On 12/7/2019 3:28 PM, wrote:

snip

Are there people that close a bike only based on these measurements?

No.

It used to be that stock frames came in 2cm increments from 46 cm to 64
cm so for most riders it wasn't necessary to order a custom frame. You
might need to change the stem reach a little but you could get very
close to an ideal fit unless you had short legs and long arms or
vice-versa. When I bought my touring bicycle, a 57 cm would have been
ideal but I had to choose between a 56cm and a 58cm. At the time, the
conventional wisdom was to go 1cm up for touring bicycles and 1cm down
for road bicycles, so I went up. That was fine when I bought it, but 34
years later it's too big for me.

Manufacturers got tired of manufacturing ten different frame sizes so
now they'll make four to six different "compact" frame sizes and use
various combinations of seat posts, stems, and spacers to make things
fit─kind of, sort of. It's like the old Midas Muffler commercial where
the customer asks "do you have a muffler that will fit my car" and the
mechanic answers "fit? we'll make it fit" and proceeds to use a
collection of adapters to create something that can be used.

This approach has benefited custom manufacturers. One short friend of
mine ended up with a beautiful custom titanium frame road bicycle.
Because a triple crankset is preferred in this area, especially for
older riders, she had to go with a Shimano 105 group.