CycleBoi

So i recently got a vintage road bike with the same height as my mountain bike, however, i did not take into account that the top tube isn't sloped. Does it completely matter to whether both feet can touch the ground over the top tube or is it okay if i can stand with one foot and the bike at an angle when stopped?

mcours2006

If the stand over height exceeds your legs' inseam the bike is likely a tad big for you. Can you still ride it? Of course you can, but it may not be comfortable for any length of time.

alan s 

It only matters when it does, if you know what I mean.

CycleBoi

it doesn't really exceed it(there's just not much of a gap) and i can ride it comfortably I was just wondering if it's completely necessary cause I've seen some people say it is and some say it isn't

mcours2006

If you can ride it then it's fine. If you are comfortable on it, then it's a bonus. Consider yourself lucky.

HardyWeinberg

I never straddle the bike flat-footed. If I have to, I just tilt it over. But most often I have one foot on a pedal and one on the ground.

Darth Lefty 

Do go on

alan s 

79pmooney

To spell it out very simply - if you are male and you ever have to do a very sudden stop and put both feet down without thinking, are you willing to suffer the pain and possible permanent injury that may well happen?

If you are not male or this possible outcome is an acceptable risk, ride the bike. Otherwise, reconsider your choices.

Ben

InOmaha

I'm 6'3" but have a longer upper body and relatively shorter legs to get my height. My kid is 6 ft tall and has 1 inch longer legs. If I was more proportional, I'd likely be 6'5" with longer legs. So for a bike to be comfortable when riding, I got taller frames, and adjusted peddling with crank length and seat position. That way the head tube to seat post dimension was correct and my riding was more comfortable. I stand much less then I ride, so I make the fit work for riding and track stand as much as possible. If I have to I unhook and lean to one side. I can straddle the tube but it's close and not worth the risk for a basic stop. In an emergency or a crash you may hit anything on the bike down there anyway.


Someday I'll join this century and buy a newer bike without as much of a horizontal top tube; then not care at all.

CycleBoi

when you go flat-footed do you have clearance?

HardyWeinberg

If I tip the bike over far enough.

andr0id

While it may not be as bad, I can tell you that women have told me they don't like getting whacked there either. Not one bit.

himespau 

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As long as you don't come to a sudden stop and have to put both your feet down at once, it's not a big deal. It may be ungainly at first, but, as long as it fits when you're in the saddle, it shouldn't be a big deal 98% of the time. That other 2% (actual percentages may vary) may or may not be important enough to you for you to want a different bike. I'm just about at that point and don't mind it.

cyccommute 

What it means is that the bike is too big for you. Not just the standover but the length from the saddle top tube to the crank and, perhaps more importantly, the top tube length. You are stretching too far forward. Having to reach too far for the bars will also put more pressure on your delicate bits while riding. The overall effect is that you won't be as comfortable as you can be with a properly sized bike.

Can you adapt? Probably but you'll be surprised at how well a bike fits that is the proper size. In fact, it can take a lifetime to readjust. My wife "adapted" to a bike with 27" wheels as a kid (that's probably a 23" or 58 cm frame). She's only 5' tall and had to do the lean thing to get on and off the bike. It took years for me to convince her that that sized bike was way too big and we had to step down her bike to current 43cm frame over nearly 3 decades before she finally had to admit that the smaller bike is actually much better suited to her.

phughes

Can you pull the bike up a bit while straddling it? if yes, don;t worry about it. As long as you are able to get the seat height correct for you, and the handlebars where you want them, it is okay.

RoadKill

Older bikes just had flat/higher top tubes than modern bikes. It's only somewhat recent that seat tubes started sticking up a foot above the top tube so you could actually stand over it without racking yourself. You probably fit the frame just fine, it was designed to fit somebody sitting on the seat without too much care if you could stand over it. I wouldn't worry to much about it, will probably only take one or two incidents before you figure out how to be safe.

noimagination

I have short legs for my height, so I nearly always ride bikes with little to no clearance between crotch and top tube when standing.

Sorry to disagree, but to me the concern expressed by 79pmooney is overblown. It assumes that you come to a sudden stop and put both feet down flat on the ground with your legs fully extended, and that if there's a gap between crotch and top tube then you're OK, vs if there is little to no gap then you get a top tube in the 'nads. I've been riding for more than 40 years, and this has never happened. The only times I've banged my crotch on the top tube have been when my feet slipped off the pedals, and the difference between 4 cm clearance and 0 cm would have made no difference. (In fact, all of those incidents were when I was a kid riding a banana seat bike with far more top tube clearance than you have on a road bike).

So, as far as I'm concerned, if you can ride the bike comfortably, go ahead.


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snow_echo_NY

ITA with @noimagination

i have short legs and a high top tube now and a sloped top tube before. i have crashed into the top tube on both bikes for short stops or unexpected balance or something - and it didn't matter a bit that the top tube was sloped vs not. to avoid crashing into the top tube, it just matters to stop predictably each time - lean to one side when stopping to place a foot down, the other foot on the pedal.

the top tube may be a big deal for new riders where crashes/falls into the top tube might happen more often. but for experienced riders, regardless of the incident you'll either avoid it or not depending on the specific circumstance.

himespau 

It's kind of like toe overlap with the front wheel. It seems like it should be important on first thought, but it almost never is an issue in real life.

PedalingWalrus

the solution:

HardyWeinberg

+1

snow_echo_NY

yes agree with @himespau (i have toe overlap, used to not have toe overlap - and it doesn't matter)

yves845

To make it simple : if your inner bones are touching the top tube when standing on your 2 feets you're at risk of a pubic bone fracture and it's simply dangerous, period.
It's your health so do as you want anyway

Darth Lefty 

I think those are the biggest brake pads I’ve ever seen