Originally Posted by alanbikehouston

Three things are important for comfort on a bike: saddle height, bar drop, and cockpit length. If those three things are dialed in with precision, the bike will be comfortable.

The best fitting road bikes for me have a saddle height of 30 inches (bottom bracket bolt to top of saddle), and a bar drop of one inch, and a cockpit length (from the back edge of the saddle to the front of the stem) of 31 1/2 inches.

So, all of my road bikes provide precisely the same fit and riding position, although on the size 56 there is about five or six inches of seat post showing, and on my size 62, there is only about two inches of seat post showing.

What does NOT work is the modern style of buying frames that are two, or three sizes too small, which results in having eight or nine inches of post showing, and a bar drop of four or five inches. That fit results in a "pretend racer" riding position that shifts the rider's weight forward onto the hands, resulting in pain in the hands, wrists, neck and shoulders.

Especially for touring, the riding position should be the cyclist's head up, to see surrounding traffic, and enjoy the scenery. For a touring cyclist to ride with his nose down against the front tire would be to miss the point of touring.