my new bike?

[laura*]

There is NO space between my crotch and top tube, ...

Here is a picture of me on the bike.

From that picture, it looks like you have short legs and a long torso. This means you should consider men's and unisex bikes and not WSD bikes.

Also from the picture, the top tube and downtube almost touch at the head tube of the frame. This means the bike has a small frame - perhaps the smallest this model comes in.

Possibly any bikes (carried by that LBS) with smaller frames will be WSD. That means they will be much too short (saddle to handlebars) for you. The LBS may have fitted you on this bike to deal with reach issues.

If you were to put on some sneakers or riding shoes, then you would have more top tube clearance.

Your soreness from riding would be a saddle issue, not a standover issue. Your saddle may need to be adjusted, or maybe you need an entirely different saddle.

[Antaresia]

I don't think it's a wsd, it's a soma double cross. I just measured the top tube and it looks like it's the 50cm size.

I'll take better pictures tomorrow, it's dark out now.

And my inseam is around 30", though I'm not sure how accurate my self-measurement was.

I guess I'll just try to get used to it more, and maybe lower the seat a little. I'm not brave enough to ride it to work tomorrow, so it'll be homework.

[laura*]

I just measured the top tube and it looks like it's the 50cm size.

Did you measure the top tube to be 50cm? Or did you measure the top tube, look it up in Soma's geometry chart, and found a match with the 50cm frame size?

FYI: For better or worse, bike frame sizes are specified by their seat tube length. A 50.5cm (actual) top tube is used in the 42cm Double Cross, which is also the smallest frame size. Whereas the 50cm Double Cross has a top tube of 53.5cm and a standover of 29.9 inches.

How well does the bike fit you in terms of reach? Are you stretching forward to the handlebars? Are they at a comfortable distance? Or do they feel awfully close? (This is a much better indicator of fit than standover clearance.)

How high is the saddle on your mixte?

With the step through nature of the mixte, you are far above the frame as you boost up to the saddle when starting. Now, with the nearly horizontal top tube, the frame is always there. You might need to establish different starting patterns for this bike.

[GLC1968]

If you do have short legs and a long torso, it might be the right sized bike even though you can barely clear it. I also have short legs and a long torso and if I am barefoot, I barely clear the top tube on any of my bikes. I have banged myself in the crotch by slipping on wet pavement when stopping my bike more times than I care to count.

As someone else mentioned, standover is not the critical dimension on bike fit. Top tube length is significantly more important. In order to get the right length cockpit on that particular bike, you may have to sacrifice standover clearance. If you can't straddle the bike at all, that's a problem. If it's touching you when you are barefoot (hard to tell from the photo), then it should be ok once you have shoes on.

When I was shopping for a tri bike, I had to rule out entire companies because the bikes were just too tall for me even though the saddle to bar length was correct.

And yes, if your crotch hurts, it's likely due to the saddle, not to the size of the bike. Even if the bike were to big, you would still be able to lower the saddle enough not to cause crotch pain anyway. I'd start shopping for a new saddle.

[Velocivixen]

Stand over height should be determined while wearing cycling shoes that you plan to wear, not barefooted. Secondly, reach is more important than stand over height, IMHO. Once the correct saddle height and fore/aft positions are set for efficient pedaling, then any reach issues can be addressed with changing stem lengths. You can also have the brake levers switched out for "compact reach" brake levers for smaller hands or some levers allow a shim. I changed out the brake levers on mine when they built it up.
Can you get a proper bike fitting?

[Antaresia]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I feel better about trying to get to know this twitchy beast.

I'll ride it around tonight, and down to the LBS tomorrow. Maybe I can work out some of the fit problems, and worst case scenario get mustache handlebars.

I still think it's funny I can go to store, get fitted for a custom bike, and still prefer the vintage beater I bought with no more thought than "it's pretty!".

[goldfinch]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I feel better about trying to get to know this twitchy beast.

I'll ride it around tonight, and down to the LBS tomorrow. Maybe I can work out some of the fit problems, and worst case scenario get mustache handlebars.

I still think it's funny I can go to store, get fitted for a custom bike, and still prefer the vintage beater I bought with no more thought than "it's pretty!".

It might just be because it isn't familiar yet. If I stood over my bike barefoot I'd barely have clearance too. With shoes I am fine. It works out for me just fine. There are no bikes for me where I would have a 2 or 3 inch clearance. I am happy with a couple of centimeters clearance when wearing my shoes. I tend to stop with a bit of a lean, dropping down my left foot and keeping my right on the pedal.