I had a break across the trochanter and in the neck of my femur-the hip ball was intact so this may not apply to what you're looking at. My doc gave clearance on a stationary recumbent first, at about 3 weeks post surgery, so I bought a low end Schwinn on the thought that I'd use it until other options arose and sell it. No step over at all. I transferred straight from the wheelchair to the bike. Switched to my road bike on a trainer at about 6 weeks, but kept the Schwinn around and still use it on occasion. It's really good for structured, low cadence power rides.