Top picks so far to start test riding are.
* Scott CR1 Pro S/M
* Primavera Festino Red L
* Velocite Selene Small
* Pinarello FP1 500
* Specialized Allez Comp Compact 52
* BMC Street Fire SSX01 S
* BMC Street Racer SR01 S
* Salsa Podio 45cm/47cm
* Fuji Roubaix ACR 1.0 S

See the sheet for yourself at https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AobbVjMZX1n5dGJSVng4MnBjN18wQTN6SE9kQzgxd2c&hl=en

I definitely prefer the dropped position to help with getting speed up and wind resistance down.

I’m thinking along the same lines that I might be needing to raise my front end a couple of inches entirely to help shift more of my weight back to get it off my upper body. However, I want to avoid being a sail like on my flat.

There’s some adjustable angle stems that I’ve seen, but now length.

Ciao!

Still, this bike was meant to help me figure out my road riding preferences and it’s sure doing such.

* the stem is short at 90 mm
* handlebars were changed to ones that do fit
* seat is about halfway back and feels right
* when in drops, arms are barely bent at the elbows

I’ve ridden a couple of road bikes, small and medium, on longer rides now and have had similar issues with my hand and arm comfort. So I’m really thinking at this point, I might need to aim for a criterian or touring than race inspired frame.

Regarding your arm, wrist sensation, check how much weight you are putting on the hands compared to when on other bikes. The big clue from the pic, is that the bars are actually lower than the seat. I suspect that is the issue. You probably need to make adjustments so that your torso rotates backwards (move the CG aft) in order to unload weight from the bars. Like Michael T, I prefer riding with hands gripping the hoods, even tho I have bar-end shifters – I’m able to brake easily. And my finger strength is low, so I do not like the “flight deck” style integrated shifters nor the pushbutton type.

Btw, I just got my custom-cut stem back from Bike Friday. It is awesome, the first time in my life I am riding in a position that matches my needs. They recommend 125 miles of riding with the temporary, fit stem before sending it in. As far as I know, the BF fit stem system is the only way to dial in the h-bar fit. I had looked into going to a bike fitter with my Trek, but you only get an hour in their office, and I don’t think they provide an infinitely adjustable stem like BF. I plan to later convert the stem on my Trek to match the position.
Does anyone know of a fully adjustable stem (up/down/fwd/back) that would allow proper fit to be discovered?

Michael

Your back pains might be linked to a stem that too long, or the handlebars that don’t fit you. If you have setback on your seatpost, you should try adjusting it.

If that doesn’t help, ask you LBS to check out your riding position. Your arms might be slightly longer/shorter than the norm.

Cheers!