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Old 03-13-23, 08:05 AM
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TugaDude
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I wouldn't make stand over height THE metric for determining a suitable frame. It certainly is important but the overall measurements and geometry of the bike should also be taken into consideration. It is common to hear people talk about a bike needing to have 1-1/2" to 2" of clearance in stand over height for road bikes and even more for mountain bikes. This gets repeated as "gospel" all over the literature. Here's a blurb from Dick's Sporting Goods:

If you have the bike in front of you, stand over the middle of the middle of the top tube. There should be some clearance between you and the bike — typically, 2-4" for mountain bikes and 1-2" for road bikes.

If I evaluated many of the bikes I own based on that, none would meet the criteria. But all of them fit me just fine. I base my criteria on how the bike fits when I'm actually riding it. My goal isn't to spend much time straddling the top tube!

When I read posts where folks are looking for suggestions on improving bike fit I often wonder whether they are even beginning with the proper frame. In many instances they are not and now have to swap seat posts, stems and even handlebars in order to compensate. If you begin with a proper frame for your build, then any changes will likely be minor and the existing components can handle the small, incremental adjustments easily. And notice I said build, not just height, as not everyone is the same and some have short legs and long torsos while others are the exact opposite. Stand over is important, but so is the length of the top tube, effective length or otherwise.

The only way to really know is to jump on and ride. You can sort out the details from there.
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