Well, I took the bike back to the stoer and they looked at me on it as well as on the 15". And, both people agreed that the 17" was better and the 15" was too small. Oddly, the 15" did not fix the reach problem. So, I've now had 4 different bike people (from two different stores) tell me the 17" was the better frame, so I guess I'll trust them.