Frame Size, Center of Gravity, and Bike Handling

[Thorn]

Thanks for the replies! Y'all have given me a lot to stew upon. Based on your comments and other reading, I suspect that the correct size for me is somewhere between the two. The 60cm frame is too long and is not as stable as I'd like on hills; the 52cm is probably a little short which is why I ended up with a long stem (see image) and may have caused my initial discomfort when standing.

Last fall I was seriously considering a custom bike, but a bad experience at the bike shop put it on hold. Then this opportunity to ride a steel frame bike with Campy parts came up and I decided Fate was controlling the timing of the purchase. I expected that the lessons I would learn from the week would be about steel and Campy. I did learn about that (oohh...how comfy are those Campy brake hoods), but now I've also seen that frame size matters as much as geometry and material.

Thanks so much!