Subject: Re: Toe overlap........ Posted by: Jane on May 24, 2001 at 15:00:14: In Reply to: Re: Toe overlap........ posted by Jim on December 25, 2000 at 12:54:33:

Message: >>I am in the market for a new bike to replace my 13 year old Centurion. It is a 56cm frame. I have always been comfortable with the bike. >>I almost bought a Lemond Zurich 01' 55cm. The bike/frame felt good when riding it. I am 5'11" with a 32" inseam. >>My problem was that my toes/shoes could touch the rear of the front tire when the tire was turning left or right. This did not seem right to me and I did not get the bike. The dealer did not have a 57CM to try. I thought with a 57cm I would not have this problem. By the way I also had the problem on a 55cm Marin road bike. I have a 10.5" foot. The crank on the Lemond was a 175mm( should have been a 172.5, according to the web site). Two dealers said the same thing "that one gets used to this condition and that it is not a problem". It is a problem to me! I find this hard to believe. My shoes never touched any of my other bike tires. >>How about you folks? Anybody run into this? >>..........>>>.....is not really uncommon on quality bikes,especialy for people with long feet.And, it really is not a problem. There are easy ways to avoid it, and it soon ceases to be a 'problem'. I'm 6' and would buy a 55 lemond. the 175 cranks are too long for that size,as it should more properly have 170 or 172.5. The old centurian probably has more slack headtube angle or greater fork offset which places the front wheel out further. Current bikes tend to have more agressive geometry ,and a one size difference is not likely to cure the 'problem'. Check the toptube length on your centurian,and try to stay as close to that as possible,since you say the fit is good, as that dimension is as important, or more important to fit than "size" which can be measured 3 different ways depending on manufacturer.Also consider stem length sa well as toptube lenthe as a total 'cockpit' length concept.