pastortodd

Road bikes have a "stand-over height" right? If I know a bike has, say, a STO of 33 inches and I know my inseem is measured at 34.75, is this enough clearance? Or is it too much?
What is the ideal amount of space here for road bikes?
Thanks
PastorTodd

pastortodd

I agree you can't use this measurement as sole rule in buying a bike. However it should be a start, or maybe not, that's part of my question.

botto 

use it and chances are you'll buy a bike that's a size too large

pastortodd

You might be right, because so far it seems the numbers are to high.
So how much clearance do you think?

Little Darwin

I currently have a 1979 Schwinn in 22" that fits me fine... In 1979 a Schwinn Dealer sold me a 23" framed bike.

So, did the Schwinn Dealer sell the wrong size? Absolutely not, it fit me like a glove then. Some peoples' bodies change in the course of 25 years...

Of course your dad could have been sold too large a bike, but that is one case, hardly proof of the failure of a sizing system.

In our current time when everything is either a mountain/comfort bike or has 6" drop between the seat and bars, of course today's frames are smaller... The problem isn't the sizing methodology, it is an industry that has forgotten the casual road rider.

botto 

maybe you had a LBS that knew what they were talking about, the one in my hometown obviously did not. My father bought 3 Puchs from the same dealer, over the late 70s & 80s, and all of them are too large. They were too large then IMO and are too large now. For the record, we're basically the same height, with the same gorilla arms, and the bikes are all too large (large as in brushing the jewels on the TT when you dismount, so don't crash on it large ).

georgiaboy

Stand-over height is provided for some complete bike builds and can be used to narrow down the correct frame size for some particular models.

Compact frame geometry causes the stand over height measurement to be misguiding for correct fit. When measuring for fit, it's best to use the saddle height measure to determine the right fit regardless of frame geometry.

Different tire size choices can increase/decrease the stand-over height.

Higher end frames not sold a a complete build generally do not list the stand over height.

If talking about an older road frame, I believe the consensus is the seat post should be about the width of a fist.

bormoglot

Standover still gives you 100% reliable top limit for the frame size. But only that...

gurana

I agree that standover height is not the only measurement to judge a bike by, and the OP indicated that he thinks the same. pastortodd, if you're looking for some example number of what road bikes should be, I've heard at a minimum 1.5', other's have said at least 2".

I think it all is about your preferences, but I think most would agree that at the least, STO is good for judging the MAXIMUM size bike you can take ... meaning that anything larger, and you could really hurt yourself. This is good for eliminating certain bikes while your shopping. You find a bike that fits your preferred STO, then you start looking at other aspects of sizing.

Most manufacturer's equipment manuals will say something about standover. I have a specialized allez, and I believe the manual said something like 1.5" for road bikes, and like 4" for mountain bikes.

noisebeam

I ride an early to mid-80s Centurion 61cm frame (ST) and its standover is very negative to my important bits when I am barefoot, about zero with shoes on. But it has a 57cm TT and feels smaller reachwise than my 2005 57cm (ST) Lemond with a 58m TT and a couple inches of standover clearance.

Al

cyclintom

Firstly, standover height is pretty important but more indirectly than directly.

If you buy a smaller bike you could always install a longer seatpost. So standover height isn't everything.

But longer seattubes usually imply a longer toptube as well and that is also important. But you can set the seat back, use an offset seatpost and longer stems to adjust for that as well.

So unless you're WAY off of the standard sizing chart you don't have to worry too much about sizing. It isn't nearly as important as it's made out to be.

A inch to an inch and a half is good. 2 inches is stretching it but I'm riding a cyclocross bike that's a 55 and my normal road bike is a 61 or 62. That's about 2 3/4th inches! That's pretty extreme but my first mountain bike bought new was that size and I rode it comfortably for 6 or 7 years.

FormerBMX'er

When I bought my last frame I started by looking at the "effective length" of the top-tube first. If that was too long or too short for the fit I wanted then I'd scrap that frame all together. From there I looked at head tube length, seat-tube angle, head-tube angle and chainstay length.

AbooZaid

According to the web links that talk about the proper fit, it depends on your riding style. The French fit seems to be the old school way but still used by some pros. It is apparently more comfortable and less stressful on your neck, back and shoulders. However, riders use a much larger frame with this fit and barely have any clearance.

Does anyone ride this way? It seems appealing to me but I am worried about what that would mean in a crash, having zero clearance to manuever around.