Cyclocross - Specialized Tricross - Front tire hits foot?

I have been looking at these for a little while and am contemplating buying one. I am borrowing a friends right now who doesn't really ride it. The front tire catches my toe when turned sharp with the foot forward. Is anyone else having this issue or is just me? I know its not a big deal but it is a pain when I'm doing a trackstand at a light and having to wiggle the front end back and forth and it catches my toe and almost knocks me over.

I'm guessing a trackstand is where you're totally off the ground and balancing in place while waiting for the light to change? If thats the only time your foot catches the wheel it won't matter to me because i never do 'trackstands', if that's what that is. Overall I'm glad you bring up the issue though because it will be something to look at when I check this bike out. Maybe it's just the way the wheels are set in relation to the pedals on the Tricross but when I check the wheel base on this model compared to the Allez for instance it (Tricross) actually has a longer wheelbase than the allez; not alot, but longer. Maybe the front wheel is relatively closer though, I don't know.

That was an issue I was concerned about when I was in the market for a cross frame. For the most part, 51/52/53/54cm frames work for me, but toe-overlap is always an issue with the 51/52 sizes. I ended up getting a 53cm Felt F1X and compensated for the larger size with a short 70mm stem.

Another factor to look out for is the crankarm length. I was going to use some 175mm cranks I already had, but as I was building the bike up I discovered my toe would to hitting the front fenders. I ended up switching to 170mm cranks and no longer have the problem (I had to slighty adjust the seat to compensate for the shorter arms, but no big deal).

Yes a trackstand is when just standing still at a light waiting for it to change. This bike is a 56 by the way. And I think the longer wheelbase comes from the much longer rear-end. Take a look at a picture of the bike and notice the long rear end then look at an Allez or other true road bike. Big difference. If I were ever to put fenders on a tricross my feet would be hitting all the time. Not sure what size cranks are on it though. I'll look and see if I can find out.

I had a feeling that was the case, relatively longer back end that is. I can't offer any info myself but I am glad you brought this up! It may not be a big deal but i'll throw it into the mix anyway when it comes to making a buying decision.

i have a tricross and thats the only issue i have with it at all.

and its relatively minor: you get used to it pretty quickly and i dont think i've had this hapen to me since the first few weeks, other than when i'm doing realyl really low speed turns out with the kid.

other than that i'm pretty thrilled with the bike and recc it highly.

yea. I'm hoping it's something i'll get used to if I decide to buy one. I did find if I keep my foot up a bit higher than level when trackstanding it doesn't hit, but I have to consciously think about it. I've barely had it a few days so I'll see how it is after a week or more.

I had the same experience when I test rode a Trek XO-1 -- my toes hit the front wheel when turning very sharply. That didn't happen when I tried the Specialized Tricross or the LeMond Poprad (the cross bike I ended up buying).

Same issue with my Cross Veloce. It's a bit un-nerving when it crops up, but thus far hasn't been a problem.

Toe overlap is not unique to the Tricross. It occurs in all 700c bikes in small frame sizes. You cannot eliminate this without messing with the geometry and design of the bike making more dangerous than the overlap itself.

What confuses me is that this is a 56mm frame. Not small by most standards. Maybe because the cross bikes tend to be a bit of a compact frame compared to my regular road bike? Who knows. I'll hopefully get used to it after riding a bit more and it won't be too big a deal.

Happens to me too on my x01, but it's never caused a problem. Now that i know it happens, I am able to avoid it. It has never affected riding on or off road though. My frame is a 58 (I'm 6'1").... I think it has to do with the overall geometry, the crank length, and how big your feet are :).... my monster 12's are gonna hit the FORK anyday now! :D

"Toe clip overlap" on a large frame is really a design flaw. On smaller sizes with large wheels it is hard to avoid but most large frames are free of TCO.
If you are road racing then TCO is usually not a problem but if you ride in traffic with slow junctions and trackstands and fit fenders then it does cause proplems. Most of the time you will remember to avoid overlap but sometime you have other things on your mind such as cars/pedestrians/dogs/potholes/grates and something is forgotten. Brain overload is also probably the main casue to clipless pedal "failure to unclip" accidents. Combine TCO with clipless pedals and you will one day topple over.

There is no reason to buy a bike with TCO and I would advise against it.

"Toe clip overlap" on a large frame is really a design flaw. On smaller sizes with large wheels it is hard to avoid but most large frames are free of TCO.
If you are road racing then TCO is usually not a problem but if you ride in traffic with slow junctions and trackstands and fit fenders then it does cause proplems. Most of the time you will remember to avoid overlap but sometime you have other things on your mind such as cars/pedestrians/dogs/potholes/grates and something is forgotten. Brain overload is also probably the main casue to clipless pedal "failure to unclip" accidents. Combine TCO with clipless pedals and you will one day topple over.

There is no reason to buy a bike with TCO and I would advise against it.

I beg to differ. Trying to eliminate toe overlap above all else is more dangerous. Yes TCO is problematic, but no reason to dismiss a bike out of hand.

After riding it a bit, it bugs me less, but still annoys me. I kinda agree with MichaelW. I can usually avoid it if I am thinking about it, but would much rather not have to deal with it. It does not hit that I put some skinny 23's on it instead of the normals 32s. The bigger tires will be going back on soon though. I was just experimenting. I like the bike and if I can get it off my friend for a good price, I'll just deal with it. But I think if I were shopping for a new bike and had more options, if one bike did it and another not, I'd choose to not have to deal with it.

I beg to differ. Trying to eliminate toe overlap above all else is more dangerous. Yes TCO is problematic, but no reason to dismiss a bike out of hand.

I dunno, I can't see any reason for it on a frame that size. Especially a cross bike.

Somebody screwed up at the drafting table. OR, simply added some tire clearance to a road bike and declared it ready for cross.

Ron

From sheldonbrown.com:

Toe Clip Overlap: On many bicycles, especially smaller sizes, it is possible for the front fender or tire to bump into the rider's toe or to the toe clip. Some people worry a lot about this, but it is rarely a significant problem in practice.
The only time it can happen is when the handlebars are turned quite far to the side, which only happens at very low speeds.

Many, many people ride bikes with fairly severe overlap with no practical problems, sometimes having to make a slight adjustment to their pedaling habits at very slow speeds.

On smaller size bikes with full size wheels, it is usually impossible to eliminate overlap without causing adverse fit/handling issues.

And from Seven Cycles:

Summary of Understanding Toe Overlap: To be clear, there is a potential risk of danger associated with toe overlap, though it is only a concern under a relatively rare and specific circumstance that is avoidable by the rider. On the other hand, designing a bike with the specific goal of eliminating toe overlap could result in poor handling and less predictibility, which could present it's own set of risks, particularly under high speeds. Seven's preference is to design a frame with the goal of optimized performance and predictable handling rahter than the elimination of toe overlap.

I just built up a Moto le champion its a 56cm and I am having overlap problems. The geometry is fairly steep 73.5 head tube,73 seat tube. I also have a kinesis frame of the same size with 73 headtube 73 seat tube this one has no overlap issues. Its not really a problem I did not discover it until I did a trackstand, just have to get used to it I guess.

You might think of putting pedals with toe straps on the bike. It helped me keep the ball of my foot on the pedal and away from the tire and it was much more efficient.

How do you like the stock tires (Borough Cx) on the Tri-Cross.

Are they slick enough for paved roads and adequate for dirt track?

i like them, and actualyl bought a pair for my winter beater, but now that the weather is nice i'm thinking of switchign to something thinner that rolls at a higher psi. 100-110 with the burroughs feels kinda mushy to me, and on pavement, i feel like i could get away with some 25c armadillos and not miss the burroughs.

but they are nice for light dirt.

They are pretty decent on the road. More slick than not. I run them around 90 or 95 lbs and haven't had any problems yet. I haven't had them on any sort of dirt track though. They are pretty slick mostly so it would have to be pretty hard packed dirt or I'm sure they'd be pretty slick. I put on some 23c tires from my road bike for a while and it was a bit faster but the 32c are not horrible and do provide more cushion over the bumps for sure.

Just to throw in my two cents, I have a 2010 Specialized Tricross Sport. I have a 56cm frame, and I'm about 5'10". Despite being a CX bike, I think of it as my first road bike since I was in the market for a road commuter. I had heard a lot of people were going CX bikes for commuting since they're a tiny bit beefier in the frames and tires so you don't have to worry as much about curbs, pot-holes, carrying some baggage, etc.

Anyway, my bike came with toe clips, and I didn't realize at the time they were actually small size, which is pretty strange for a larger frame. I later switched them out to large size, and immediately realized why it had had small to start with. With the large clips I started getting TCO and brushing the front wheel quite easily, although only in pretty tight turns. As pointed out by previous posters, this only crops up in particular situations. I never do track stands, so for me, it mostly happens at startup, and sometimes when doing very low speed maneuvers. Certainly not at high speeds.

I've since switched out to clipless pedals (SPD), and I'm using a pair of Northwave Spartas in size 44 (US 11). They will still brush very lightly if I a) have my foot pushed forward so the shoe sort of flexes forward a bit, b) put the pedal all the way forward, and c) turn the wheel pretty sharply. This is an unusual combination, so I probably shouldn't worry much about it.

However, heading into the fall, it's raining more and I would like to put fenders on, which will obviously make this more prominent.

Any opinions on this situation? And from a frame geometry point of view, is changing to shorter crank arms considered pretty trivial/ safe? Or is that something should be a last resort? Based on how lightly I'm brushing the tire right now, I suspect that even with a front fender on, a 5mm shorter arm would probably get me completely clear. But I don't want to totally mess up the fit of my bike either.

After writing this post, I realized this thread is 6 years old, so not expecting a reply from the original posters, but still curious if anyone else out there has any thoughts.

.. just give up the track stand.
shorter front center , is a handling frame design choice.
if you want a long front center, and a stock proportion frame is what it is.

Have you considered a custom Frame?