Do you have to have standover clearance?

Yes, it's me again, with all the questions! :p

I bought a used Terry Isis and I just took it out for a spin. I really enjoyed it - loved the way it handled and liked how comfortable it was to be riding in the drops. While I love my Symmetry, sometimes I feel like I might be a little too low while in the drops.

The Symmetry is 44cm and seems to be a great fit (other than when I'm in the drops). The Isis is a 48cm and when I got home I realized I have no standover clearance - I mean I am actually touching the bar when I am standing over it. I'm 5'4", but I'm not sure what my inseam is (I'll have to dig out my tape measure).

Does that positively mean the bike is too big? Is that 1" of standover clearance a must? Is there anything else that can be adjusted?

TIA!

I like horizontal top tubes.

All 3 of my horizontal top tube bikes just barely touch me when I stand over them. In the old days, we used to judge the standover to be good if you picked the bike up and mashed it into your soft tissue so it finally was stopped by your pubic bone; and if the tires were at least an inch or so off the ground, we were happy.

If everything else about the bike fits, I wouldn't worry too much.

I have the same situation - no standover clearance (at least...not much room to spare!) and I was told to not worry about it as long as I was comfortable riding. :)

+1 - I tend to have less than the recommended standover and do just fine with that.

These answers are making me very happy! :) I got a steal on this bike (only $375 shipped!) and I really don't want to give her up. I'm totally digging the steel. I'm thinking of converting this one to an xtracycle and using it for some longer tours.

I'm going out for a long ride tomorrow - we'll see if becomes an issue. Let's hope not.

I also have two terry isis bikes, one in each of the same sizes as you do, and I am the same height as you. FYI, they only differ by 1 cm in the top tube length, so I just put a stem 1 cm longer on the smaller one, and then raise it so the bars are exactly the same height. If you can't get your bars high enough on the 44 cm bike, you might try a nitto technomic stem, it has a very long height adjustment.

In my case I have decent clearance over both, although less over the 19" frame than the 17.5" frame. Both fit really well, and my position is identical.

That is an excellent price! What year is she? My 2003 is reynolds 853 steel which I just love, and my 2005 is titanium, which I also love. My steel isis is set up for touring and travel (w s/s couplers), while my ti one is set up for faster club riding. Very versatile bikes!

The only place to be careful with minimal standover is if you are stopping or starting on a hill. Then the standover becomes less because you and the bike are at different relative angles (you follow gravity, the bike must follow the road). But if you keep one foot attached to the pedal and lean the bike, you should still be OK.

Stand over is not nearly as important as top tube length. Some of my bikes I have very little to no stand over but the top tube is perfect. I don't feel like I'm all stretched out. If you feel like you're stretched out then move on but, you seem happy and comfy so it must be just right!

Just in case someone searches on this thread --

Standover *does* matter on mountain bikes, if you're actually going to be riding them on trails with rocks, roots, ruts, etc.

I don't have any stand over on my bike. It doesn't bother me, because as Deb says, I am always stopping with one foot clipped in and leaning. My top tube is sloping and the right size, supposedly. I feel fine on the bike, not stretched out, but I still don't have comfortable descending in the drops. I have the brakes shimmed, but I really can't get my whole hand around the brakes when in the drops; I can get 2-3 fingers, which apparently seems fine to people at my lbs. I don't know if it's me, since I was too timid to descend in the drops when I had my first road bike, which was woman specific and smaller. Now I just have bad habits that I can't break! But I notice that most of the newer wsd bikes have way different handle bar designs that seem closer and shaped more appropriately for me.
My bike was very expensive and I was stupidly swayed by the people at the shop and didn't test any other bikes. In fact, I didn't test any other bikes when I bought my other 2 road bikes. I won't be getting a new one soon. I love the feel and lightness of it, so there are positives.

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Originally Posted by Triskeliongirl

That is an excellent price! What year is she? My 2003 is reynolds 853 steel which I just love, and my 2005 is titanium, which I also love. My steel isis is set up for touring and travel (w s/s couplers), while my ti one is set up for faster club riding. Very versatile bikes!

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I know, I thought it was a steal! I'm not sure what year for sure - the seller thought 1998 or 1999. I'm sending pics to Terry to see if I can get more info. She's made of Reynolds 651 steel and is a really pretty dark green. I'll get some pictures up soon.

I'm hoping to take this bike for the MS150...we'll see. I'm afraid I'm starting a very expensive collection, lol! Titanium sounds so nice - is it super light?

Another point, your standover will be increased with cleats on your shoes.

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Originally Posted by SouthernBelle

Another point, your standover will be increased with cleats on your shoes.

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You're completely right and I never even thought about that. :p

I took it out today for 30 miles and it was great - didn't notice any fit issues. I think it fits better than my Symmetry, in fact.