Standover height?
09-24-06 | 05:34 AM
#26
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 248
Likes: 2
Hello, my name is highlyselassie and I am a fit Nazi.
Whilst the sloping top tube is good idea for mtb's, where is the comparitively longer head tube to make up for this slope?. Who really wants to ride a mtb with 5 inches of drop to the handlebars, what kind of control does that offer over technical terrain?. I can understand people wanting standover height on a mountain bike, it seems fairly sensible, but...
standover height on a road bike, what purpose does this serve?. A ballsack is comfortable enough straddling the top tube, aslong as it isn't being put under pressure from below. Even then, as alanbikehouston has said you can stand on one foot with the other in the pedal tilting the bike to one side. This is not a difficult to learn or execute.
Everyone is so afraid of the potential harm the dreaded top tube can do, that they sacrifice comfort on the bike for the illusion of safety off the bike. Where did this 1 inch clearance thing come from anyway, why an inch, why stop there?. Why not 2 or 3 inches, surely this is safer still. It seems, like so many things bicycle related, someone plucked this idea from the air and the forces of fear and marketing(in las vegas?) have made it stick.
Whilst the sloping top tube is good idea for mtb's, where is the comparitively longer head tube to make up for this slope?. Who really wants to ride a mtb with 5 inches of drop to the handlebars, what kind of control does that offer over technical terrain?. I can understand people wanting standover height on a mountain bike, it seems fairly sensible, but...
standover height on a road bike, what purpose does this serve?. A ballsack is comfortable enough straddling the top tube, aslong as it isn't being put under pressure from below. Even then, as alanbikehouston has said you can stand on one foot with the other in the pedal tilting the bike to one side. This is not a difficult to learn or execute.
Everyone is so afraid of the potential harm the dreaded top tube can do, that they sacrifice comfort on the bike for the illusion of safety off the bike. Where did this 1 inch clearance thing come from anyway, why an inch, why stop there?. Why not 2 or 3 inches, surely this is safer still. It seems, like so many things bicycle related, someone plucked this idea from the air and the forces of fear and marketing(in las vegas?) have made it stick.
09-24-06 | 07:31 AM
#27
Senior Curmudgeon
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,856
Likes: 2
From: Directly above the center of the earth
Bikes: Varies by day
Originally Posted by highlyselassie
...Where did this 1 inch clearance thing come from anyway, why an inch, why stop there?. Why not 2 or 3 inches, surely this is safer still. It seems, like so many things bicycle related, someone plucked this idea from the air and the forces of fear and marketing(in las vegas?) have made it stick.
The "sloping top tube" AKA compact frame geometry that you also dismiss is intended to eliminate the standover problem, allowing the rider to select the correct top tube length. Again, whether or not you like it, it works.
So to summarize your post, you were wrong yesterday, you are wrong today, and you'll be wrong forever. It's just that simple.
__________________
Nishiki road bike, Raleigh road bike, Electra Cruiser Lux 7d, Electra Townie 3i, Electra Townie 1, Whatever I find today!
09-24-06 | 08:45 AM
#28
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 248
Likes: 2
Originally Posted by FarHorizon
Decades of experience spawned the "one-inch rule." There is a good reason for it whether you think so or not. Despite your assertions that clothing or habit can compensate for a lack of top tube clearance, common experiences by tens (hundreds?) of thousands of riders disagree. For road bikes, an inch of clearance is prudent; for MTBs, more.
I can quantify my assertions, you have yet to quantify yours. All you've provided thus far is idle conjecture.
09-24-06 | 08:58 AM
#29
Gemutlichkeit
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,423
Likes: 1
Originally Posted by alanbikehouston
Discomfort? "Physical Harm"? Why are people confused about the difference between RIDING on a bike and standing over a bike? For about fifty years, the standard bike used by the London "Bobby" and the British postman had a "standover" height of about 33 inches to 35 inches. And, the riders were men with a total leg length of about 30 inches to 35 inches.
Why did those bikes work so well? Their size and geometry placed the rider's hands as high or higher than the saddle. Pefect for urban riding, surrounded by motor traffic on the right and on the left. And, there was still three to six inches of clearance between the top of the saddle and the top of the top bar.
But, it was impossible to stand "flat footed" with both feet on the ground, one on each side of those bike. How did people ever survive? Duh...they didn't put both feet down. At a red light, the rider put his left foot on the ground, and the right foot remained on the right pedal. Learning how to do that takes a child about five minutes.
Today, I see guys six feet tall riding bikes that are the correct size for a child about five feet tall. A foot or more of clearance from the top of the saddle to the top of the top bar. They are "scrunched up" with their hands three or four inches lower than the saddle. Their hands, wrists, neck, and back ache after a two hour ride. But, they feel very "safe". They have that wonderful thing known as "stand over".
When you buy a bike, you need to make one basic decision first. Are you buying it to RIDE or are you buying it so you can stand over it?
Why did those bikes work so well? Their size and geometry placed the rider's hands as high or higher than the saddle. Pefect for urban riding, surrounded by motor traffic on the right and on the left. And, there was still three to six inches of clearance between the top of the saddle and the top of the top bar.
But, it was impossible to stand "flat footed" with both feet on the ground, one on each side of those bike. How did people ever survive? Duh...they didn't put both feet down. At a red light, the rider put his left foot on the ground, and the right foot remained on the right pedal. Learning how to do that takes a child about five minutes.
Today, I see guys six feet tall riding bikes that are the correct size for a child about five feet tall. A foot or more of clearance from the top of the saddle to the top of the top bar. They are "scrunched up" with their hands three or four inches lower than the saddle. Their hands, wrists, neck, and back ache after a two hour ride. But, they feel very "safe". They have that wonderful thing known as "stand over".
When you buy a bike, you need to make one basic decision first. Are you buying it to RIDE or are you buying it so you can stand over it?
Now, hit the dirt and the rules change.
09-24-06 | 01:04 PM
#30
Senior Curmudgeon
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,856
Likes: 2
From: Directly above the center of the earth
Bikes: Varies by day
Originally Posted by highlyselassie
Decades of experience...experience of what exactly and by whom? I can quantify my assertions, you have yet to quantify yours. All you've provided thus far is idle conjecture.
__________________
Nishiki road bike, Raleigh road bike, Electra Cruiser Lux 7d, Electra Townie 3i, Electra Townie 1, Whatever I find today!
