Originally Posted by
hamish5178
Dear Carleton,
Everyone always says "you're not standing on it, you're riding it" but would you ever buy a bike whose tt was higher than your inseam? I know I wouldn't. If a bike wasn't offered in a size that combined an acceptable tt length with a standover height that I could actually stand over, I'd buy a different bike.
Yes I would and yes I have.
What's more is that we are riding fixed gear and often track spec bikes. Track spec bikes have higher BBs which mean, once you are in the pedals you are actually a few centimeters higher than you would be on a standard road bike...which is why the top tubes are sometimes higher than standard road bikes.
A "square" bike is one where the Top Tube and Seat Tube lengths are equal. So, you may see ads for a "57cm square road bike".
So, if I have two properly fitting bikes, a standard "square" road bike and a standard "square" track bike (with higher BB) the standover height of the track bike will be higher because the BB is higher.