# Standover Height - beaten to death! One more question



## omega_cyclist (Jul 10, 2009)

I've been reevaluating my bike fit and reading through all the discussions regarding frame size and standover but still was left with one major question. 

I've been seeing post that standover does not matter as long as the TT length is correct. Some of the bikes out there that have my top tube length give me a negative standover height of 1/2 to 1" (short legs 5'6", 29.5 inseam). When you have 0 or negative clearance against the top tube, what do you do when you have to get off the bike suddenly to avoid a pile up or? I can understand suffering a little for the start but during the race might be interesting.

This does not seem right. Is the interpretation or recommendation that little or no clearance is OK as long as there is some (you don't need a ton kind of thing like a mountain bike), but not negative?


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## Travis (Oct 14, 2005)

I've never taken standover into account when looking at the proper frame size. It think you will find you have plenty when you get the proper frame (TT/reach) size. Your measurements don't seem out of whack and I would think a 52 would provide you room. You'll want clearance, especially for CX


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## rwatt (May 8, 2010)

I'm shorter than you and have never had any issues with the standover being equal to or higher than my inseam. You just learn to work around it. Don't get into pile ups and learn how to dismount properly.


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## omega_cyclist (Jul 10, 2009)

rwatt said:


> I'm shorter than you and have never had any issues with the standover being equal to or higher than my inseam. You just learn to work around it. Don't get into pile ups and learn how to dismount properly.


That would be ideal... How tall are you and what size frame are you on out of curiosity?


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## omega_cyclist (Jul 10, 2009)

Travis said:


> I've never taken standover into account when looking at the proper frame size. It think you will find you have plenty when you get the proper frame (TT/reach) size. Your measurements don't seem out of whack and I would think a 52 would provide you room. You'll want clearance, especially for CX


Travis,

Some of the bikes I tried (51cm, 52cm and Giant TCX small) have 76cm or higher standovers. It's close but not unrideable. My current redline is at ~74cm and the next size up is 75.5cm. The Redline 52cm standover has the 53cm TT like my road bike but has a 77.3 standover which put me in the negative. I'm on the 44cm now and could make it work with a 110cm stem, but should probably be on the 48cm which has only a 1cm longer TT.

Right now I have 1 inch of clearance on the 44cm which is why I went with that frame.


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## mhickey79 (Nov 28, 2009)

rwatt said:


> I'm shorter than you and have never had any issues with the standover being equal to or higher than my inseam. You just learn to work around it. Don't get into pile ups and learn how to dismount properly.


+1 on that. This is my 5th season of CX, and I've never had any problem with TT/crotch interference. I'm a little under 5'9", and riding a 54cm Redline (with somewhat longish legs for my height). If I have to unclip, it's one side or the other, never both at once (unless I'm off the bike). Meaning that, if there is a pile-up or congestion, I can always kick through a pedal stroke or two with one leg on the ground and the other clipped in - keeps me well above the TT. There is no reason to ever be unclipped with both legs on the ground, and straddling the TT. There are plenty of guys out there with theoretically insufficient standover that are racing hard and never needing the standover clearance. If you are even remotely competent with bike handling, I don't see the need for standover.


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## Thom H (Aug 25, 2009)

Toe overlap and standover are two of the biggest misnomers in cycling. I was born with 13 American, 48 Euro feets and 30 inch inseam on my 6 foot 1 inch frame. never had a problem or worried about either one and come up with big time toe overlap and shorter inseam than TT height on most every bike I own.


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## rwatt (May 8, 2010)

omega_cyclist said:


> That would be ideal... How tall are you and what size frame are you on out of curiosity?


I'm 5'-4" and ride a 52cm Stevens (53cm TT) and the standover is 77.6cm. I never understood why people have had issues with toe overlap either.
IMO if you don't worry about it, it will never be a problem for you.


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## scrub (May 19, 2010)

I think I'm about the same proportions as the OP and ride a 53 (c-T) 2002 Jamis Nova which gives me a 53 tt and I use a 110 stem and FSA Compact bars. 
My reach feels good (I'd like to try a 100mm stem but I don't have one on hand) but my boys sit on the top tube with the bike totally upright and the _only_ time it really bothers me is at the start line.

I always have that niggly feeling that I should have more standover but whenever I look at the geo charts I'd have to really have to compromise the reach or head tube length to gain a couple of cms of standover.

tldr: don't overly worry about stand over.


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## omega_cyclist (Jul 10, 2009)

Thanks for everyones replies. This all helps a lot. I can make my existing frame work although shouldering is a bit tough. I going to start looking for a new frame with the appropriate TT length.


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## krisdrum (Oct 29, 2007)

I'm almost exactly your size and recently moved from a Scattante 48 to a 51. Less standover clearance, but I can actually shoulder the frame. Fit is nearly the same with a 90cm stem instead of a 100cm.

Standover on a cross bike is probably even less applicable, since the higher bottom bracket moved everything up. Standover would be one of the last things I'd consider.


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## laffeaux (Dec 12, 2001)

omega_cyclist said:


> When you have 0 or negative clearance against the top tube, what do you do when you have to get off the bike suddenly to avoid a pile up or? I can understand suffering a little for the start but during the race might be interesting.


I have about 1" of stand over on my commuter bike. However, when I come to a stop light I rarely get off the saddle even tough it's quite a bit high than the top tube.. I lean the bike over keeping my butt on saddle, and put one foot on the ground. When the bike is leaning at 10 or 15 degrees it's amazing how much more clearance there is.

About the only time that a bike is completely vertical and I'm standing over it is when I'm seeing how much stand-over I have. Otherwise it's not really a concern.


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