shoe hitting tire concerns

Currently I have a crank that's looks like it will cause my toe to hit the tire when I turn. I ride with clipless pedals.

I stupidly stripped the pedal threads and then the LBS failed to order the correct crank, and they put a temporary one on so I could ride until the correct one comes in. They did tell me to be careful.

This one has 175 crank arms, and the previous one had 170.

I'm paranoid I'm going to crash and my gut tells me to stay off the bike. I will be riding through town and having to make some slow turns.

Am I over thinking this?

Thanks,
Carolyn

Do you mean your have toe overlap? A lot of us do--including me on all of my bikes. I'm careful making turns at slow speeds, but beyond that, it's never been an issue. Do a search for "toe overlap" and you'll find a number of threads discussing this.

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

175 is super long. My inseam is 32, and I use 170

How tall are you?

According to this:
Crank arm length is highly dependent on the rider but here is a ‘rough’ guide. If your inseam is under 31 inches you may want to use cranks that are shorter than 170 mm. If your inseam is over 32 inches you may want cranks longer than 170 mm.

Hope that helps.

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Maybe I'm not reading the OP correctly, but I think the the crank with 175 crank arms is just temporary while her LBS orders the right crank. That said, even a short ride with overly long crank arms could hurt the OP's knees. That would concern me more than toe overlap. In the very least, she might need to lower her sad 5mm to accomodate the lower pedal stroke.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

Maybe I'm not reading the OP correctly, but I think the the crank with 175 crank arms is just temporary while her LBS orders the right crank. That said, even a short ride with overly long crank arms could hurt the OP's knees. That would concern me more than toe overlap. In the very least, she might need to lower her sad 5mm to accomodate the lower pedal stroke.

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Yes, it's strictly temporary. I'm actually getting 165 crank arms put on (previously had 170), but they felt so bad with the screw up, they put on a crank they had laying around. I'm not sure how my knees and the rest of my body are going to react, I surely don't plan on riding more that 15 miles or so.

Yes, toe overlap would be the correct term! Learn something new everyday! I didn't have that issue before. Guess it's pretty common and I'm over thinking things!

I'll do a quick spin around the block to see how my knees feel. I got a bike fit last year, and I really hate to mess with it.

Thanks gals!

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Originally Posted by indysteel

In the very least, she might need to lower her sad 5mm to accomodate the lower pedal stroke.

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In my case, when crankarms are too long, it's much safer for me to raise my saddle to accommodate the greater knee flexion at the top of the pedal stroke. Yes, at the bottom of the pedal stroke, my seat height is then too high, which creates Achilles problems. Which way is safer for the OP probably depends on whether her knees or her ankles/calves are worse...

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

In my case, when crankarms are too long, it's much safer for me to raise my saddle to accommodate the greater knee flexion at the top of the pedal stroke. Yes, at the bottom of the pedal stroke, my seat height is then too high, which creates Achilles problems. Which way is safer for the OP probably depends on whether her knees or her ankles/calves are worse...

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Interesting. My fitter lowered my saddle when I went from 165s to 170s, so that's why I suggested it to the OP, but I hadn't thought about how longer crank arms would change knee flexion.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

In my case, when crankarms are too long, it's much safer for me to raise my saddle to accommodate the greater knee flexion at the top of the pedal stroke. Yes, at the bottom of the pedal stroke, my seat height is then too high, which creates Achilles problems. Which way is safer for the OP probably depends on whether her knees or her ankles/calves are worse...

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Knees are my achilles heel. :-) I have not had any ankle or calf issues at all. Most of my knee problems I believe come from my IT band - it's 99.9% on the outside of my knee when my seat and cleats are adjust correctly.

I plan to leave the seat as is, and see how that works, if it doesn't, I'll revert back to riding my hybrid and hope the LBS manages to get it's act together and order the right part this week. It's been going on for 3 weeks now.

I just took it out for a 12 mile ride. I got on the bike and the saddle felt high, and I figured it was because I had been riding my hybrid. Happened to look down and there was red tape around the seat post -- I think the LBS raised it.

No problem at all with the toe overlap, was totally over thinking, BUT the crankarms were incredibly uncomfortable, I couldn't wait to get home, and was afraid to push it, my knees hurt, my sit bones hurt and my lower back isn't happy either - that's a pain I've never experienced on a bike.

Bike is garaged until the crank comes in.

Sure hope that going down from a 170 to a 165 will be as comfortable as going from 170 to 175 was miserable.

How do I measure crank length? I have quite a bit of toe overlap on my streetbike and thinking about it, the cranks seem incredibly long (hit the ground when I lean the bike easily).
Can I just put shorter cranks on without changing anything else? Maybe this could solve a bunch of issues with this bike when I read your comments.

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Originally Posted by Susan

How do I measure crank length? I have quite a bit of toe overlap on my streetbike and thinking about it, the cranks seem incredibly long (hit the ground when I lean the bike easily).
Can I just put shorter cranks on without changing anything else? Maybe this could solve a bunch of issues with this bike when I read your comments.

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I'm not sure how you properly measure them, I think on some the size is marked. You can just change the crank, but it's not a cheap endeavor, depending on what you get. Originally I just needed the left crank arm, but the manufacturer changed the spindle, so no go.

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

I wasn't disagreeing with what you said at all. Only adding my perspective. Just thought 175's sounded too long for most women. Thought they may be causing some of the problem. Not toe-overlap, exactly. Just overall shaky handling and discomfort.

Good call about garaging the bike, Carol. (And I have to question whether that is the best LBS to use if they put you on 175's when you need 165. Even temporarily).

JMTC. I also have knee issues. And back issues. My right hand. Even Achilles's tendonitis. Probably some other stuff that I'm not thinking about...yeah, I'm cautious about pain. :) (Oh yeah. Hip problems:rolleyes::rolleyes:).

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No problem; I didn't think you were arguing with me, nor am I you. When I first read her post, I thought the same thing, i.e., that 175s are too long for the average woman, and would have addressed that issue but for the fact that it seemed like it was just a temporary fix.

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Originally Posted by carolync

I plan to leave the seat as is, and see how that works, if it doesn't, I'll revert back to riding my hybrid and hope the LBS manages to get it's act together and order the right part this week. It's been going on for 3 weeks now.

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He may be having a hard time finding your 165's..... I had to have mine replaced recently and there were *no* DA cranks available until July... I mean none, like they asked all their suppliers and even called Shimano none.... I have a very nice set of Ultegras now (probably just as good as my old 05 DA's if not better), but it definitely took some wrangling and more time than I would have preferred to get them.

This makes me wonder what my crank arm length is. My bike is a men's frame, but it's a small men's frame (48). It's a SRAM Force crank...looks like it could be a 170 or 172.5 or 175. When the time comes to replace it I think I'll definitely make sure that I end up with a 170.

It should be stamped on the inside of the crankarm, by the pedal spindle hole? Mine are.

I must be the only one here with at least one bike that has 175s on it by choice....

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Originally Posted by Eden

He may be having a hard time finding your 165's..... I had to have mine replaced recently and there were *no* DA cranks available until July... I mean none, like they asked all their suppliers and even called Shimano none.... I have a very nice set of Ultegras now (probably just as good as my old 05 DA's if not better), but it definitely took some wrangling and more time than I would have preferred to get them.

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I wanted an upgrade to a shimano 105, and they ordered an Tiagra (?). Now you have me paranoid that is what I will hear next. I know they have a 165 dura-ace in stock, but that would be an insane upgrade for me. Wish they would have put that one on as the temp!

First they failed to tell me they couldn't find the arm until I called a week later, and then they couldn't find my ticket, that's when I decided to upgrade my crank. Called last Friday and they said the part order just came in and it will be ready by the end of the day. Saturday I show up, and I have a temporary 175 crank, then he said he should have mentioned it on the phone.

Yep, I'm getting pretty frustrated with them.

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Originally Posted by Becky

I must be the only one here with at least one bike that has 175s on it by choice....

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That just proves you're not the average woman! :D

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Originally Posted by indysteel

That just proves you're not the average woman! :D

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Oh I'm definitely not normal! :D;):D

But, in all seriousness, there are women and applications where 175s are appropriate. For example, I like the extra leverage of 175s on my mountain bike, but my road bike has 170s. Just throwing out a counterpoint for consideration...

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Originally Posted by Becky

Oh I'm definitely not normal! :D;):D

But, in all seriousness, there are women and applications where 175s are appropriate. For example, I like the extra leverage of 175s on my mountain bike, but my road bike has 170s. Just throwing out a counterpoint for consideration...

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Absolutely a point worth making....thank you.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

Maybe I'm not reading the OP correctly, but I think the the crank with 175 crank arms is just temporary while her LBS orders the right crank. That said, even a short ride with overly long crank arms could hurt the OP's knees. That would concern me more than toe overlap. In the very least, she might need to lower her sad 5mm to accomodate the lower pedal stroke.

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I agree. Also if you didn't have overlap with the 170s, no sense taking a chance with the 175s for both safety and injury.