Is my reach too short/frame too small?
 

I got a canyon ultimate recently in size XS as according to their sizing XS for 166-172 and S for 172-178. Since I am 168cm I went for XS. I have a leg inseam of 31 inches. But I feel that the reach is short with the 80mm stem on it and I also had to flip it because since I have a long inseam there was a high saddle to bar drop. Should I get a 90 or 100mm stem and keep it flipped?

I was riding today for 35km and my arms were pretty tired but it was pretty windy so may have been using death grip with the cross winds as I rode 115km 2 days ago with no wind and my arms weren't tired. Is the wind a factor?

I noticed too when in the hoods my knees come very close to my elbows on the upstroke. Am I bending my elbows too much?

Thanks in advance

Can't tell anything without photos. I ride a 52cm and have the same leg inseam. That would be a small in their sizing.

Wind can be a factor.

I like my fit so that, on the hoods with my forearms horizontal, my elbows are just in front of my knees as I pedal. No, you can't bend your elbows too much.

I have long legs but a short torso as I'm only 5ft 6 inches so I think the reach of the S would be too long

Also 5'6", riding a 90mm stem in the 52 size. No way to really know except to do a fit at the bike shop, trading stems and getting that upper arm/torso angle to 90°. That's what I did.

Post a picture of you on the bike

What bike do you have? Canyon's bike for calculator kept suggesting the XS so went with it because I had a 52 of another bike with 90mm stem and it was too big for me

I'll post it asap after work or tomorrow

Best is 2 photos, taken from the side:
1) You on bike, hands on hoods in your usual riding position, cranks aligned with seat tube
2) You on bike, hands on hoods, forearms horizontal, cranks level, nearside pedal forward.

If you still have the older bike, put photos of you on that one, too.

These are the best pics I could manage to take by supporting my phone and using voice commands to snap the picshttps://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7fd211c9ef.jpghttps://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2d2a49aa4e.jpg

Nicely done. Good position, good back. That Canyon has a short head tube for an XS. You could get lower if you wanted to by messing with stem angle and spacers. Depends on where your power is best w/r to hip angle.

You want a 90° angle between your upper arm and torso. With this fit, that angle is too small. Notice that no matter how low you are, this angle remains about the same, which seems kinda weird, but that's how it works.

Experiment by taking more of these photos while moving your hands forward, easiest in the low position while resting your forearms on the bars. See how many cm you'll need to add to your reach to get that 90° angle. You could put some of them into the stem or get full size bars instead of the compacts, which would also move your hands forward on the hoods and drops.

You could also get more reach by moving your saddle back. With pedals horizontal, drop a plumb bob from the bony protrusion right below your knee cap. Hitting the center of the pedal axle is a good starting point. Or do a test for balance on the road. You should be able to briefly lift your hands off the bars without sliding forward on the saddle. Move saddle back to decrease weight on hands.

Some people take a while to get used to having proper reach. I'm on the other side, where I feel more comfortable having more reach. I dialed it back recently after noticing that I was up to 120°. I shortened my stem and went to compact bars. You need to do the opposite. I'm already used to the shorter reach.

Thanks for the feedback! I personally don't like very long reach tbh makes me feel too stretched out, had the old one for a year and could never get used to it.

I'll look into getting a 90 or 100mm stem in the mean time or even a bike fit

Thank you!