Originally Posted by
trek330
Will someone explain to me why a too small frame for your height can not be ideally adjusted?Wouldn't a longer stem, higher seat slightly more aft,and maybe longer crank compensate nicely for a 52cm frame when a 54 is your size?
I'd say the tough part about answering that is how much it depends on your individual sizes; standover for your height, arm length, where you're comfortable, all that.
Having said that, I did exactly what you're talking about years ago (2003). I had been riding a Cannondale 52cm road bike and bought a 52cm Trek 5200 carbon fiber bike from eBay, not realizing the two of them measure frames differently - center to top vs center to center. The 5200 was too small. By getting a new seatpost and then shopping for a stem, I found a combination that made it a pleasure to ride. Yes, the smaller frame is more "twitchy", if you like that word. More responsive. About that time, there were interviews in the bike magazines saying that several pros liked the combination of smaller frame and longer stem for that reason.
The stem has a positive angle instead of negative (really parallel to the top tube) and was the longest one the bike shop had. The combination lifts the bars and pushes them forward. The seatpost is just a taller version. I've seen some that have a bend in the tube to push the saddle even farther back.