How important is standover height?

[venacava]

I bought a used bike recently (a Bridgestone RB-T touring bike) that fits me very well in every way except for one: when I straddle the top tube and stand on the floor flat-footed, the top tube just brushes ever-so-slightly against my feminine parts.

Standover clearance is important for men for reasons that are obvious. But I'm interested in hearing from other women who might have had success owning/riding bikes that are technically "too big" for them. Is this something that I can get away with?

Any advice/expertise is much appreciated. Thanks!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I bought a used bike recently (a Bridgestone RB-T touring bike) that fits me very well in every way except for one: when I straddle the top tube and stand on the floor flat-footed, the top tube just brushes ever-so-slightly against my feminine parts.

Standover clearance is important for men for reasons that are obvious. But I'm interested in hearing from other women who might have had success owning/riding bikes that are technically "too big" for them. Is this something that I can get away with?

Any advice/expertise is much appreciated. Thanks!

Nice catch getting an RB-T Bridgestone.

If you clear the top tube while standing then there is no problem. You'll get used to what you need to do to 'safely' hop off your saddle at stop lights, etc.

But- if that touring bike is a little large for you, the problem you might experience will be in too long a reach, which would make you feel like you are falling forward all the time. Lots of tweaks can help that, but sometimes the frame is just too darn big and all the tweaks in the world won't make it feel right.
But ride it a while and get used to it- the longer you ride the more you will be able to tell what might need adjusting. And when you change anything, only change ONE thing at a time so you can see the results accurately. Making multiple changes at once gets very confusing.

I wouldn't mind seeing a picture of that lugged Bridgestone beauty! Can you post one here?

[Cataboo]

If you check rivendell's website, they determine standover height using the actual pubic bone and don't count the soft tissues - so according to them, your bike's the perfect height for you.

I don't have much clearance on my road bikes, and I've never had a problem with it. I probably don't have clearance with my shoes off, but put on my shoes and that extra half inch or whatever's enough.

[venacava]

If you check rivendell's website, they determine standover height using the actual pubic bone and don't count the soft tissues - so according to them, your bike's the perfect height for you.

Interesting (and very different from any conventional "wisdom" I've heard/read on the topic). Thanks for pointing that out; I hadn't seen it before!

[Cataboo]

Interesting (and very different from any conventional "wisdom" I've heard/read on the topic). Thanks for pointing that out; I hadn't seen it before!

If you were asking about a mountain bike or a cyclocross bike, I'd say you definitely need clearance.

But for a road bike, as long as you can make that top tube and the other gemoetry fit you, then you'll probably be fine. If you wanted to race the bike and needed to get down into an aero tuck, then you'd want something smaller - but for a more upright type posture a bigger frame generally will work.

I tend to ride the largest frames that I can still fit - just because I don't like the 73.5 or 74 degree seat tube angles they put on smaller bike frames. So typically my seat's about even in height with my handlebars, and I'm sitting fairly upright. But I don't race.

[venacava]

But for a road bike, as long as you can make that top tube and the other gemoetry fit you, then you'll probably be fine. If you wanted to race the bike and needed to get down into an aero tuck, then you'd want something smaller - but for a more upright type posture a bigger frame generally will work.

I tend to ride the largest frames that I can still fit - just because I don't like the 73.5 or 74 degree seat tube angles they put on smaller bike frames. So typically my seat's about even in height with my handlebars, and I'm sitting fairly upright. But I don't race.

This is going to be used for light touring, commuting, and riding around the city...no racing...so it'll work for those purposes (thankfully!). Now I'm just waiting for that nice, short stem to arrive in the mail...I think that will be the real test.

[madscot13]

If you check rivendell's website, they determine standover height using the actual pubic bone and don't count the soft tissues - so according to them, your bike's the perfect height for you.

hmm I define standover as the location of my ovaries. this may be a problem someday.

[VeloVT]

madscot -- funny .

Vena cava -- congrats on a beautiful bike! Wow -- it's really pretty. Many happy miles .

You may want to tweak the bar/hood position a bit -- that looks like a hard position to brake from, esp in the drops!

[venacava]

madscot -- funny .

Vena cava -- congrats on a beautiful bike! Wow -- it's really pretty. Many happy miles .

You may want to tweak the bar/hood position a bit -- that looks like a hard position to brake from, esp in the drops!

Thanks! That's a comfortable bar position for me, perhaps because my default hand position is right on the hoods.

[venacava]

Nice catch getting an RB-T Bridgestone.

If you clear the top tube while standing then there is no problem. You'll get used to what you need to do to 'safely' hop off your saddle at stop lights, etc.

But- if that touring bike is a little large for you, the problem you might experience will be in too long a reach, which would make you feel like you are falling forward all the time. Lots of tweaks can help that, but sometimes the frame is just too darn big and all the tweaks in the world won't make it feel right.
But ride it a while and get used to it- the longer you ride the more you will be able to tell what might need adjusting. And when you change anything, only change ONE thing at a time so you can see the results accurately. Making multiple changes at once gets very confusing.

I wouldn't mind seeing a picture of that lugged Bridgestone beauty! Can you post one here?

Thanks.


It is indeed a great catch! So you understand why I'm trying really hard to make this work even though the frame might be a bit on the large side for me.

The stem is definitely too long and I felt some neck and shoulder strain on the brief rides I've taken so far. But I've got a 6cm Nitto Technomic stem on the way from Rivendell, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will alleviate those problems.

If not, I'll definitely do more tweaking, one at a time as you suggest, to get the best fit possible. (It'd break my heart to have to sell the bike.)

No access to any photos right now, but I'll post some as soon as I can. Thanks again!