Originally Posted by
PolarBear007
The reason I'm asking (aside from the desire to learn) is that my bike frame seems just the slightest too tall for me. FWIW, it's a 1990 or '91 Schwinn High Plains with (what seems to me anyway) a rather high-off-the-ground bottom bracket and has 26" wheels.
The pedal stroke/seat height ratio is perfect and the length of the top tube seems pretty good, but the stand-over height puts the top tube nearly touching my "nether region". I love the bike and how it rides, it seems just the slightest too tall when standing over the top-tube.
You could try narrower tires; that would lower the bike a tad. Good touring slicks are available in 26 x 1.5 and even 1.25 sizes.
But it sounds like your bike is the right size already. For a horizontal-top-tube frame (most older bikes), you should have just enough standover room to not nad-jack yourself, but no more.
Old MTBs had high bottom brackets for obstacle clearance, which makes their standover heights quite tall. That's why MTBs went to sloping top tubes so quickly; it lowers the standover while keeping a high bottom bracket.