bend the elbows... $10 please...

(from the old ski instructor 'saw'.... Benz zee kneezz ! $5 dolla Plz ! )

Ride On
Yuri

Lower bars will have you leaning forward, yes. As you lean forward, your upper body CG moves forward. If your saddle fore-and-aft remains the same, obviously this will put more weight on your hands. There is a test for balance: you briefly take your hands off the bars If this causes you to slide forward on the saddle, you need to move the saddle back. You also may need a longer stem. The downforce of your hands on the bars prevents your torso from rotating down. Thus your arms are acting as a lever. The longer the lever, the less force is required to generate the moment which supports your torso. Hence there's a sort of rule that your upper arms should make a right angle with your torso. I.e. you may need a longer stem. Observe in a mirror or have someone take a photo.

My bike fit instructions are here: How can I fitting my bike (Thread name was not my choice.) When one changes one thing, other things also have to change. Thus the whole fitting thing is a process of many changes, and it takes time on the bike to really tell if a particular fit will work for you. My standard is one 3 hour ride, minimum.

You're just going all over the place... making or considering changes without much reference to what that will actually accomplish.
One 5'10" person might be very different from another.... IE I'm now 5' barely 9" (in the morning...) BUT I can virtually guarantee you that my legs are well longer than yours...
...Long legs... I know my 'riding' inseam, and that helped put in a very close saddle position, from which I fine tuned...
SO, any one who says you're saddle is toooo High or Toooo Low, without a reference to your body dims, absolutely does NOT know what they're talking about...
Saddle position, for height & 'setback' is the 1st real important setting - and for that, there is a range which can work. not just one place...
Then everything else in setup for stem/bars, goes from there...
if you haven't done your 'riding'/cyclling inseam - start there...
here:
easy to do, barefoot, use a hardbound book about 3/4 to 1 inch thick, do 3 times to make sure you get a non-varying number - I make a light pencll mark on wall when book is in the correct position - very firmly up your crotch.
then the resulting number can be used to get the ballpark seat height, which can then be tuned...
report back
Ride On
Yuri

Do yourself a favor - read this article. Pay attention to the section on the Lemond method and the Hamley method. They usually give almost the exact same result. That has always worked for me, on my own bikes and bikes that I am setting up for other people. There are other methods described in the article but actually measuring your inseam and using a formula will get you 95% there.

How to set the saddle height on your bike

I will measure that asap. Thanks!

That is a very helpful article. Thank you!

I got out today to ride. When I first started out my knees were bent at the bottom of the stroke.
I ended up raising it from 2 on the seat post index to 6. It felt really good there.
I haven’t lowered my stem yet. Something I noticed is that it feels like my hands felt like they were pushing forward against the hoods. Would lowering them affect that?

I will have my height taken Thursday when I go in for another procedure but it looks like I have lost some height. I am 66 and have worn down my knee cartilage and have had 4 compression fractures in my back. It looks like I may be 5’9” or maybe even 5’8.5”.

OH! Wow! Just don;t dial it up to 11 on the post ! Your head will assplode !
I would recommend you not play with any other settings until you get the saddle fully set - you may want to tweak the saddle over the coming weeks...

Ride On
Yuri

Yuri I think the seat post has been sliding down every-time I ride. It has been adding a variable that I did not notice. I thought it was all me.
The height I have it set now feels good. I will tweak it but it is close now.
I do want to lower the stem height just to see how it feels.
I am stubborn but if I can’t get it dialed in I will break down and pay someone to fit it for me.
This coming year I really want to concentrate on improving my fitness level so I can do longer rides instead of messing with my bike.

A too high saddle does feel good. That doesn't mean it IS good. I don't know what the units on your seatpost are but going from 2 to 6 in one jump? The saddle was too low, but, honestly, you're flailing here. At least do the heels on the pedals drill or go into your HMO and tell them you want to be measured (height) accurately, in your bare feet!. When you get your saddle to the proper height I don't believe you will still want to lower your handlebars. In fact, you just might want to raise them!

Getting your inseam measurement only takes minute. Assuming you have a one of those tape measure that pull out of the case that framers and handymen have. While using a big book against the wall pulled snug in the crotch will give most people a fool proof way to get a accurate measurement. You can just pull that tape measure snug into your crotch with it pointed down. Extend the tape to the floor, lock that position or hold it with your fingers so the tape doesn't slip back in and then add the tape measures case size to that. Most are.3¼ inches. It's usually stamped near the bottom edge of the case or on the back side. Way easier to do than explain!

As for your seat post slipping. Has the clamp gotten damaged from over tightening? If the gap in the band at the bold is non-existent at any point, then it's messed up or your seat post is too small. It might just be that you need to refresh the carbon paste on it so it will have some grip.

I also agree that you should get your saddle height in the ball park and probably within 1cm of where it needs to be before doing too much other stuff. Saddle height is one of the most important things to get correct on a road bike.

Also, I feel that looking at your legs to see if you have a bend in your knee can't really be done well while you are riding. Just not a good perspective from above and the knee is only extended ever so briefly before being bent again.

Edit.... oh, I thought I was in the other thread about saddle height. But this does fit the last few replies in the conversation here.