Awesomeguy

I was trying some road and gravel bikes the other day, and i notice when i was riding on one of the endurance bikes, during turns the front wheel would hit my shoe, i don't have abnormally large feet (11-12) and i was trying a size 56 i believe.
Is this normal in drop bar bikes?

Ogsarg

Pretty common on modern bikes and not just endurance frames. Generally it is rare to need to turn the bars enough to hit your toe. I wear a 9.5 and have that issue on my Roubaix. Has not been a problem for me in the last 3000 miles.

WhyFi

Not unusual.

Awesomeguy

what about when riding in neighborhoods where there are sharper turns ?
also have you ever ridden with regular footwear (not clipless pedals)

surak

I'm between sizes on most bikes and prefer the snappiness of a smaller size with shorter wheelbase. Toe overlap issues can be dicey, though entirely avoidable. I went down last year trying to make a u-turn in the middle of my block on the first ride after switching out my winter shoes, where the cleats couldn't be put as far back as my usual shoes, and forgetting that I'd also installed fenders that made toe overlap worse on my bike with the longest wheelbase. Have to be mindful on slow turns, like switchbacks on the trails.

If it's a huge concern but you really like the geometry of a particular bike otherwise, you could get shorter cranks.

sfrider 

With the pedal spindle under the ball of the foot there should only be about 2" or less of shoe protruding past the pedal. Most people who ride platform pedals who have never used clipless or rat traps will usually have their feet too far forward on the pedal. If it still happens while riding and leaning in corners (with the feet properly positioned), as opposed to sitting still and turning the front wheel, then an option might be 650b wheels if the frame is really small, like a 48 or 50. The slightly smaller wheels could create just enough clearance. Much less wheel selection though.

Mojo31

Still looking at that Domane?

My size 10.5 shoes don’t hit the wheel on my size 56 Domane.

Carbonfiberboy 

For the first question, the "sharper turn" would have to be a 180 - don't pedal. Second question, don't do that, or if you do, simply position your foot so that the ball of your foot is over the pedal spindle, same as if you were using clipless. Which is one of the many reasons to use clipless: exact and repeatable foot positioning.

I have fenders on our tandem and when I use my winter MTB boots, my toe can touch the fender. The only time that's an issue is when I have to do a 10' wide uphill 180 on a busy bike path Y intersection. That's a little tricky, but ordinarily it's not an issue. I do sometimes foot it at that intersection, but usually I can make it. I certainly wouldn't want to change the geometry of a bike to get away from that since the bike handles very well.

shelbyfv

I agree that it's not uncommon and is something to which you can easily adapt.

oris

It's normal on road bikes to have toe overlap when your feet are in the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. I'm a size 11 shoe riding a 54CM and it does get annoying when you've got white shoes and aren't paying attention.

One thing I would keep in mind is while cornering, you want to keep the outside foot in the 6 o'clock position and the inside foot in the 12 o'clock. This should mitigate the toe overlap and keep your inside pedal from striking the ground, curb, etc.

Dancing Skeleton

I had a 52cm Domane (1003 mm wheelbase), size 10 shoe and didn't have any toe-overlap.
My Madone is the same size (977 mm wheelbase), and I get toe-overlap.

The 56 cm Domane has a 1008 mm wheelbase.

Rides4Beer

It's not the overall wheelbase that's the problem, it's the front center. Bikes with a longer front center will have less, or no, toe overlap. IMO, their handling also tends to be more stable, less twitchy. "Race" bikes tend to have steeper headtube angles and shorter front centers, which results in more overlap. While you can adapt to it, there are bikes out there without toe overlap, just have to pay attention to the geometry. My Giant Revolt has no overlap, even with 40mm tires.

Awesomeguy

Are you guys using clipless pedals and shoes when you say there is no overlap?

jaxgtr

Is it possible you were hitting your toes since your feet were not clipped in and might be out of place? I find I have done this after doing maintenance on my wife's bike and she does not use clipless...My feet are just a little more forward.

sean.hwy

on my gravel bike topstone 54 my feet do NOT touch.

on my road bike systemsix size 54 my feet touch.

Rides4Beer

Yes. Size 45 (11-11.5 US) with SPD pedals, plenty of room on the Revolt. I've had overlap on my previous road bikes, didn't care for it, but as others have mentioned, a lot of people deal with it.

DaveSSS 

The dimension to look at is front-center, not wheelbase. F-C is affected by reach, head tube angle and fork offset. Small frames often have a 71-72 degree HTA and maybe a little more offset to increase F-C and avoid too much trail. My current XS size frame has a tiny overlap with my 8.5 shoes.