Originally Posted by
cranky old road
Isn't the design intended to provide a headtube of reasonable length on a frame with short standover?
Thats is correct.....sort of.
With conventional 700c wheels its only possible to get a top tube so low before it hits the down tube which in turn has its won minimum height due the height of a 700c/27" fork, there's a minimum standover height.
By using a smaller 24" front wheel a low standover height can be achieved with a female friendly top tube length.