[Closed] Toe clearance

Most drop bar bikes are this way. Otherwise you have a really long front centre or slack, slow handling. It's just a case of managing foot position at slow speeds.

I think it's something that is changing. There are some drop bar bikes with a longer front centre that avoids toe overlap.

Chammy Hagar
Fustle causeway
BMC URS

Are a few that spring to mind.

There's some techy off-road climbs I like to try on my gravel bike and toe overlap is my biggest bugbear.

You probably aren't going to be able to change things enough with tweaks to fork rake / length which is about all you have to play with (apart from maybe also shorter cranks). Any drastic changes to the fork dimensions will screw up the steering / bb height etc.

It is basically lazy bad design - drop bar cx / gravel bikes really don't have to be like this. I made a small / short-ish cx frame for my Mrs which even with comparatively large for height size 7 feet has no overlap and good handling.

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That looks very nicely done.

Thanks 🙂

For small people, you REALLY have to start with the bb and front wheel position (including crank length, q factor and foot size). That avoids any overlap. Squeezing in mudguards as well as big tyres might be pushing it.

The fork was chosen purely for it's large mud clearance. Then there is a range of head angles that will work with the offset of that particular fork.

We knew the desired hand position, so then play with head angle, stem length and drop bar reach to find an acceptable combination.

It's a common occurrence.

It's common that folk notice it when they first get their bike.

It's also common that folk forget about it after having ridden about for a bit and thereafter never have a problem.

Traditional geometry CX bikes have always had 'steep' geometry, more akin to road and particularly small sizes - I could only make my CX race bike work with 165mm cranks. If you fit a bigger offset fork it will maybe feel odd for the first ride and then you'll probably not notice.

Most drop bar bikes are this way.

Are they?

Maybe, but they don't need to be.

Are they?

Nope, and only the smaller sizes which many companies try to resolve by different head angle, 650 wheels etc, on the smaller sizes. On etc road or cross bikes I have owned (size 54) I didn't get toe overlap on any of them.
I do have massive toe overlap on all my track bikes and that is what I mostly ride but don't see the issue with it as if riding more than a few mph the wheel is never turned enough for it to be an issue (and that is riding fixed gear)

Most drop bar bikes are this way.

Are they?

I think so. My sample is 2.5/4
Scott Plasma does (but how many tight turns do you make on a TT bike) Actually, that's not technically a drop bar bike is it? Still for the road though.
My Roadrat does. This is really annoying as it's quite a big overlap and I do do some more interesting routes on it
My Ridgeback Advance does it but only with mudguards on, so I'm counting that as the half
My Cotic X cyclocross bike doesn't

You’ve got me thinking. My Rose CX and road bikes definitely had toe overlap. But I haven’t noticed it on my Niner. Either it isn’t there, or I am just used to it.

I had a road bike with a bit of toe overlap which after a couple of years I had got used to, didn't really even think about it. Then cycling during a cold damp day in winter the front end slipped on a patch of mud, think I would have saved it but the last thing I remember is the bars turned to save the slide. Next thing I remember is waking up on the ground with alot of pain in my hip, Garmin data confirms that I was out for 1 min 30sec. After a trip in an ambulance the hospital confirmed a broken hip, it is now held together with 4 pins and 6 months off the bike recovering certainly a toe overlap incident. I no longer have any cycle where this may occur.