Help....I fell off my bike!!

[crows]

hello all,
I have just bought myself a beautiful Azzurri Forza Elite.....I love it but last weekend I fell off!! I realised, when I went over the incident that there was a very good reason why I fell off.....my tyre hit my toe clip when I was turning my wheel and over balanced me. My bike frame is a small one, it has been properly fitted for me. Is this something which is common?

[Kiwi Stoker]

On smaller sized bikes toe overlap is a problem but not common. However toe clip DO have a large cage at the front which would trap newbies not used to it.

Normally most people progress to clippless pedals- ones with there is a cleat on you shoes that locks it to the pedal and by going this way it could remove the toe overlap as there isn't a huge cage hanging off the front.

If you can, remove the toe clips and see if this helps. If it solves it you might want to look into going clipless (which involves buying new pedals and cycle shoes).

[OakLeaf]

Yes, it's common. It's just another thing to think about - your pedal position in a turn. Sometimes all the things you need to think about can be a little overwhelming with a new bike (or any physical skill) - but little by little, with practice it will all become natural and automatic.

I don't necessarily recommend going clipless as a remedy. You may find you want to go clipless (most people do, as in the end it's much safer than having to use your hand to loosen a toe clip), but that's another thing to think about also, that usually results in a few tip-overs for most people while they're learning. And clipless pedals you have to remember all the time, any time you want to stop including panic stops - while toe overlap you only have to think about in those slow U-turns.

At any rate, don't count on clipless pedals eliminating your toe overlap - check it first if you want to try that. Stand over your bike wearing your cycling shoes, flip your pedal over so the clip is on the bottom, put the ball of your larger foot over the spindle so it's in the same position it would be if you were pedaling, and pedal backwards until the pedal is in its farthest forward position. Then turn your handlebars back and forth and see whether your tire will pass your shoe, or whether it still hits without the toe clip.

Generally, just be conscious of your pedal position when you're making very sharp slow turns. You'll want to learn to be conscious of pedal position in higher speed turns regardless (so you don't stick a pedal in a corner when you're leaned way over).

It'll come, little by little. Welcome and enjoy.

[tzvia]

I try to avoid sharp slow turns that I would need to pedal through, as I ride a small bike that has toe overlap. I just turn with enough speed to keep the pedals at 12/6 oclock, with the outside pedal down, and coast through the turn.

Toe clips are another matter. Do you otherwise feel comfortable using them, as a new rider? You may want to go, as was mentioned already, without them at first until you get comfortable with how your new bike feels. Once you are more comfortable with the turns you could add them back into the mix. But remember, they do stick out further than your shoes and add to the toe overlap.

[zoom-zoom]

Yup, I have toe overlap on my road and cyclocross bikes. I'm relatively short, but have average to slightly larger feet (in part because my feet are wide and I generally need to upsize a bit to get enough width) and like my cleats back further on my foot, which puts my foot further forward on the pedal. I have to really plan ahead to avoid pedaling through tight corners. This is rarely an issue on my road bike, but I frequently run into this on my CX bike. It's just one more thing that slows my already slow butt down even more.

[OakLeaf]

One thing you can do to keep momentum in a tight corner is pedal intermittently - backpedal to re-orient your crankarm position, and then pedal through but stop before you get to the point of potential overlap. Kind of like ratcheting a socket wrench. I often do this for balance reasons regardless of toe overlap.