Quote Originally Posted by lunacycles View Post
Like everyone here has said, it's not a big deal once you get used to it. And, yes, too often big companies compromise frame geometry simply to avoid it...and that's not good. So if you are small and you can live with it, usually, I say "great!"

However, I go out of my way not to design it into a bike that I know will do loaded touring. Whereas on an unloaded bike, it is easy to correct/respond to, it can be dicier if, say, you are going 6 mph uphill with 40 lbs on your bike, rear loaded, or rear and front loaded. It just requires more muscle to respond to when the bike is loaded, and is hard to respond as quickly, especially at slow speeds which is when it tends to occur. Everyone will tell you it won't happen (crank forward with the wheel being turned in the opposite direction is not a natural position), but it just does happen now and then, regardless of your skill, and is more likely to happen at slower speeds, and often loaded touring speeds are slow speeds. Just something to be aware of. With 40 lbs on the bike, it would not be fun to go down.

It would be helpful to know how much toe overlap you have, as you may be able to something about it. For example, who set up your cleats, or are you using toe clips? The use of toe clips makes toe overlap much more likely. Cleats set far back on the shoe's sole make toe overlap likely. What length crank do you have, and is it appropriate for your inseam? If your bike has a longer crank than what is ideal for you, switching to a shorter one might help eliminate toe overlap (but not a good fix if you don't really need shorter cranks). Finally, and maybe most simply, going to a somewhat smaller profile tire may reduce or eliminate your toe overlap. If you can reduce it to a "brush" instead of a "bump" it won't affect you much when it does happen...even with 40 lbs of gear on your bike.

Thanks very much, I appreciate everything you said. I actually have very little toe overlap. First, I moved the fender in towards the tire slightly, still enough room between fender and tire. I put my bike on the rack, clipped my shoe in (on this bike I'm going to use the spd pedal/with platform on flip side) turned the cranks while moving the wheel and the only place they touched (it wasn't a stop but more of a graze) was when the pedal was at about the 2:00 position (3:00 being straight and not touching there) and the shoe caught the rubber tips of the wire thing that attaches the fender. So, if i trim that 1/4-1/2 inch I'm not sure it would make any contact. Even not trimming it except for that 2:00 to maybe 2:30 place in the revolution of the crank it isn't an issue.

As far as the crank, that's something I've thought about too and plan to talk to the lbs about when I go back. I have 170mm cranks now. I'm 5'5", actually I'm 5' 4.5" due to shrinkage (aging. blah.) and atypical in that I am longer in the torso than legs. So a shorter crank I would think might be appropriate.

So where things stand now, with the adjustment of the fender the t.o. isn't much of a problem or at least doesn't appear to be based on what I'm seeing. Again, by possibly trimming the wire fender things slightly that could take care of it. Not sure if I was clear but they actually extend past the fender about an inch, and are capped with rubber tips. There are two, about an inch apart - on either side of the fender. The fenders are minimalist style. They are flat, brushed aluminum, and maybe 2.5 inches wide. I won't do anything with them until the lbs checks it and we can look at other alternatives such as crank length.

The true test will be riding. I will talk to the lbs about the crank and whether shorter would be appropriate without compromising on fit. Thanks again.