Bike Standover Height

[DRM]

Different style bikes will have different stand over height, as @Kajjal wrote it’s more important on an MTB, where a sudden meeting of Crown Jewels and top tube may make you regret riding off road

 

[Blue Hills]

Go back to the 50s and before and standover wasn't often a factor, with the fashion being for a tall frame with minimal seat-post showing. Early safety frames still had a mounting peg on the rear triangle for that reason.

did you hang your ***s on the peg in case of mishaps getting OFF.

 

[MichaelW2]

Pedal spindle to top of saddle height is the most critical sizing dimension, because I don't know anyone with adjustable length legs!
I know that to be able to pedal efficiently, I need a pedal to saddle height of at least 36 1/2", and no matter what frame size I am riding I this dimension is not negotiable downwards. So long as the correct saddle height can be attained then there is a fair bit of leeway in the frame sizing and it comes down to how much seatpost you can tolerate sticking out, how long the reach is along the top tube, and how high you want the head tube to be to achieve a comfortable handlebar height. In the days of steel frames with horizontal top tubes, bike sizing was pretty simple. If you could straddle the frame with your feet on the floor without doing yourself a mischief, then the sizing was in the right ball park to be able to asjust it for comfort.

The most critical dimension for people outside the norm body height is the distance from bottom bracket spindle to pedal spindle ie crank length. Normal sized people fret over 5mm but Long Johns and Short Ernies may be cm away from optimum pedalling circle. Saddle height is adjustable on all bikes.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

The most critical dimension for people outside the norm body height is the distance from bottom bracket spindle to pedal spindle ie crank length. Normal sized people fret over 5mm but Long Johns and Short Ernies may be cm away from optimum pedalling circle. Saddle height is adjustable on all bikes.

I doubt most riders would even notice a difference in crank length of 5 or 10 mm, unless they changed the crankset on a bike they already had done a lot of miles on. I swapped the crankset on one of my beaters, which went from 170 mm down to 165. I only did this because I had a really scabby looking one off a skip bike that needed to be consumed and I like my pub/shops bikes to look as scruffy and neglected as possible for anti-theft reasons. For the first couple of rides afterwards I noticed a bit more effort needed due to the effectively higher gearing, but I very quickly got used to it and now it feels no different to riding any 170mm crank bike.
As for saddles being adjustable, some carbons really aren't if you have to cut seatposts to length, and there is still a sensible limit to seatpost length on any bike governed by the mechanical load you aregoing to impose at the seat tube clamp, and the requirement to have a tolerable relative handlebar height.

 

[kingspirit]

Pedal spindle to top of saddle height is the most critical sizing dimension, because I don't know anyone with adjustable length legs!
I know that to be able to pedal efficiently, I need a pedal to saddle height of at least 36 1/2", and no matter what frame size I am riding I this dimension is not negotiable downwards. So long as the correct saddle height can be attained then there is a fair bit of leeway in the frame sizing and it comes down to how much seatpost you can tolerate sticking out, how long the reach is along the top tube, and how high you want the head tube to be to achieve a comfortable handlebar height. In the days of steel frames with horizontal top tubes, bike sizing was pretty simple. If you could straddle the frame with your feet on the floor without doing yourself a mischief, then the sizing was in the right ball park to be able to asjust it for comfort.

My seat height is 75-76cm, I had a Fuji Jari 1.1 in size M, the top tube was 55cm, seat tube was 54cm, reach 37.1cm and standover was 80.5 cm. I felt a that the M size was a bit to small and I also had a small toe overlap, but that might be due to the short wheelbase. I was going to go for an L size, but what put me of is the standover of 82.5 cm. Now I'm looking at the Vitus Substance 2022 models and really struggling to decide to choose. I really hate seat post sticking out to much. The M size top tube is 55 and seat tube 51.5 cm, reach 38.2 cm. L size top tube is 56.2, seat tube 53.5cm and reach 39.1 cm, standover on L size is 80.3cm. Maybe get the L size and change to shorter stem to shorten the reach slightly.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

If you really don't like a load of seatpost sticking out - and I certainly don't, then your choice in modern bkes is going to be very limited as few have horizontal top tubes anymore. I would stay well away from any frame with toe overlap, and I don't see any justification for such geometry anyway - barring outright racers where a very short wheelbase might be desirable.
On a road frame, so long as I can stand astride the bike and lift the front wheel off the ground without any unwanted contact with the crossbar, then the frame is sized ok. On an MTB, I like a little extra clearance, but I can still ride a 23" horizontal top tube Raleigh MTB without any problem as the 26" wheels give an extra 1/2" clearance for the same size frame compared with 27" or 700 wheels.
I reduced the reach on my Raleigh Royal by swapping the stem for one that was 20mm shorter out of my spares pile. The frame is 23 1/2" and has a very good ride quality as butted 531 touring bikes generally do.

 

[Andy_R]

Different style bikes will have different stand over height, as @Kajjal wrote it’s more important on an MTB, where a sudden meeting of Crown Jewels and top tube may make you regret riding off road

Given that 51.1 percent of the population don't have "crown jewels", then I would suggest that particular standard is not quite as relevant. To paraphrase the popular Pop combo "Space" , "The female of the species is more prevalent than the male". Given that the 51.1 percent of the population that doesn't have "crown jewels"also has longer legs than the stumpy crown jewel possessors makes stand-over height even less relevant.

 

[Cycleops]

Given that 51.1 percent of the population don't have "crown jewels", then I would suggest that particular standard is not quite as relevant. To paraphrase the popular Pop combo "Space" , "The female of the species is more prevalent than the male". Given that the 51.1 percent of the population that doesn't have "crown jewels"also has longer legs than the stumpy crown jewel possessors makes stand-over height even less relevant.

Ah but what percentage of the UK population sans crown jewels ride bikes with a cross bar?

 

[Andy_R]

Ah but what percentage of the UK population sans crown jewels ride bikes with a cross bar?

Erm....given that all 2 wheeled cycles of the double triangle design have a cross bar of some sort (ie 1 from the headset tube going to the seat tube) then that would be all of them. Even if that cross bar is dropped, bent, or lowered. The point is that the majority of the population doesn't have "crown jewels" and we should acknowledge that fact.

 

[Reynard]

Ah but what percentage of the UK population sans crown jewels ride bikes with a cross bar?

I do...

And if the bike is a wee bit too big, I can confirm that it still f*cking hurts if you smack yourself down there when you get it wrong.

DAMHIKT...

 

[DRM]

Given that 51.1 percent of the population don't have "crown jewels", then I would suggest that particular standard is not quite as relevant. To paraphrase the popular Pop combo "Space" , "The female of the species is more prevalent than the male". Given that the 51.1 percent of the population that doesn't have "crown jewels"also has longer legs than the stumpy crown jewel possessors makes stand-over height even less relevant.

Makes it very relevant as “the female of the species” don’t want to split their difference either on the crossbar 👍

 

[DRM]

I do...

And if the bike is a wee bit too big, I can confirm that it still f*cking hurts if you smack yourself down there when you get it wrong.

DAMHIKT...

I think a real life experience has put that to bed then.

 

[Nebulous]

I'm a shortarse with a longer back. I've had bikes where the only way I can stand astride the bar is if the bike is tilted to one side, or if I'm perched on my toes. If I can stand astride it even with it touching its a win. It hasn't done me any harm - we can adapt to most things.