amrwrx89

Hi everyone,

I decided to buy a new road bike this past weekend after having not ridden for several years. I found a steal on a leftover 2015 Cannondale CAAD10 that I could not pass up. I'm 6'0.5" tall with long legs, long arms, and a short torso. The shop set me up on a 58cm which seems to fit well. I have plenty of seat post exposed, and do not feel sore after riding. However, I feel that the reach might be slightly too long as the handlebars are in front of the front axle by about an inch when I look down while riding in my normal position with hands on the hoods. Because of my proportions, I have to slide the seat back a significant amount on the rails for my knee cap to be directly above the pedal axle. I ride mostly for fitness and am considering doing triathlons in the future, so I don't mind a slightly aggressive position. I measured the stock stem to be ~115mm. Would it be worth it to go down to a 110mm or 100mm? Or would 100mm be too short on a road bike? Attached is a picture of how the bike is currently set up.

topflightpro

Stems are cheap. Try a shorter one if you like. You may also want to try flipping the stem first. It looks like it is angled down. If you flip it up, that will help shorten the reach some and not cost anything. (Also, you may already be running a 110. While 115 stems are not unheard of, they are uncommon.)

Also, the markers you referenced - being in front of the front axle or knee cap over pedal axle are generally starting points. They are not hard and fast rules. Feel free to adjust your fit as necessary to maintain comfort and efficiency.

shoota 

100mm is just fine. That's what I have on my Cannondale and I surely don't have long arms.

Fiery

Don't worry about the handlebar over the hub thing, it's a useless metric. It completely disregards the front end geometry of the bike as well as handlebar and shifter hood shape and setup.

Are you uncomfortable on the bike? Does the reach feel too long? That's the only metric you should worry about. Feel free to experiment. Try stuff that seems counter-intuitive too and don't be afraid to go into the extremes for a test (as long as you are not changing anything permanently, i.e. cutting the steerer). Drop the stem all the way to the headset. Then flip it up and put it on top of the spacer stack. Then try some of the positions in between. Try some shorter stems (100 mm is fine), try some longer stems; your LBS probably has a few take-offs that they could lend you, or sell to you cheaply.

69chevy

100mm is normal.

Bumnah

I would ride for several weeks in this position. Your flexibility will improve the more you ride. If you are comfortable, make changes over time when you detect a problem (hands going numb, knee pain, etc).

f4rrest

It's always good to have a few different size stems in your inventory.

SpeshulEd 

This is the stem I recently bought when I wanted to give 120mm a try. It's lighter than my 3T and ENVE stems, it's held up great over the past couple thousand miles, and its only $25.

Mr Ride Kalloy Uno Al 7050 Ultra Light Weight Stem 1 1 8 in 31 8 7 Degree Black | eBay

Pro Tip: Get some Goof Off and take the graphics off, it'll leave you with a nice plain, light stem.
https://www.amazon.com/Goof-Off-FG65...words=goof+off