All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

Woohoo!! Which section is this?

 

Not bad at all dude!

 

It’s the purple one.

Do you know if the geo charts on the RM site are accurate? It shows the standover for a small Thunderbolt as being 799mm. In fact it shows 799 for all sizes, XS-XL. That can’t be right.

 

Likely correct. The rear end is the same on all sizes. Since they measure to roughly the point where the linkage, shock, and rear triangle connect to the main triangle that number can't change too much. I'm not in the shop this weekend or else I'd double check. I doubt we will have a Thunderbolt left when I'm in next week.

Don't worry about the standover. Even on their own drawing it doesn't really show where they've measured to at the top. Top of the tube? I just roughly measured my large Instinct and came up with a number close to what they show. That number doesn't matter much. Doesn't affect riding at all. My Instinct has a ton of standover. They all do.

 

Thanks for the quick reply.

Agreed that standover does not impact or influence ride characteristics. I think it does play a role mentally for newer riders. Throwing a leg over a ‘tall’ bike can be intimidating, and is in the back of their mind if they need to hop off.

Just seems wild to me. I’ve poured over tons of geo and the RM is the first time I’ve seen such a small bike with that kind of standover.

 

It's just where they measure to. Many measure to the lowest point. RM measures to 200mm in front of the BB which will be a fair bit higher.

Again, forget the numbers, the RM is not a "tall" bike comparatively. I just measured the Instinct again to compare. If measured to the lowest point the standover is 90mm less than the geometry chart measurement.

 

Killer. Hope I’m not coming off as a prick as I do greatly appreciate all the feedback.

In a perfect word we’d get her on each option at a shop and get her what she feels most at home. Unfortunately life and bike availability isn’t making that reality. This purchase will be sight unseen.

 

Ha. No worries.

We've sold at least 75% of our bikes sight unseen this year. Crazy. The only stock we've put out is a few cruisers, kids bikes, and a few of our higher end FS bikes.

 

Yea that’s the primary reason I know we’ll have to just pick one and buy it. The few shops that are truly local have zero stock of what I’m looking for. The only shops with available inventory are multi hour drives, and all in different directions

 

Published standover numbers are completely worthless unless you know how they measure (where) and even then you'd need the same measurement from each company to really get an idea wat that means. My wife is 5'0" so on the small end even for XS usually. She threw a leg over the SC Furtado a couple weeks ago. The lowest point on the TT would have been great standover, but the TT quickly rises because the reach is so small. The seat pushes you completely forward of the lowest section and she could barely straddle it. So my point is knowing that lowest point on the TT doesn't really help. I realize you don't have much else to go on though other than just eyeing the frames.

We've talked about it on here before, but people love to say standover doesn't matter. It's an easy argument to make if you've never had to live with a bike you couldn't get a leg over. I've seen both my wife and father in law struggle with it.

Edit for visual aid. Likely published SO on the left vs actual SO on the right.

 

I think everyone can agree @backcountryj should just YOLO this! You can always make more money

 

As an accountant, I concur this is solid financial advice

 

Facts

No

Your fired!
(in my best orange man voice)

 

Pshh, I don't work for you. You couldn't afford me anyway; This is pro bono work.

 

I’m actually the boss you haven’t met yet

First review = stop working for free. Bill those hours accurately

 

Do y’all wear belts when you ride?

my shorts I wear have an elastic portion on the sides that have kept them comfortable, but with a little weight loss they’ve become baggier. Still fit but need a belt. I also see some shorts I want that have loops for a belt.

Recommendations?

 

If you round to the nearest tenth, that leaves a lot of 2.5 minute breaks to deal with jamokes like you

 

No, my fleet of zoics have the little cinch tabs on the side that you can tighten up if you need it.

Also, if you are looking for a belt rec, Arcade makes great slightly stretchy ones. It's all I wear these days.

 

Ok good to know I will look at them. I wear standard leather belts to work and such, not a huge fan but they function, but definitely not wearing those to bike in.