standover

Question
Hello

How important is the stand over clearance?   My old KHS full suspensions, has about 4" which is great, while a new one,tried Ibis HDE 650B  27.5"  I tried,  had hardly 1" and it was much less comfortable.     Both are Med. 17"

Looks like some nice bikes that I'd like to purchase have hardly 1" clearance...  What is your input please?

Thanks you,  Gabe

Answer
There should be at least two inches of standover clearance. The last thing you want is to have the top tube jam you in the crotch when you hit a bump, pothole, or other obstacle. If all your riding is on paved roads you can get by without much standover clearance, but offroad it becomes much more critical.

Howard