I recieved this really nice mountain bike for my birfday. It was perchaced pre assembled. After going on my maiden ride, I noticed that when I do a slight turn of the handle bars, my foot scrapes against the front tire pretty badly. I dont have huge feet or anything, so I was wonering why this is happening. I find it kind of dangerous too. So whats going on?
2007-03-19 05:33:55 · 6 answers · asked by gumby and pokey 3 in Sports ➔ Cycling
This is called "toe clip overlap". Chances are, though, that you are experiencing this because you foot is not positioned correctly on the pedal.
The 'ball' of your foot... where the toes meet the rest of the foot- should be centered over the pedal.
2007-03-19 08:34:59 · answer #1 · answered by bikeworks 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Are you freakishly tall with huge feet that hang off the front of the pedals? Or worse, are you short with freakishly long feet? Maybe you got a kids bike? Or one of those little tiny clown bikes that are about a foot big. If you can do some loop-de-loops on a clown bike, you could be famous.
Seriously though, maybe you are pedaling with your heel and not the ball of your foot. Try raising the seat up a little bit and use the ball of your foot to pedal with. Other than that, maybe the bike is too small. If you buy a bike at a bike shop, you pick out the kind you like, then they sell you the proper size. Bikes from the big box stores typically do not come in different sizes. So, if you're short or tall, the bike will be too big or too small.
2007-03-19 13:19:42 · answer #2 · answered by Rodney 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The wheels have nothing to do with it. How tall are you and which size wheels you have?
For example, some guys on 29ers notice that same thing. But it might just be that you're using a small frame which has a shorter wheelbase (distance between the wheels), and it's something you have to get used to it.
Go to a dedicated bike shop and have them see if the bike fits you, or if it is too small.
2007-03-19 13:34:21 · answer #3 · answered by Roberto 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The overlap is correct but it depends on crankarm length and the general sizing of the bike, how it was made. With the front tire size taken into consideration. Very small compact bikes with small fork rake ,short wheel base and long crankarm length can cause this overlap problem.
2007-03-20 03:05:32 · answer #4 · answered by Mars 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like your bike may be too small for you. Go to a local bike shop and ask them for their opinion. Maybe it will be something as simple as adjusting your position on the bike to alleviate the problem, but you should have someone take a look at it.
2007-03-19 13:50:47 · answer #5 · answered by CM 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
all of the answers above could be the right answer, but here is something else to look at: is the fork on correct or backwards? believe it or not, I have seen sporting goods stores assemble bikes incorrectly, including installing the front fork backwards... you can still ride it, but it can cause the problem you describe...
otherwise, all of the other answers are good.
2007-03-19 15:59:45 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋