Originally Posted by
DiabloScott
I've been FG commuting forever - really fun to have that extra set of skills.
I used to have pedal strikes with my FG that was based on a touring frame - the Masi. But my Trek FG is more of a fast hybrid style and I don't think I've ever scraped.
The Masi rode really well no-hands and the Trek won't let me take my hands off for a second... probably all related to BB height.
BB height doesn't have that strong an effect. My Mooney has a high enough BB that pedal strike fixed isn't much of an issue and it rides no-hands beautifully. My ti fix gear has a step higher BB and while much quicker, is a blast to ride no-hands.
I'd look at the trail. I read somewhere that for roughly similar steering, bikes of different head tube angles should have different trails. I plotted the numbers that author gave on a trail vs HT angle graph, drew the line. then put dots representing my bikes. The bikes I liked followed a line parallel to the author's. (I like quicker steering than most.) So I now go to that plot if I am buying a new fork or ordering a custom. (I think/hope I've ordered enough customs now.)
Pedal strike - I picked up a very cheap Peugeot sports frame of 501 tubing to build into a fun, light, fast summer fix gear. Bridgestone fork. Very quick steering. A blast to ride, the most fun since my racing bike 30 years before. But - pedal strike! With 23c tires instead of probably 27" and the famous Peugeot low BB I struck the pedal doing left turns at stoplights. Hit some speed bumps really hard. It really wasn't dangerous - the pedal struck long before I came to any large lean, but those pedals got a real beating!
Ben