Touring - Trek 520 Toe Clearance?

Hi,

I have been looking at picking up a Trek 520 for my commuting and touring. However, being a tall guy I have heard that if you have big feet that there is a habit for these models to collide with your feet during turns due to frame design/sizing. Any tall or large footed individuals out there have experience with this on the 520?

Many thanks,

Ray

My toes scrub on really slow turns and now that I have fenders it is even worse. I usually try to have my feet at 6 and 12 oclock when turning but going up a steep hill I have to keep peddling. However, I have ridden several other bikes and have the same thing happen so I dont think it is a 520 problem. I am 6 ft tall, wear 11.5 US shoes and ride an XL (25 IN) 520, a large Ciant OCR3 and several friends bikes (trek 1000, pilot?, felt? etc) I actually think the 520 is a little better but toe scrub happens on them all.

Coy Boy

I wear size 13 shoes, ride a 23" 520 with fenders and can't for the life of me remember any interference. Just rode it yesterday, too. Plenty of pannier clearance as well. Maybe I just make automatic adjustments because I'm so used to the bike, an thus don't notice anymore???

I think it has to do with foot position mostly. If you have platforms, it's possible to misplace the foot. I ride clipless and have no problems.

Toe overlap is more common on small size bikes. I have the 17" (XS) 520, and def. have overlap - but it only matters on very slow speed turns, you just have to "ratchet" and keep your outside foot in back.

I learned quickly about the overlap on my Jamis Aurora with a front fender. On a tight turn coming off the local rail trail I touched the fender with my toeclip and the fender folded up like an accordian into the fork/steerer and the wheel stopped immediately. Scratched the fork a bit and took a while to remove the ruined fender.

Anyway, I got clipless pedals and moved the cleat as far forward as possible so it clears much better. I could still barely rub the tire if I hit it just right. I also got a shorter fender and bent the mounting wires to make it ride a bit higher this time. This is a rather serious thing because it could cause you to crash. It is solved by technique surely but if you can do things to minimize the chance of rubbing the tire (moving your cleats forward) then do so. I went from a mountain bike with no issues like this to the 700c tourer and it really surprised me that a bike would be designed to have this overlap problem but from reading here it seems common to many bikes.

I got clipless pedals and moved the cleat as far forward as possible so it clears much better.
This setup of cleats can get your toes numb. I don't know if it also good.
I understand that it is for solving the overlap problem, but the ball of the foot should be on top of the pedal center.
I also understand that different people use different setups.
Just take it into account.

Thanks guys,

I guess I will perhaps just take a ride on a 25" model when I get to the US in a month and maybe solve the problem as mentioned with technique. I do agree with Duckfat in the regard the limiting the potential for hazard is ideal. But, I am not in a position to change my current clip configuration. I used to ride on the toes and not only had the numbness but also knee pain. After ages of tinkering with positioning I think I have it just about right so this is one thing I cant be flexible with.

Thanks for the feedback.

Ray

Toe overlap is more common on small size bikes. I have the 17" (XS) 520, and def. have overlap - but it only matters on very slow speed turns, you just have to "ratchet" and keep your outside foot in back.

I had a 17in 520 and it had toe overlap with the fender. I still have toe overlap with my 42cm LHT and my Pacer and Gunnar. I consider it a non-issue. My Randonee doesn't have toe overlap.

Thanks guys,

I guess I will perhaps just take a ride on a 25" model when I get to the US in a month and maybe solve the problem as mentioned with technique. I do agree with Duckfat in the regard the limiting the potential for hazard is ideal. But, I am not in a position to change my current clip configuration. I used to ride on the toes and not only had the numbness but also knee pain. After ages of tinkering with positioning I think I have it just about right so this is one thing I cant be flexible with.

Thanks for the feedback.

Ray

Good choice. The frame should fit you and not the opposite.