Standover heights

To measure your (or your child's) standover height :

You will need:

• A tape measure or ruler
• A large book, around 30cm or so, hardcover, or a chopping board etc, preferably around 2-3cm thick
• A wall
• A trusted friend

Stand with your back to the wall, in the shoes you normally wear when riding.  Place the book between your legs, so that it's resting against the wall and is pressing lightly into your groin.  Ask your friend to hold the book, and then step away. while they hold the book against the wall.  Measure the height of the top of the book to the floor.  That's roughly your standover height.

The standover height of a bike is a good initial indicator of appropriate size for many bikes, although this is only a starting point and we would love to see you and fit you to a bike properly. Sufficient standover height is only part of a bike fitting you, but it's an important part.  If the bike is too small it can be ok, but too big means the bicycle will be dangerous and uncomfortable.  Generally you want at least 3cm greater standover height than the bike has, so you have some room when standing astride the top tube.  Some examples of standover heights that we've measured on bikes we stock are listed below :

We have measured the standover height on sloping top tube bikes about 10cm in front of the nose of the saddle, with the saddle at its most rearward position on the saddle rails and we have rounded everything up to the nearest centimeter and where cables are on top, we have included the height of the cables.  For some childrens bikes, ladies bikes and non-conventional geometry bikes this number is not a good indicator of appropriate size even as a starting point.  We're gradually increasing the list of standover heights as we have time and bikes to measure.