I m exactly 5 7 1 2 tall and i fall in between small and medium for a 29er frame.
Mountain bike standover height vs inseam.
If the bike for has a standover height of 28 inches and your inseam measurement is 30 inches then you can easily balance on the bike and the crossbar will not injure you in case of a sudden stop.
For example if you have a 30 inseam you ll want a road bike with a 29 standover height to measure your inseam.
The difference between your inseam and the standover height should fall within the target ranges.
I m 5 9 5 with an inseam of 31.
Gather a large hardcover book or notebook tape measure and pencil.
The stand over height of a bike frame or the distance from the center of the top tube to the ground should be 2 5 inches less than your inseam.
It isn t relevent when riding your bike.
Should i get the small or medium.
Depending on the bike you will also want to consider handle bar width crank arm length etc.
Mountain bike sizing can be affected by suspension and your tire choices.
Thank you for the inputs.
Inseam length is usually the most important measurement in finding your bike size because it determines your stand over height.
As i ve said i have a 30 5 inches inseam.
For standard hardtails our mountain bike size chart should be a god send.
Stand against a wall with your cycling shoes on if applicable.
So make sure you look at a tire size chart and try a full suspension mountain bike for size before buying.
Gather a large hardcover book or notebook tape measure and pencil.
It just takes a few seconds.
Different manufacturers build different bikes with different ratios of top tube to stand over.
That said if your inside leg measurement is shorter than the standover height you had better learn to stop with your bike canted over or you might squash the crown jewels when trying to reach the floor.
Aggressive mountain bikers will need 4 5 inches difference between stand over height and inseam length while commuters only need about 2 inches of clearance.
The small frame has 28 inches stand over height 15 inches seat tube length and the medium has 30 3 stand over height and 16 5 seat tube length.
Don t plan to buy a bike off of the internet because it has the right stand over.
For example if you have a 30 inseam you ll want a mountain bike with about a 28 standover height to measure your inseam.
At least don t be surprised if you do so and then it doesn t feel right.
Don t know your inseam.
I m looking at a bike seller right now that recommends giving yourself an inch of space between inseam and standover height however the bike then that would work for me would be their extra small frame 43cm and recommended for riders 4 9 to 5 1 with a standover height of 30 5.