Originally Posted by
force10
I did stop by my local bike co-op and they had a bike about two sizes too small that I could probably get the geometry right with some creativity. Is that a bad idea?
That's what I did. My dedicated trainer bike is on the small side for me, and the way I've got it set up is different from my road position in lots of little ways. I rationalize this away by the fact that my erg sessions are rarely more than 90 minutes, so I can live with the imperfect fit for that duration. If I were routinely putting in multi-hour erg sessions, I'd want a better fit.
Geometry on a stationary is less sensitive in some ways because you don't need to worry about how a long stem + short top tube will have different handling than a short stem + long top tube. Standover clearance is less of an issue. I think if you can get your hip-knee-ankle relationship right, you're probably good.