Which of your bike geometry measures corresponds to stack height?

[gabrielgartner]

In my comparison of bikes I'm taking a stack:reach ratio (larger being better for me) but realize I don't see stack height as one of your measurements. What best corresponds to stack height? Cheers!

 

[batmick1]

Not sure I understand what you mean.

As a bike mechanic, stack height to me indicates how high a headset will build. In other words, how long does the steerer tube of the fork need to be, or can I replace headset A with headset B without having to get a new fork?

 

[gabrielgartner]

Basically.... I want the height from the center of the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube.

 

[batmick1]

I think what will come closest would be the standover height, a measure of the distance from the ground to the top of the top tube, about halfway between seat tube and head tube. And then look at top tube length to see if it will fit your torso. Those are the standard measurements that should be most useful to determine if a certain model and size will even work for you.
But nothing replaces a test ride, which is why I personally would not buy a purely mail order bike, unless it had a full free return policy.

 

[gabrielgartner]

Agreed... I have a local dealer here in town with several of the models I want to try!