When Is Standover Height Insufficient?

"Steve Sr." wrote in message
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Fellow Cyclists,

I had a professional fitting done to in anticipation of ordering a
custom geometry bike. With the fitting I found out that I had a short
torso and arms which requires a geometry with a high front end and
relatively shorter top tube. The fitting was done on a Serotta Size
Cycle but the frame was done by another manufacturer.

The frame builder addressed these issues with a longer seat tube and a
slightly sloping (up) top tube and a taller head tube. Unfortunately
in dealing with these issues it appears that the stand over height was
missed by about 3/4" i.e. the bike is about 3/4" higher than was
recommended by the fitting.

So far I have had a test fitting on the new bike but haven't been able
to ride it since the seat post provided was too long (won't go low
enough). I can just barely straddle the bar with bike shoes on. I
would estimate that there is currently somewhere 0-1/4" clearance if I
stand just right. The bike currently has 23mm tires on it but I will
probably switch to 25mm when these wear out to reduce the chance for
flats. This will only make the stand over height worse.

Is this stand over height likely to be an issue? At what point would
you consider stand over height to be insufficient?


Thanks,

Steve

Standover height is a non-issue. In 125,000 miles of riding, I've never
racked the jewels a single time. I'm the opposite of you. I'm all torso
and arms with short legs (kinda ape-like ... knuckledragger). To get a
stock bike that fits, I have to get a larger frame for the top tube
dimension and reach I need. This means zero standover clearance. Even on
compact frames, my standover clearance is minimal. It's absolutely never
been an issue.

Don't know anyone I ride with who has had an issue, either.

--
Bob C.

"Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding that it hurts."
T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia)