Originally Posted by Polar Foil

Not surprising that lots of people have chimed in. The standover height is just one of many factors in bike fit. If someone at your LBS made a blanket statement like that, they're just wrong and trying to sound like they're smart so they can sell you something. Think about it this way: what if you got on a bike whose top tube was 40 inches off the ground, but the bottom bracket was 10 inches higher than your bikes? It might actually feel small. Picture a penny farthing: you had to climb a friggin' ladder to get on the things but anybody could pedal them.

All bike makers use different geometries and most measure size differently, so unless you want to do all the research to figure out how to compare them on paper, you're going to have to go ride them to figure out which ones fit you.

Then keep in mind that if you do end up going with a "smaller" or more compact bike, and add a freakishly long stem like 200mm, you're going to have to deal with very quick steering...so getting the fit right is way more than just about the frame.