Frame too large.

[victorduraace]

Thing is: Despite short stem I am too stretched. And moving saddle forward messes with my pedalling efficiency. Dunno what to do next

[AJS914]

It's hard to tell you what is going on without seeing you on the bike. On seeing that picture, my first thought is that you have endurance bike with what looks like 5 or 6cm or spacers plus an upward sloping stem. Why are you running zero saddle to bar drop?

The problem with going with an even smaller frame is that you will need more spacers to come up with that same fit.

[victorduraace]

There are tricks like using a split nose seat. They are comfy and have the sit bone position several centimeters forward compared to a regular seat. You might not need a new seatpost.

Also make sure your bars have low "reach".

The bars already are Short and Shallow.
Split Saddle like this?
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/au/contact-forward-2019

[victorduraace]

It's hard to tell you what is going on without seeing you on the bike. On seeing that picture, my first thought is that you have endurance bike with what looks like 5 or 6cm or spacers plus an upward sloping stem. Why are you running zero saddle to bar drop?

The problem with going with an even smaller frame is that you will need more spacers to come up with that same fit.

I tried -flipped stem and it always gives me back problems incl Sciatica. I need Carbon Endurance frame with 28c's to be able to ride at all (previously could not stand 50km on alloy bike).
Well I ride mainly in the drops these days.

[coresare]

Victordurace, like someone said before, if you are really into cycling then your best bet is to sell the bike. Take the hit and get something the right size. You are gonna spend money on the parts to make it try to fit you anyways so might as well put that towards a bike that's the right size.

I'm 5'7 and my bike is a 52 top tube length with 110 stem. -15mm setback factory seatpost and everything fits well. I used to have a Cervelo S3 in size 54 which was one size too big so I had to get a 0 offset seatpost and push the saddle forward. That combined with the tall headtube on Cervelo's I needed to use a -20 stem. In the end it worked okay. Not ideal, but I finally sold the bike and will definitely get a 52 on next bike.

Curious how old you are. Looking at the photo of your bike, you have a ton of spacers under the stem and like a 6 degree stem. Maybe you're better off just getting that 0 offset seatpost because a smaller frame might have about a 15 mm drop in stack height. Your bike is gonna look ridiculous with another 15 mm spacer in there.

[none]

Well I ride mainly in the drops these days.

Maybe that's your problem. I only get into the drops when I'm riding at the front, downhill or sprints.
Normal cruising in the paceline I'm usually bartop, hoods or resting my wrists on the hoods.

From the picture of your bike, seems to me your hoods can be rotated a little higher on the bars, that would give you a slight shorter reach.

BTW, how long are your crankarms? Do you spin at decent cadence or mash the big ring most of the time?

[victorduraace]

I prefer riding in the drops vs hoods due to shape and stability.
Cranks are 172.5 50/34.

[AJS914]

Dude, nobody can help you. You have a strange setup with too many spacers, a stem pointing to the sky and you tell us that you only like to ride in the drops. How is it can we help you? The answer to the original question is "no" - moving the saddle forward to decrease reach is the wrong way to reduce reach.

I'm only guessing here because I haven't seen a picture of you on the bike but you might want to think about using the bike as intended. I mean, use the tops of the bars and the hoods. You'll have 10+ centimeters less reach in those positions. The drops should be reserved for getting as aero as possible when you want to go fast or want to sprint. By jacking up your bars so high you've lost that low and aero position.

Looking at the picture above, I don't think your frame is too small unless maybe your upper body and arms are extremely short. But again, it's hard to tell without a photo of you on the bike. I think you just need to use the top of your bars and hoods, get rid of the spacers and get the bike set up normally.

[Lewn777]

Looking at your bike, I 'd really advise you sell it and get something the right size. That is if you really enjoy riding and want to ride at least a few days a week.

That many spacers and the short a stem and that stem angle it's clear to me you've gone too far trying to make this bike fit.

Buy a 52 ich frame with a 100mm stem and go from there.

[coresare]

Lewn if he got a 52 inch frame he would need arm extensions

In all seriousness do you mind posting a pic of yourself riding from the side? Do you have limited hip flexion?

[AJS914]

Lewn, we can't tell that from just the picture of the bike. He may be sitting straight upright on that bike and still think that he needs less reach. It may be that he simply needs to try and get used to a proper road bike position. He's already said that he only rides in the drops.

[alcatraz]

I'm 176cm and I ride ~50cm frames.

If you really want to get into cycling better swap the frame.

No I meant split nose saddles like the Ism Adamo. There are many variations of this seat out there, originals and cheap copies.

A large frame has a longer head tube. That's also why you ride in the drops a lot to compensate for that.

[Lewn777]

Lewn, we can't tell that from just the picture of the bike. He may be sitting straight upright on that bike and still think that he needs less reach. It may be that he simply needs to try and get used to a proper road bike position. He's already said that he only rides in the drops.

There's nothing wrong with riding in the drops all day if you're on your own.
You can look at the drops as the best, most aero position with the hoods as a resting position. Or you could equally look at the hoods as a normal position and the drops as a downhill go faster position. It's up to you how to use the bike. Look at the pros, the guy at the front is pushing along in the drops, and everyone else behind himis usually on the hoods. You don't get endurance continent crossing riders doing miles on the hoods they're on the aerobars.

If he drops the bars and/or uses a -17 stem then the bars will be even further away, he's obviously too stretched out and feels like superman becasue he's on the wrong size frame.

We've said on these forums for years, go smaller in frame - or go to your recommended size, never go larger.

[mag]

I found some Z4 2014 geometry table and the frame size with TT close to the claimed 55cm is the 58 one with stack 599 mm and reach 390 mm. Is that your size? That looks like a frame 2 sizes too big for you. Even I use smaller frames and I'm bigger (179 cm) with longish arms and I prefer less saddle to bars drop and more stretched out position.

Add to that that weird fit-wise setup - more like on some city bike...

Of course it's hard to just judge remotely from some numbers and one photo, but what you describe and show on the photo suggests the frame is too big and you haven't even settled on more decent position for such type of bike.

Just as a cheapish experiment, purchase some cheap 60-70mm (maybe both) stem from eBay, etc. Install it on your bike with like 2 cm of spacers removed and see how it feels. Experiment with more or less spacers and shorter and longer stem (if you purchase multiple lengths) and give it some time. It won't be the best solution but should give you an idea if you're going the right direction. If it will feel better (may need some time) then just sell that frame (or whole bike, whatever) and go for at least 1 size, most likely 2 sizes smaller frame with the endurance geometry.

Of course if there's some decent fitter nearby it would be better to try that way first, but it may be hard to find one who really understands the stuff well.

[coresare]

I'm 176cm and I ride ~50cm frames.

If you really want to get into cycling better swap the frame.

No I meant split nose saddles like the Ism Adamo. There are many variations of this seat out there, originals and cheap copies.

A large frame has a longer head tube. That's also why you ride in the drops a lot to compensate for that.

Do you have shorter than normal torso/ arms?