Can Bikesdirect Standover numbers be trusted?
03-25-14, 05:40 PM
#51
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03-25-14, 05:54 PM
#52
Fresh Garbage
Thinking in reverse, the bigger the frame, the lower you can run the saddle and still maintain proper leg extension, and you won't be reaching as far "down" for the bars.
For the record, I'm only 6' even and ride a 60cm bike for that exact reason. Comfort when riding for me, standover be damned.
For the record, I'm only 6' even and ride a 60cm bike for that exact reason. Comfort when riding for me, standover be damned.
03-25-14, 05:55 PM
#53
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A smaller frame (shorter seat tube) will force you to rais the saddle in order to get proper leg extension. When you raise the saddle higher, it also becomes higher in relationship to the bars.
Thinking in reverse, the bigger the frame, the lower you can run the saddle and still maintain proper leg extension, and you won't be reaching as far "down" for the bars.
For the record, I'm only 6' even and ride a 60cm bike for that exact reason. Comfort when riding for me, standover be damned.
Thinking in reverse, the bigger the frame, the lower you can run the saddle and still maintain proper leg extension, and you won't be reaching as far "down" for the bars.
For the record, I'm only 6' even and ride a 60cm bike for that exact reason. Comfort when riding for me, standover be damned.
Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. Appreciate the clear explanation.
03-25-14, 06:03 PM
#54
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I would like one of those. A friend of a friend builds BMW cruisers and he says the best of the best is a 24" frame with 26" wheels and at some point said he can help me build one to replace my 24" that was stolen. My wife won't let me get one of those though until I get a fast* bike so that I don't slow her down.
*Fast being relative, which still means probably less than 20mph most of the time.
*Fast being relative, which still means probably less than 20mph most of the time.
03-25-14, 06:05 PM
#55
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Dude, just get an escape 3 and be done with it. It meets all your requirements: plenty of standover, long top tube, low price. Go to a local shop and get all of your maintenance handled for the first 30 days, 1 year, or even the entire duration of your ownership.
03-25-14, 06:08 PM
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In retrospect I probably should have posted this in the commuter section. I just posted it here since it seems a lot of people have bought from BikesDirect, and wanted to make sure the numbers were accurate, since they seemed so much taller than I expected.
03-25-14, 06:29 PM
#57
Your cog is slipping.
03-25-14, 06:46 PM
#58
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Yeah, standover height of horizontal Top-Tube bikes can be a bit of a shocker if you're overly concerned with rackin' em up.
03-25-14, 06:57 PM
#59
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Generally I would agree, except if you have someone who's legs are so short relative to their torso, that the seatpost would have to be completely slammed for them to reach the pedals. It sounds like the OP needs a frame like a Leader, which has a very long TT relative to the ST.
Slammed seats rule! Oh wait, that's stems. Dammit!!!
^^ That's the 23" bike that was super fun to ride but not very straddleable for me. It was fine to me cuz I can stop at every light without straddling TT.
17" is the size MTB most folk would put me on. Anything with an ETT of 56-60 could possibly work for me, though.
03-25-14, 07:14 PM
#60
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Slammed seats rule! Oh wait, that's stems. Dammit!!!
^^ That's the 23" bike that was super fun to ride but not very straddleable for me. It was fine to me cuz I can stop at every light without straddling TT.
17" is the size MTB most folk would put me on. Anything with an ETT of 56-60 could possibly work for me, though.
^^ That's the 23" bike that was super fun to ride but not very straddleable for me. It was fine to me cuz I can stop at every light without straddling TT.
17" is the size MTB most folk would put me on. Anything with an ETT of 56-60 could possibly work for me, though.
03-25-14, 07:45 PM
#61
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Don't you fear this every time you ride them? 
03-25-14, 07:47 PM
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03-26-14, 12:08 AM
#66
Your cog is slipping.
03-26-14, 02:30 AM
#67
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03-26-14, 09:37 AM
#68
Calamari Marionette Ph.D
That's how my last bike worked out. A massive 27" frame that had the top tube about a centimeter from my crotch. But it worked out fine because the reach was good and the frame size let me get the handle bar and saddle to the same height. Stand over was tight because my legs are little short for someone my size but there was never a problem.
03-26-14, 02:52 PM
#69
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OP, I think you're worrying about it more than you need to. I'm 5'1" and my inseam is 28". I can ride a 46cm bike with a negative standover clearance just fine. Granted I don't have boy parts, but really it's fine. It doesn't take much tilt to the side to get clear.
As far as being wobbly when you get started, I wonder if that has more to do with gear ratio than what you are thinking is center of gravity. If you're used to a BMX with a spinny gear ratio and small wheels, I can see how a full-sized bike that maybe has too big of a gear ratio is hard to get started. It takes more effort/strength to move the pedals from a stop, which means you start out slowly, and slowness on a bike = wobbly. When I ride my geared bike I will sometimes downshift before approaching a stoplight so I'm in a smaller gear to get going again for just that reason.
Some of it will come with time and just learning bike handling on a different bike (Every time I switch from one of my bikes to another I find it takes anywhere from a few minutes to a few days to feel comfortable on that bike again.) But also consider if you are trying to push a really big gear that maybe getting/modifying a bike with fewer gear inches would help with the start/stop issue. If you're doing city riding you're not going to be needing to really open up and go super fast so you don't need a big gear anyway.
As far as being wobbly when you get started, I wonder if that has more to do with gear ratio than what you are thinking is center of gravity. If you're used to a BMX with a spinny gear ratio and small wheels, I can see how a full-sized bike that maybe has too big of a gear ratio is hard to get started. It takes more effort/strength to move the pedals from a stop, which means you start out slowly, and slowness on a bike = wobbly. When I ride my geared bike I will sometimes downshift before approaching a stoplight so I'm in a smaller gear to get going again for just that reason.
Some of it will come with time and just learning bike handling on a different bike (Every time I switch from one of my bikes to another I find it takes anywhere from a few minutes to a few days to feel comfortable on that bike again.) But also consider if you are trying to push a really big gear that maybe getting/modifying a bike with fewer gear inches would help with the start/stop issue. If you're doing city riding you're not going to be needing to really open up and go super fast so you don't need a big gear anyway.
03-29-14, 11:00 AM
#72
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So I know I should just drop this, but I had a chance to measure a friend's FG that I'm storing for a bit, and was kind of surprised at the results. I know that it is too big for me, because I can barely reach the pedals when I ride it even though I've got the seat slammed. Standing while stopped is next to impossible without leaning the bike at a comical angle and I have to do a cowboy mount to get going again. Turns out the S.O. height is just under 32", the fit calculator would have put me on the Kilo TT 55, which is 32.28" tall. Maybe you think that being able to stand over the bike isn't important, but I'd think being able to comfortable reach the pedals would be helpful.
03-29-14, 11:04 AM
#73
Your cog is slipping.
Some people are so ****ing helpless.
Why haven't you just used the FIT CALCULATOR to see what size bike you should be riding?
Why haven't you just used the FIT CALCULATOR to see what size bike you should be riding?
03-29-14, 02:32 PM
#74
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Some people are so ****ing helpless.
Why haven't you just used the FIT CALCULATOR to see what size bike you should be riding?
Why haven't you just used the FIT CALCULATOR to see what size bike you should be riding?
So I know I should just drop this, but I had a chance to measure a friend's FG that I'm storing for a bit, and was kind of surprised at the results. I know that it is too big for me, because I can barely reach the pedals when I ride it even though I've got the seat slammed. Standing while stopped is next to impossible without leaning the bike at a comical angle and I have to do a cowboy mount to get going again. Turns out the S.O. height is just under 32", the fit calculator would have put me on the Kilo TT 55, which is 32.28" tall. Maybe you think that being able to stand over the bike isn't important, but I'd think being able to comfortably reach the pedals would be helpful.
03-29-14, 02:46 PM
#75
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If your gut is telling you that the numbers are wrong, get the next size down and slap a longer stem and move the saddle back to compensate.
Or better yet, go find some shop that specializes in SS/FG and do some test rides- most of them get their frames from the same source that BD does.
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