Compact Frame

[VeloVT]

Well, the standover and the top tube measurement are separate issues... and I think the standover is much less important than tt (though I'm tall enough at 5'6" that standover on frames that otherwise fit me is rarely an issue, so maybe I"m a little biased on this point). But in terms of reach, you definitely want to use effective top tube length, NOT the actual length.

To give some comparison on standover values, my compact frame standover ranges from 71 cm to 75 cm right at the head tube. By contrast, my old 54 cm traditional geometry frame had a standover height of 77cm, and I had at least a half inch of clearance (probably more, I've sold it so I can't check and I don't remember precisely, but it was never an issue).

I think it's possible to overthink these things -- exactly where you'll stand over the frame and whether you'll have enough clearance, given an abstract number on a page -- maybe better to just go try a few ...