Slightly strange (I think question)......

Grisley Paul
Grisley Paul Posts: 186
edited September 2012 in Road beginners
Hi Guys,

Just bought my first road bike second hand (2005 Alan Matrix), coming from riding MTB's...... my query is this....

Setting up my pedals in the garage earlier ( I am using mtb Shimano M520's and MTB shoes)

With the cranks horizontal to the ground and a certain amount of steering angle the tyre/ wheel catches my feet :?

Now, is this purely down to running MTB pedals and shoes ? is it a geometry issue ? or is it just road bikes for you ?

I ride in areas and have to negotiate obstacles at slow speed with a fair bit of steering lock and being used to MTB's tend to have my feet and cranks in the horizontal position which is the worse case scenario here.....

Cheers
Paul

Comments

  • danowat
    danowat Posts: 2,877
    That'll be toe overlap, and it's a frame geometry issue.
  • Grisley Paul
    Grisley Paul Posts: 186
    danowat wrote:
    That'll be toe overlap, and it's a frame geometry issue.


    Sounds bad :?

    I'm assuming my foot size and this frame do not mix and never will kinda thing ?
  • Gizmodo
    Gizmodo Posts: 1,928
    Toe overlap is perfectly normal with road bikes and nothing to worry about.
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  • Grisley Paul
    Grisley Paul Posts: 186
    Sounds mad but I can see the issue with such ''tight'' geometry etc.....

    Will put some miles on it gingerly and see how it goes, must just remember to NOT to keep the cranks horizontal when doing tight slow speed stuff etc....... 8)
  • unixnerd
    unixnerd Posts: 2,864
    Some bikes do it, most don't. It's not impossible your feet are too far forwards on the pedals. With your SPD shoes there are two mounting points for the cleats as well as some adjustment. Where is the ball of your foot in relation to the pedal spindle?
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  • ShutUpLegs
    ShutUpLegs Posts: 3,522
    Gizmodo wrote:
    Toe overlap is perfectly normal with road bikes and nothing to worry about.

    Unless you fall off and die.
  • Grisley Paul
    Grisley Paul Posts: 186
    With regard to cleat position, the ball of my foot is pretty much right over the pedal spindle.....
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,545
    The cleat position will be in the same position relative to the pedal on both bikes (assuming you are using the same shoes). It shouldn't be an issue as on the road you very rarely turn the handlebars enough for it to make an impact. On an MTB off road you have to steer at much lower speeds so use the bars more whilst on the road you will be using mainly body weight.

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