Do I want a tri bike? (Page 2)

But his comfort and position would still be better on a proper sized frame.  

i am sure you are right. And in a more ideal situation, I would spend whatever it takes to get the perfect bike for me with the perfect fit. But the reality is, I have to draw a line somewhere. $750 is at the limit of what I would be willing to put together for a bike right now. It's good enough to make do right now. The time and money I would spend driving far and wide, searching for a similar bike in that range, or to find online and ship it, it would become unaffordable again. There was a bike in my area, used, that I can afford. It's not my perfect fit, I understand. But it's workable. If I decide to sell it next spring, I could probably take a loss of less than $100.

So i really do appreciate the insights into the ideal fit. But i also need you to understand i made the decision on what's available to me. I play a decent 6string guitar, solid top. I have felt the amazing action on a martin D-28 and a similar taylor. I am sure I Would play Smoother with either one. But they're out of my price range. Reality.

Agree in theory, but that doesn't mean that Andrew can't get to a set up that works with his new bike.  As I mentioned before, my biggest concern is that his seat is all that way down and he doesn't have any place to go if he finds he needs to go down any further.  However that might be OK if he's lucky. 

He's also a big guy, so he's going to have a more upright position by necessity (I speak from experience there).  I would guess he'll end up with his seat & bars level at best, or likely with some positive rise.  Maybe not optimal compared to  Dave Zabriskie-type aero position, but certainly more aero than sitting upright on top of some road bars. 

Once he gets to a situation where he can comfortably handle a more aggressive position, your arguments have a lot of merit.  At that point he may want to consider a smaller framed bike or perhaps just a new frame and more everything over.

Mark