Yes, absolutely. Stack is simple measurement from the height of the BB to a given point above it. How you make up that difference is immaterial to the distance. If you have a HB height of X stack but it uses 3cm of spacers and you move to another frame that has an extra 3cm of frame stack (rendering the spacers unnecessary), your stack height is still the same.
Correct, he is low and aero. Every fit is individual. What works for some doesn’t work for others.
Have no idea, TBH. Never bothered to compare the Synapse geo vs other endurance bikes.
Again, no idea…last thing I want is for him to get any faster so I am keeping my mouth shut.
Same for me….if I try a more “relaxed” position, it is imply uncomfortable. Hell, my most comfortable bike is my TT bike, which is set up very long and low. But I can ride in that position for hours and not think twice about it.
Yeah, the first time I tried a very sporty road bike and immediately liked it better was pretty surprising to me. On paper, everything says that this is a bad idea: I’m not very flexible, for example, and have problems with my knees interfering with my belly and my elbows. Yet, it works much better. Humans are weird!
You are lucky that I wasn’t drinking any coffee, otherwise you’d owe me a new keyboard!!
That hasn’t been my experience, my body position after being set up correctly is just different on different bikes.
For example, my 3T Strada’s seat tube angle is 1 degree slacker than on my endurance road bike, and I think this in combination with shorter cranks did wonders for my fit. I have long limbs, and I get less interference between legs and body. I don’t think my position on both bikes is identical.
I think what you are trying to say is that your body position on an endurance road bike and a more aggressive road bike are roughly the same, just rotated a bit, right? But in addition, you have different effective top tube lengths, etc.
Overall, I’d say that a lot of factors go into what bikes do and do not fit a particular rider. But like clothes, that the body position on different bikes — when fit correctly — is different from one another. That is precisely what makes one bike more comfortable than another.
Ok, this is a very valid point. But I’d say these people haven’t gotten a bike that fit correctly or their bike has been set up correctly. I cringe every time — not at them, they don’t know, but at the morons who sold them their bikes without making sure it fit.
Regarding the number of spacers, I think the aim here is simply to allow both frames in the same size to be adaptable to roughly the same degree.
Thank you everyone for all of the comments, it is all very helpful and educational.
It sounds like in a ideal world you could try all bike, demo them, and see what you like.
However, from my limited experience this is just not possible and even more so in a post covid, supply chain problem world. I actually envision my next bike purchase to be totally blind, unfortunately.
There is just not stock of many or any frames. I am also a very small frame that makes it harder to find my size in a store or amongst friends or in my cycling groups.
I still have a velofit subscription and they have a “sizing” tool feature. I am curious how much you can rely no the recommendations?
You also have to select what category your want you recommendations in, race vs. endurance. So I can get recommendations for each, however, I have to choose between each.
Luckily I have time and am not looking to purchase immediately, however, choosing between race and endurance I see to be a conundrum I will have to face at some point.
