standover height becomes less and less of an issue as more people seem to copy Ibis and other slightly ahead of the curve brands like Norco with their bike designs. It used to be something we'd consider when bike shopping with my girlfriend (she's also 5' 4", but she rides like a big 5' 4". I accidentally put her on a medium instinct a couple weeks ago and she enjoyed it and said felt pretty good, aside from the bars being way too wide and not knowing how to corner it as well as her normal bike. Weird!) When we were looking for something enduro-y in 2015 it was an issue, but when she updated 2018/19 it pretty much wasn't a concern anymore.
That said, you're far less likely to fall in to a pit of mud after screwing up and panic-bailing off a skinny than you are in your neighborhood. The odds just aren't that high!
May 2, 2022, 8:11 a.m. - Lu Kz
standover height becomes less and less of an issue as more people seem to copy Ibis and other slightly ahead of the curve brands like Norco with their bike designs. It used to be something we'd consider when bike shopping with my girlfriend (she's also 5' 4", but she rides like a big 5' 4". I accidentally put her on a medium instinct a couple weeks ago and she enjoyed it and said felt pretty good, aside from the bars being way too wide and not knowing how to corner it as well as her normal bike. Weird!) When we were looking for something enduro-y in 2015 it was an issue, but when she updated 2018/19 it pretty much wasn't a concern anymore. That said, you're far less likely to fall in to a pit of mud after screwing up and panic-bailing off a skinny than you are in your neighborhood. The odds just aren't that high!