Short Wheelbase & Toe Overlap
10-09-18, 02:54 PM
#26
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Current frame geometries are really bad with excessive head tube lengths the norm. Surly is one exception but they have really excessive top tube lengths. Cannondale does it right, no fads in their frame geometry and toe clearance is pretty good. I use Cannondale geometry as a norm to compare fit on other brands.
10-09-18, 07:07 PM
#27
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10-09-18, 07:40 PM
#28
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It's the opposite. Headtubes have been too short for decades now and only with the mainstreaming of endurance road bikes and gravel bikes are they getting back up to appropriate lengths.
Go to any gathering of cyclists and look for the slammed stems and -17 stems. You'll find maybe a handful at most, even at the biggest events and races. Most riders cannot utilize short headtubes and make up the difference with ungainly spacers and positive rise stems.
Only the rarest of outliers are going to need to choose a smaller frame to get adequate saddle to bar drop. People just don't ride their bikes so aggressively to need short head-tubes and a lot of saddle to bar drop that cannot be met for most anatomies riding the most common frame sizes.
Go to any gathering of cyclists and look for the slammed stems and -17 stems. You'll find maybe a handful at most, even at the biggest events and races. Most riders cannot utilize short headtubes and make up the difference with ungainly spacers and positive rise stems.
Only the rarest of outliers are going to need to choose a smaller frame to get adequate saddle to bar drop. People just don't ride their bikes so aggressively to need short head-tubes and a lot of saddle to bar drop that cannot be met for most anatomies riding the most common frame sizes.
10-09-18, 08:52 PM
#29
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10-10-18, 12:29 PM
#30
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I recently bought a "gravel" bike and have a little bit of issue with toe overlap. A good chunk of this comes from adding 32c tires and fenders. Doing a little research, I am starting to see that a lot of the shorter wheelbase gravel and CX bikes have toe overlap issues. I understand that this is going to be slightly different for each rider dependent on frame size and rider build but overlap seems like a common thing among shorter wheel-based bikes.
Is toe overlap an acceptable thing in the gravel / cyclocross world?
How do you manage?
What changes can you make to your bike and/or riding style to overcome or reduce toe overlap?
How many won't ride a bike with toe overlap?
Finally - Which bikes on the market are more susceptible to toe overlap (is there any specific geometry to look at that is a tell tale sign)?
Thanks!
-Sean
Is toe overlap an acceptable thing in the gravel / cyclocross world?
How do you manage?
What changes can you make to your bike and/or riding style to overcome or reduce toe overlap?
Ride faster, the TCO only becomes an issue at slow speeds.
In Cyclocross you get off the bike and run, rather lose momentum, or falling from toe hitting wheel
In Cyclocross you get off the bike and run, rather lose momentum, or falling from toe hitting wheel
Finally - Which bikes on the market are more susceptible to toe overlap (is there any specific geometry to look at that is a tell tale sign)?
Thanks!
-Sean
with distance between the 2 , putting the wheel out in front of the crank-arm- pedal- foot circle.
Or go with smaller wheels, same wheelbase but wheel diameter is reduced .
No TCO on my Bike Friday* or Brompton..
*Pocket Llama , is OK on gravel roads ..
...
Last edited by fietsbob; 10-10-18 at 12:35 PM.
10-10-18, 01:46 PM
#32
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Look for a long wheelbase and maybe a high offset fork. It only bothers me with fenders (or on track stands on a track bike). But generally I'm riding fast enough where it isn't a problem.
10-10-18, 04:53 PM
#33
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Touche, but if you are not moving what does it matter? haha
and yeah the fender thing is a issue, because I get zero feedback. the steering just stops and it takes the brain a couple nanoseconds longer as to the why.
other wise I have some pretty flexible ankles so its heal down or toe down.
and yeah the fender thing is a issue, because I get zero feedback. the steering just stops and it takes the brain a couple nanoseconds longer as to the why.
other wise I have some pretty flexible ankles so its heal down or toe down.
10-11-18, 10:09 AM
#34
High Plains Luddite
My gravel bike is an old rigid mountain bike with drop bars.
No toe overlap, even with 2.1" knobbies and size 12 feet!
No toe overlap, even with 2.1" knobbies and size 12 feet!
