Stem replacement and handling

[Owlie]

Good points all. Something with this bike is not exactly right, and I don't quite know what it is. My guess it's some combination of saddle, lack of core strength and a slightly too long reach. I've got some more questions for you...

BSG: Yeah, there's a little vanity involved, but the primary reason for changing the angle would be a more upright position. I'm quite comfortable-- save the arm soreness and a bit of mashed 'girly parts'-- in the position I'm in now.

When you mention the stem length, do you mean length of the "body" of the stem, or the length that "projects" in front of the bike? Are we drawing triangles and playing with the Pythagorean theorem? I imagine the former, but physics and I had a bad relationship.

Ridebikeme: I'm having a little trouble visualizing this. So, get on the bike, get in the drops, then focus on where the hub should be. If you're in the right neighborhood, it should be obscured by...what?

Oh, Seajay answered that for me. And good suggestion on the bars, since I hang out on the hoods, have tiny hands and would like shallower drops. (And maybe carbon, but that's something else all together.)

I'm booking a bike fit as soon as I can come up with transport to the LBS and the $$...at the same time.