# Precise Definition of "Standover Height"



## HazGas (May 6, 2007)

I am about to buy a bike online, but am a little confused on the standover height. Is it the tallest part of the top tube?

I have a 30" inseam. Does this mean that I need a standover height less than that? I am just confused because the size I am looking at (18") says it is for riders 5'5" - 5'10", but has a standover height of 31". 

I don't know too many guys who are 5'5" and have an inseam bigger than 31".


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## trailville (Jul 24, 2006)

From my understanding, it should be from the ground to the top of the top tube approximately half way between the head tube and the seat tube. But if you compare the specs of bikes from manufacturers to the actual bikes, you will find that either some of them use a different measurement or they don't know how to use a measuring tape because they sometimes just don't match. I recently purchased a bike online and found the actual standover to be an inch higher than what the spec showed.

A standover height of 31" may be ok for someone 5'10" , but I'm thinking it would be a problem for someone 5'5".

Try using the bike fit calculator at 
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO

Edit: I'd also suggest searching threads in the manufacturer's forums to see if there is a thread on sizing on the specific bike frame you are looking at.


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## eatdrinkride (Jun 15, 2005)

I'm not sure if there is a 'precise' definition but it should reference the height of the area where one would stand over when off the seat, generally the middle of the TT. Look at this diagram for a Yeti575, standover is the "H" measurement and is the same for all frame sizes. I'm 5'7'' with a 30'' max inseam and my Yeti has plenty of 'standover' height, well at least an inch when I jack it up to my goodies. I couldn't possibly imagine riding a bike with a true 31" standover.


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## Call_me_Clyde (Oct 27, 2004)

*Let me take a stab at it*

trailville gave a pretty good explanation of how standover is measured.

Here's my read on it. Standover height is measured straight up from the ground to the point of the top tube in front of the saddle, where your crotch would be directly above, when you are straddling the bike with your feet touching the ground. As for your inseam measurement, it's not the inseam measurement as it's shown on your Levi's jeans. For bike sizing, your inseam is the measurement from the ground to your crotch whilest standing straight with your feet about 15" apart (yes, I'm splitting the difference between a foot and a foot and a half. To measure properly, you really need someone to help you. Stand with spine staright with your feet about 15" apart. With one hand, take a book, and place the spine of the book, just below your crotch, so that it's barely touching your privates. Have the second person measure the distance between the spine of the book and the ground. THAT measurement is your true inseam.

I hope this helps.

Bob


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## JimC. (Dec 30, 2003)

*It means*

the distance from the ground to the top tube. If you have a 30" inseam, you need a standover of less than 29". It's debated to death in these forums, but as long as you can get on/off the bike and stand over it without dinging your n*ts, then the bike standover is fine. Many new bikes have sloping top tubes to accommodate that standover for those of us with smaller inseams.

Good luck, Jim


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## HazGas (May 6, 2007)

Call_me_Clyde said:


> Stand with spine staright with your feet about 15" apart. With one hand, take a book, and place the spine of the book, just below your crotch, so that it's barely touching your privates.
> Bob


Okay, I get 11" from the floor


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## eatdrinkride (Jun 15, 2005)

JimC. said:


> but as long as you can get on/off the bike and stand over it without dinging your n*ts, then the bike standover is fine.
> Good luck, Jim


And this is why riding a bike before buying is so important. If that bike truly has a 31'' standover then NO WAY is it meant for someone my height or shorter. But that's the problem with online stuff. It very well may be inaccurate info. What is the bike in question?


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## HazGas (May 6, 2007)

eatdrinkride said:


> And this is why riding a bike before buying is so important. If that bike truly has a 31'' standover then NO WAY is it meant for someone my height or shorter. But that's the problem with online stuff. It very well may be inaccurate info. What is the bike in question?


It's a Cadillac AM 2.7 which is really a rebadged KHS AM2000.


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## SlimTwisted (Jun 14, 2006)

.It is indeed an older KHS AM and as an owner of several KHS AM bikes, I can attest that they all run a little on the large size. What's strange about standover height is that it seems to be more pertinent to XC riders and racers. The closer a bike drifts toward the freeride or downhill side of the spectrum; the less emphasis is placed on stand-over specifics.

As such, the AM models tend to be somewhere in the middle of the spectrum and hence aren't quite as reliant upon the measurement. I too have an 18-inch AM 2000 and with a 31 inch inseam, I find the frame to be perfect if not slightly larger than needed. If you are the type of rider who likes their bikes on the small side, don’t hesitate to go a size lower even.


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## eatdrinkride (Jun 15, 2005)

SlimTwisted said:


> . What's strange about standover height is that it seems to be more pertinent to XC riders and racers. The closer a bike drifts toward the freeride or downhill side of the spectrum; the less emphasis is placed on stand-over specifics.
> .


All great info.

But the bottom line is can you, (or the OP) actually stand over the TT. If not then the standover height is too much. No matter what you need to be able to get off the saddle without rupturing the gonads, that's MTB'ing 101


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## f3rg (Aug 29, 2007)

HazGas said:


> Okay, I get 11" from the floor


Heh. You may want to look into getting a chainguard, STAT.


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## Jwiffle (Jan 26, 2004)

Call_me_Clyde said:


> With one hand, take a book, and place the spine of the book, just below your crotch, so that it's barely touching your privates. Have the second person measure the distance between the spine of the book and the ground. THAT measurement is your true inseam.


Actually, you want to pull the book up into your crotch to where there is some pressure, like you are sitting on the book, not where it just touches your "boyz." If it's warm, you may end up with a measurement that's 2" off! When I have a customer standing over a bike, I have them pick up the bike by the seat and stem up until they are feeling like they are sitting on the top tube.

Also, standover is a much, much overrated component of proper bicycle sizing. Shorter people may always have trouble finding a bike with as much standover as they would like. Especially on a full suspension--and the longer the travel, the less the standover--more travel means a higher bb, a higher head tube, a higher top tube.

The key is toptube length. You need to determine what toptube length you need. If you can stand over the toptube at all, you are fine, whether you have an inch or 6 inches of clearance. Personally, I have only ever racked myself once, and it wouldn't have mattered how much clearance I had or not, I would have wracked (I had about 3 inches clearance, so in the usual 2-4" that most people desire).

Besdes, even if the standover is fine right in front of the saddle, most times that people rack themselves on the bike, it is from hitting themselves on the stem, not the toptube, so standover clearance is a non-issue. And most of the time, getting off your bike, you lean to the side. If you are falling off the bike, you are almost always falling sideways, not just sliding forward off the seat. If you falling forward, you are probably endo'ing, and so going all the way over, where, again, standover means nothing.


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## trailville (Jul 24, 2006)

HazGas said:


> It's a Cadillac AM 2.7 which is really a rebadged KHS AM2000.


You have to realize that when you get into longer travel bikes, it makes it trickier for the frame manufacturer to maintain standover heights. With a 130mm or 150mm fork, I think the top tube at the head tube is going to be like 36" or so off the ground. That means if they are running a straight top tube, to get to a 30" standover at the center of the top tube you would need the top tube at the seat tube to be only 24" off the ground. Then when you factor in the bottom bracket height to account for sag in a longe travel rear suspension, that doesn't leave you with a whole lot of room for frame, pivots, and shock mounts. That's why you see frames like the image in one of the previous posts that don't use a straight top tube.

My most recent xc bike is a 100mm travel full sus with a straight top tube and I measured the standover at just over 32". I'm 5' 10", and though 32" standover seems high, I'm ok with it.


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## HazGas (May 6, 2007)

Thanks for all your help guys. I am going to go with the 17", which is smaller than I was going to go. I'd rather have an AM bike a little small anyways!


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## eatdrinkride (Jun 15, 2005)

trailville said:


> You have to realize that when you get into longer travel bikes, it makes it trickier for the frame manufacturer to maintain standover heights. With a 130mm or 150mm fork, I think the top tube at the head tube is going to be like 36" or so off the ground. That means if they are running a straight top tube, to get to a 30" standover at the center of the top tube you would need the top tube at the seat tube to be only 24" off the ground. Then when you factor in the bottom bracket height to account for sag in a longe travel rear suspension, that doesn't leave you with a whole lot of room for frame, pivots, and shock mounts. That's why you see frames like the image in one of the previous posts that don't use a straight top tube.
> 
> My most recent xc bike is a 100mm travel full sus with a straight top tube and I measured the standover at just over 32". I'm 5' 10", and though 32" standover seems high, I'm ok with it.


Yes, bent top tubes are "THE BOMB" for shorter guys like me


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## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

Height off the floor in the middle of the TT.

I call it jewel clearance.


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