Does Standover Height Matter At All?

[philipgonzales3]

I am 6'2", which puts me in the XL frame size (sometimes large) on all the different manufaturer charts. I picked up a XL GHOST Square Cross 1.8 second hand, without even trying the bike on for size. I haven't ridden a bike in a good 20 years and didn't want to embarrass myself eating pavement or what not in front of the seller.

I'm a noob but based on the .883 rule for saddle height I have to slam my seat all the way down to get the correct height. All else seems comfortable enough, although I have only made it a little less than 4 miles in a little more than 20 minutes due to being out shape.

I've also measured my inseam and got 82.5cm or about 32.5 inches. I plan to measure again just to double check but pretty sure it's correct. Measured with no shoes on.

Anyway, back to the tip tube height. When standing over it, my ummm mid section we will call it, sits right on top of the top tube. Is this a big issue? When I stop, I just lean the bike over a little to put my feet down. I'm not sure if that is how to correctly stop or if I am doing something wrong? I have no issues finding another bike but wondering if I am risking my safety (mid section) or if I should just stop overthinking it and ride what I have?

Attached a few screenshots of me taking off on the bike, the 2nd time I got on it, in case that matters any.

Anyway, let me know if you have any thoughts.

Regards,

Philip

 

[Specialeyes]

Hi Philip,

I'd say that looks about spot on.

Standover height ceased to be a useful measure as soon as top tubes started sloping (blame Mike Burrows and the Giant TCR 26 years ago) My preferred ballpark method is to put your heel on the pedal at its fullest extent. You should be able to just touch the pedal with your heel with a straight leg and without rocking your hips. (Use a doorframe and pedal backwards with both heels - see if you have to rock your hips)

Don't worry about 4 miles in 20 minutes @ 12mph - just spend more time on the bike! That's a perfectly fine average speed, besides which, for all we know that could be 4 miles up the side of a mountain and into a headwind!

 

[Aristotle Kristatos]

Just make sure when you come forward off the saddle and put your feet down your bits don't get smashed to bits...

I have a huge ground clearance on one of my bikes and can't touch the ground while sat on the saddle.... Never had any issues.

 

[wafter]

FWIW I have a longer inseam (c. 33") and am 4" shorter at around 5'10".

I have relatively long legs; yours are obviously shorter by comparison / possibly shorter than average for your height; meaning a lower tolerance to standover height and a greater reach.. which seems to corroborate the fact that when judged by height alone the "correct" frame size feels appropriate, aside from the standover height.

Ultimately it boils down to whether you're comfortable when straddling the bike. If not you could potentially go a size lower and fit a longer stem to extend the reach...

 

[Kingfisher101]

If you're jumping on and off it all the time, like when commuting etc, I've found if its too tall and your crotch is continually getting bumped it can be a pain. Just see how you go and if you feel that you are getting sore with it then sell it and get a size smaller. I don't think you need tons of room clearance but a bit makes all the difference.

 

[Alex321]

I am 6'2", which puts me in the XL frame size (sometimes large) on all the different manufaturer charts. I picked up a XL GHOST Square Cross 1.8 second hand, without even trying the bike on for size. I haven't ridden a bike in a good 20 years and didn't want to embarrass myself eating pavement or what not in front of the seller.

I'm a noob but based on the .883 rule for saddle height I have to slam my seat all the way down to get the correct height. All else seems comfortable enough, although I have only made it a little less than 4 miles in a little more than 20 minutes due to being out shape.

I've also measured my inseam and got 82.5cm or about 32.5 inches. I plan to measure again just to double check but pretty sure it's correct. Measured with no shoes on.

Anyway, back to the tip tube height. When standing over it, my ummm mid section we will call it, sits right on top of the top tube. Is this a big issue? When I stop, I just lean the bike over a little to put my feet down. I'm not sure if that is how to correctly stop or if I am doing something wrong? I have no issues finding another bike but wondering if I am risking my safety (mid section) or if I should just stop overthinking it and ride what I have?

Completely normal. If the saddle is at the right height for pedaling, you will not normally be able to put both feet on the ground at once, you just lean the bike a bit to the left and put the left foot down (or the right if you are in a country which drives on the right always best to lean away from passing traffic, even if it is only a slight lean).

Attached a few screenshots of me taking off on the bike, the 2nd time I got on it, in case that matters any.

Anyway, let me know if you have any thoughts.

If your leg is just slightly bent at the bottom of the pedal stroke with the ball of your foot on the pedal, then it is about the right height for you. The leg should be pretty well completely straight if you put the heel on the pedal, but that is not how you will actually ride.

Standover height really doesn't matter much with modern bikes, it is stack and reach which are the two most important measurements.

 

[bobzmyunkle]

If you're jumping on and off it all the time, like when commuting etc, I've found if its too tall and your crotch is continually getting bumped it can be a pain.

Emergency stop? A lot of pain. Depends if you value your crown jewels in my opinion.

 

[MichaelW2]

The quick and easy way to set saddle height is to make your heel touch the pedals with a straight leg. As you ride correctly with the ball of the foot on the pedal, you will have a safe amount of flex in your knees.
It looks about right. Body proportions do not always scale with height so those % figures may only apply to med riders.
Remember that the crank length has not been scaled up to XL so you are riding Med cranks.

 

[presta]

When standing over it, my ummm mid section we will call it, sits right on top of the top tube.

I'm a bit confused, as this is not what your photos relate to, they're showing you on the saddle.

On the saddle, if you can get the tip of one foot on the ground with the other on the pedal that's ok, but as you say, you want to be able to stand over the top tube without getting your tackle crunched. Only you can say whether that's a problem, but remember to consider the possibility that you might be standing on a level that's lower than the wheels if the ground is rough.

 

[Gillstay]

Looks just fine. Get a few miles on it and then start adjusting some more to fine tune the fit.

Have fun.

 

[philipgonzales3]

Emergency stop? A lot of pain. Depends if you value your crown jewels in my opinion.

Meh, I don't want any more kids haha. I haven't hit them yet. I'm sure I'll be back here crying if I do! 😄😅🥲

 

[philipgonzales3]

I'm a bit confused, as this is not what your photos relate to, they're showing you on the saddle.

On the saddle, if you can get the tip of one foot on the ground with the other on the pedal that's ok, but as you say, you want to be able to stand over the top tube without getting your tackle crunched. Only you can say whether that's a problem, but remember to consider the possibility that you might be standing on a level that's lower than the wheels if the ground is rough.

Great point! And yeah, sorry for the confusion. I didn't take any pics when standing over the top tube so figured the pics would at least give some scale to my sizing and the bike sizing. Ie if the bike looked overly too big for me, etc.

 

[MidnightRider]

I'm female and once had to do an emergency stop, which caused sliding off the saddle and on to a high crossbar, mostly impact on pubic bone for me. Not pleasant and I would think far worse for a bloke to land on a high crossbar.

Suggest you look for something lower, its really not worth the risk if you ever want kids etc!

Saddle height has no real relationship to standover height, seperate issues in my view. I think I mentioned somewhere here the last few days that I used to ride a 21" bike with a straight top tube (high) - be aware if on slippy surface or if carrying anything on a rack that rolling to the side because your crossbar is too high can cause the bike to try to escape / slide out from under you. Not really an issue with a low top bar.

 

[Kingfisher101]

You are supposed to have some clearance everything you read says so.
The bikes crossbar is not supposed to be in your crotch if you stand over it.
Its too big for you Philip but its up to you what you do?.

 

[Alex321]

You are supposed to have some clearance everything you read says so

The bikes crossbar is not supposed to be in your crotch if you stand over it.
Its too big for you Philip but its up to you what you do?.

It doesn't look too big for him, nor does his description generally suggest it is. Why are you so sure it is?

Having clearance over the top tube is not important at all. How often as a cyclist do you even think of standing over it? I just went to check mine, and in my slippers I can *just* stand with both feet flat, but my crotch is touching the top tube. In my cycling shoes I'd have a quarter of an inch or so clearance. And my bike is definitely not too big for me.