How Important is the Bicycle Standover Height?
The bicycle standover height is really important! If you can’t stand over the top tube without touching it, you run the risk of hurting yourself when you stop quickly.
If the top tube is higher than you are, i.e. you have “negative” clearance, you’re an accident waiting to happen. Landing hard on a piece of steel, aluminum or carbon fiber tubing isn’t going to be a pleasant experience. You won’t “get used to it.”
Feet firmly on the ground with room to spare over the top tube!
Even if you just graze the top tube when you stand over the bike, you may still run into problems. The road surface isn’t always smooth. If you stop and put your foot into a divot in the road, you’ll be that much lower and you’ll run into the top tube. I know, you can always “lean the bike over”, but if you’re stopping unexpectedly, will you always remember to do that?
It’s too bad so many manufacturers neglect the petite rider. After all, she’s serious about her sport too and deserves the same good equipment as everyone else. Occasionally, a customer comes to me who is still an inch or so shy of fitting my smallest stock design. Ah, the beauty of a custom bike. Since I build to order, tweaking the geometry to fit that rider isn’t a problem, nor does it cost any more. You can’t put a price on your health and safety, so if you’re in the petite fit boat, consider a custom bike.
REI Tempe and a Georgena Terry Bicycle
When you purchase a Georgena Terry bicycle, it doesn’t arrive on your doorstep in a box. Nope. I send it to a dealer and pay to have it not only assembled, but fit to you as well. I’ve had a lot of experience fitting women through emails and phone calls, but I still want a professional to put the bike together and tweak it for the final fit. Whenever I talk to a customer about bike shops and she mentions REI, I know the bike is going to a good home.
My most recent bike, a nifty custom conglomerate of Coto Doñana Tour (most of the components), Coto Doñana Vagabond (the frame and fork) and (the still in its prototype stages) American Dipper, landed at REI in Tempe under the watchful eye and skilled hands of Master Technician Tyler Schettler.
How nice it is to work with a dealer who appreciates the bike and respects the customer. Tyler kept me and the bike owner in the loop throughout the building process. I felt like I was in the shop! Kudos to REI for setting the standard.
You probably want to know more about this bike. Its rider will be doing loaded touring on paved and dirt roads. She’s the average American woman height-wise, but much more slender. She knows a lot about her riding style and her preferences in bicycle components. As a result, her bike is made from the slightly lighter tubing used on CD Vagabond, but with the touring components of CD Tour. The wheels are all-American: Phil Wood 36 hole touring hubs with Velocity’s Aeroheat rims (now made in Florida). The saddle is the tried and true Brooks Team Pro. (Steel frame and fork plus Brooks saddle — these will last for decades with care.) The package is topped off in Iron Ore metallic, a custom color.
I’m looking forward to working with my next customer and hoping an REI is her town, too.