Toe Overlap Question

[FungShuay]

Is toe overlap normal for a road bike? Mine has some and my wife keeps ragging on me about it. She thinks that it is dangerous and something might happen to me.

I tried to explain that something might happen to me and it's not going to be from my shoe hitting the front tire.

Seriously, how common is this?

[Elefantino]

Is toe overlap normal for a road bike? Mine has some and my wife keeps ragging on me about it. She thinks that it is dangerous and something might happen to me.

I tried to explain that something might happen to me and it's not going to be from my shoe hitting the front tire.

Seriously, how common is this?
I have overlap because I have my cleats farther back on my size 47 right foot.

No worries.

[CNY rider]

Two of my road bikes have toe overlap.
When do I notice it: Sometimes at the end of a ride, I like to get the mail on my way back into the house. If I'm riding up our road from the south that means executing a tight little 360 degree turn in the narrow road in front of our house and stopping at the mailbox.
Have to be careful about it then. Otherwise, never been an issue.

I will say however that Mike Barry refused to build me a rando bike with toe overlap because he felt that the combination of overlap with fenders on a bike that could be ridden with significant fatigue was unsafe.
Luckily we came up with something that is perfect for me and has no overlap. The benefit (one of them) of working with a master! :banana:

[saab2000]

I have toe overlap on this bike. Not on others that I own. They all handle similarly and are similar sizes.

I am not a designer or an expert but I would be inclined to say that it does not need to exist.

That said, it is not a danger. I ride the pictured bike all the time. At any speed less than about 3 MPH doing a 180 degree turn on the street toe overlap is not a factor. In normal turning at normal speeds I doubt you actually turn the handlebars more than 3 or 4 degrees - not enough to hit your toes on the tires.

It would not be a dealbreaker were a designer or builder tell me it was the best way to get proper handling.

[Sheldon4209]

I have toe overlap on my Co-Motion tandem and I rarely notice it, only when making a sharp turn and I need to pedal. If I am turning at slow speeds I unclip my foot and move it back on the pedal to clear the wheel.
Sheldon

[SadieKate]

Thoughtful thread about the same topic.

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=52793&page=1&pp=15&highlight=overlap

[Tobias]

If I'm riding up our road from the south that means executing a tight little 360 degree turn in the narrow road in front of our house and stopping at the mailbox. :confused:

[Tobias]

I am not a designer or an expert but I would be inclined to say that it does not need to exist.I agree. The main exception I can see are very small riders who have to ride bikes with 700 wheels. It's not a big deal for me but why have it if not needed?

[dauwhe]

:confused:

It's a spinor thing--takes a 720 to get back where you started.

Dave (who dislikes TCO, but it's tough with fenders, shoe covers, cleats way back, etc.)

[CNY rider]

:confused:


Let's just all be glad I didn't go into engineering mmkay? :D

[redir]

:confused:
Ha took me a while to get this one :)

There was a local community college TV commercial on where one of the students said, "My life has been turned 360 degrees since graduating..." I hope his life was good before he went to college :D

But the point being, toe overlap only matters when going very slow in tight areas.

[cpg]

Is toe overlap normal for a road bike? Mine has some and my wife keeps ragging on me about it. She thinks that it is dangerous and something might happen to me.

I tried to explain that something might happen to me and it's not going to be from my shoe hitting the front tire.

Seriously, how common is this?

What size is your bike?

Curt

[bfarver]

Toe overlap is nothing to worry about. I ride a 54 and have had toe overlap on pretty much every bike I've ever had. I bike's geometry is based on the rider's body and how the bike is supposed to handle. In many cases, a frame would have to be built with an extreme amount of rake, a very slack headtube angle, or a longer top tube to avoid toe overlap. Doing so would greatly compromise the bike's handling, and a bit of toe overlap is a much better alternative.
Long story short, don't worry about it.

[Waldo]

I ride with cleats under the middle of my feet and have INCHES of toe overlap. It freaked me out a bit the first few times, but I've learned to avoid it and ignore it when it does happen.

[Fixed]

Toe overlap is nothing to worry about. I ride a 54 and have had toe overlap on pretty much every bike I've ever had. I bike's geometry is based on the rider's body and how the bike is supposed to handle. In many cases, a frame would have to be built with an extreme amount of rake, a very slack headtube angle, or a longer top tube to avoid toe overlap. Doing so would greatly compromise the bike's handling, and a bit of toe overlap is a much better alternative.
Long story short, don't worry about it.
bingo imho
cheers

[Lance Armstrong]

I have toe overlap on all my bikes and my motorcycle

[RJR]

My generous foot size has created overlap on my road and cross bikes. I mounted some fenders on my cross bike last winter. I took off wearing shoe covers, hadn't clipped in yet and was riding slowly down the street chatting with my son. Caught the shoe cover under the fender...foot gets sucked up by the tire...resulting in a glorious endo...looked like a bmx flatlander for what seemed like forever...finally went OTB in a heap. Ego bruised, brifters scratched, all else okay. My wife, who was watching from the porch, just shook her head and went back inside. I'm sure she was humilitated in front of the neighbors. :rolleyes:

Other than that, toe overlap's no big deal! :beer:

[RPS]

Other than that, toe overlap's no big deal! :beer:Exactly. It's not important unless it is. ;)