But how do I "know" the frame is too big? I haven't ridden since I was a kid. Maybe my body needs to adapt?

I've been thinking about your situation and really feel bad for you. Like you, I bought a bike years ago that even at that time did not fit right.

I bought it because I loved the bike, the color, the components and mostly because it was what the dealer had in stock.

For years, I suffered with that thing, trying to make it work when in the end, I really just did not fit the bike nor did it fit me. It was hard for me to admit that but that was exactly the problem. That particular bike NEVER really fit me...

I think that if you are at the point you need to buy a shorter stem, different bars, or other major hardware pieces to make the bike fit you because you can not tweak the components on there, than that is telling you something major.

Again, good luck.

The frame is too big if you have to stretch out across the top uncomfortably to reach the bars. If you have to lower the seat to reach the pedals and if you have to pull the bars back considerably, even having to change the bars entirely - just to reach comfortably - the bike is too big.

Do any of these match up with how you feel when you are on the bike?

There are two ways your body is going to "adapt" -- you're going to hurt something, or you're going to adjust your riding position for a better, more natural position.

What you've been doing so far is adapting the bike to fit you. That's a good thing, because you're finding out (with some help) where the handlebars and seat should be for a better fit. Either a shorter stem, smaller bike, or maybe some properly swept-back bars would get you the last adjustment you need. Honestly, I'd go for the smaller bike.

Lots of us have been down the road (so to speak) with badly-fitting bikes, and we want to help others avoid the problems we've had ourselves. I'm glad that I've got a bike shop that's easy to work with, and they've given me different stems and even swapped a whole bike to help me out.

I think he originally lowered the seat so much because he wanted to reach the ground flat-footed. Now it's back up to where it should be for a good pedal stroke, but I think it's still pretty low for that frame.

Oh, and have I said yet how I don't like how compact geometry frames let people drop the seat far too low, which disguises a poor fit?

+1,000,000

I wouldn't say that I have to "reach out far to grab the handlebars." I actually feel good on the bike, except my hands hurt and sometimes my elbows. I really am not sure if it is because I'm new to riding, because I took out the 16" 4300 Trek the other day and my hands hurt as well, but it took longer for them to hurt....

I had left out the word "excessively" regarding lowering the seat. You are 100% correct.

You might be close enough that a new stem will finish off the fit. Worth a shot anyways!

And, you might just need to 'toughen up' your body a bit which will come as you ride more miles. Just be aware that there is a difference between being sore just getting used to riding again versus being sore (or even getting injured) from riding a bike that simply does not fit.

Best of luck to you! Keep us posted, ok?

Does your 16" Trek have the same reach from the saddle to the bars, though? Get a measuring tape and find out. I recently checked the reach of all of my bikes just for kicks, and was surprised to find that they were all virtually identical.

Interesting note is that according to Trek's geometry of the FX bikes, there is only about .2" difference (shorter) between the 17.5" FX and the 15" frame FX.

EDIT: That was for the 7.3 FX. For the 7.2 FX which is what the OP has, the 15" is .4" shorter - that might help a lot. Easier to swap stems though, maybe?

Really... grr... thanks, Trek, the steeper seat tube on the 15" didn't help the TT length much...

Ah, but also check the head tube lengths -- the 17.5" frame's is 1.5" higher than the 15's.

I saw the 7.2 page, too (checked the link I posted in the first page of this thread) --

.4" isn't a bad change to make up. Road bike riders usually deal with up to 40 or 50 mm's worth of adjustment when changing stems to fit (that is, making more than 20 mm of a change means that the next size bigger or smaller would probably be a better idea).

The lower head tube of the 15" might be the better difference, though. However, the bars could be left as low as they are and get the same effect -- although I don't know how many spacers the 15" bike normally comes with on its steerer tube.

Also, due to the rake of the steerer tube, the low bars on the 17.5" will be just a bit farther from the seat than they would be on the 15" and higher on the steerer.

I'm going to make a slightly different suggestion. Try a set of Origin 8 Gary bars. They will put your wrists at a more natural angle than those riser bars. It may require new cables to make the swap though, the angle of the bars puts a lot of stretch in the shifter cables. If your LBS stocks them, they should let you bolt them up and see if they'll work.

Guys, post #24 shows me on the bike in case any of you missed it. Do I look like I'm reaching too far? P.S.- I have since raised the handlebar height by putting the washer back underneath the stem.

That frame is definately not too big. I am 5'8" and ride 16-17 inch frames depending on the setup. Is your saddle set so that when the pedals are at three and six o'clock the front of your knee is over the pedal spindle? I ask that because your cockpit actually looks a little short, and I remember trying to set up my wife's Trek. The seat had to be slid all the way to the back of the rails, and it is still a little too far forward.

In that picture, it looks to me like the frame is a bit small for you.

Sometimes it looks too small to me, too. You also look like you're a bit forward on the saddle (although I don't know how I look on mine..), and -- maybe it's the sweats -- it looks like your shoulders are hunched a bit and your elbows turned way out.

Starting with a super-low saddle has really thrown me off, I have to say.

Keep riding as it is for now, and put some more time on the bike -- some things you won't really feel until after an hour or so (but if you never ride that long at a stretch, it won't matter so much anyway). And, assuming they'll let you, go back to your shop and try the next size just to be sure.

+1 on all you said and especially the last sentence.

Another thing I thought of is that perhaps he is trying to get too much bend/flex in his elbows while riding.

Not sure without seeing him in motion on the bike but that would account for overextension of the body over the bar IF he is doing that... thoughts?

I think the reach looks a bit too short from that picture. Try adding some bar ends - they provide an alternative hand position so you can change when it gets uncomfortable, and add a bit of extra length. I've had bar ends on all of my flat bar bikes since I was 14, and I can't do without them now. Also, make sure the brake levers are in the right place - they always seem to be horizontal, level with the ground, in the shops round here. They should be rotated round the bar to line up with your forearms, which should be around 45 degrees.

Right ON.........