ok, so lets (for a second) leave out the "its all about top tube, dont worry about standover" arguements and talk about standover height. does the top tube touch your bits when standing over?

i'm 5'11" and apparently i have really short legs because anything over a 54/55 has the top tube nestling against the boys. i dont hang particularly low, if you catch my drift. but a lot of my friends (my size and even some shorter than i) have larger frames. right now, theres about an inch between the top tube and the dna bag when i standover, feet shoulder width apart.

in all likelyhood this comes off as very noob, but we gotta start somewhere.
xo
me

no. you should be able to "walk" with the bike under you without your balls about to smash.

I have really short legs and my junk just barely touches while standing.

Think about having to quickly dismount when you're going up a steep hill - if you're able to do so without injuring yourself, you're fine. You're supposed to have about an inch clearance for just that reason, but I guess if you feel brave it's negotiable.

My last bike I had to put it at an angle to dismount without racking myself and I never had any problems the whole year I rode it, trails, hills, commuting, whatever. I think 1-2" too tall is still useable if you're careful, more than that is asking for trouble. I'd rather have a frame that's too big over one that's too small though.

my "dna bag" (which i have never heard before... nice), JUST touches my top tube when I wear boxers. Wearing spanz under my shorts picks it up a bit, so I have a bit more room to.. uh.. breathe.