Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Problem with frame, common?

So I built my gf singlespeed/fixed bike, with a 54cm Miyata frame. The toe clips hit the front wheel on sharp turns. Is there a way to remedy this, or do all 54cm frames with 700c wheel has the same problem?

It's really common, you'll forget about it in no time.

it's very common, it's called toe overlap, and it's not a problem once you actually get going faster than 5mph.

tell your girlfriend to wait to turn until she's mashed that side, or to speed up and lean through turns instead of going slow and turning the fork.

well the first problem is having such a tall girlfriend with such big feet

it's very common, it's called toe overlap, and it's not a problem once you actually get going faster than 5mph.

tell your girlfriend to wait to turn until she's mashed that side, or to speed up and lean through turns instead of going slow and turning the fork.

Would this be for while running fixed? I understand if it's on single speed though.

BTW, are there any frames at 54-55cm that doesn't have this toe overlap problem?

its usually an issue with geometry. basically this happens all track frames, a good number of road frames, and almost no touring frames

seriously, dont even worry about it. Toe overlap almost never comes into play, and if you ride your bike enough you'll learn to avoid it without even thinking.

Get a beach cruiser, that ***** is lax

Ugh... She says she doesn't feel safe. She actually struck the back of the wheel when turning, which is how I found out in the first place. She currently rides a Trek 7.2 FX, which uses 700c tires w/o toeclip overlap.

does she have 165 cranks? and what size clips does she have? I have a Miyata 112 with no overlap. so it may be the set up.

I tried to convince her that it won't be a problem, but I do sympathize with her. Riding in NY, all kinds of turns are needed, and toe overlap is one less thing she should worry about.

does she have 165 cranks? and what size clips does she have? I have a Miyata 112 with no overlap. so it may be the set up.

165 cranks, uh, medium toe clips? Don't really know about that. Do you have a picture of your bike? What size frame is it?

unless she wants to get a 650 front wheel and a super long reach front brake, the best fix is for her to just be mindful of not having her foot and wheel in the same place at the same time. safety shouldn't be a concern since the only times turns sharp enough to bring toe overlap into the picture would be at pretty low speeds

safety can be a concern here

making a slow speed turn across a busy intersection is a bad time to go down

If she's not willing to learn to ride with it then maybe she shouldnt be on a track frame. Pretty simple really. Everyone else cuts sharp turns at low speed and deals with it. I dont mean to sound harsh but it's just about being aware of your bicycle. It's the same as a car needing to be aware of how it can perform safely. It's just something that has to be learned through practice.

do all 54cm frames with 700c wheel has the same problem?

It has more to do with the fork rake--a track bike is going to have a steeper one, at 38 or so degrees, rather than a road fork with 43 ish. Very common though, tell her to have patience and she'll get used to it.

If she's not willing to learn to ride with it then maybe she shouldnt be on a track frame. Pretty simple really. Everyone else cuts sharp turns at low speed and deals with it. I dont mean to sound harsh but it's just about being aware of your bicycle. It's the same as a car needing to be aware of how it can perform safely. It's just something that has to be learned through practice.

I understand. It wasn't meant to be a track bike, just fixed for the exercise. More commuter. But yeah, I'm going to have to sell the frame. Maybe the whole bike and just get her something else. It's just that it took me sooooooooo long to wait for the parts and build it. Noodle bars, cloth tape, bah.

Thanks for the info guys. Short girlfriends = not cool.

i will not be building my girlfriend a bike. too many horror stories like this one. i'm glad she has a raleigh comfort bike.

anyone who thinks toe overlap is a problem shouldn't be riding fixed anyway. and my suggestion about waiting to turn until she's mashed the pedal on the turn side was for fixed... obviously you never have to have a problem with toe overlap with a freewheel because you can just stop pedaling when you turn.

if i'm going slow enough to need to turn the wheel that much, i am going slow enough to coordinate my turn with my crank position.

Amputate her toes.

It has more to do with the fork rake--a track bike is going to have a steeper one, at 38 or so degrees, rather than a road fork with 43 ish. Very common though, tell her to have patience and she'll get used to it.


unless it's an iro angus/mark V, then you get the overlap without the benefit of the nice tight geometry of a track frame!

Buy her a Fuji Track SE, IRO Mark V, Motobecance Messenger, or another frame with 650c wheels. You could also convert an old Centurion, the kind with the 24" front wheel and the 700c rear. Those are your options to do away with toe overlap forever.

I had a good 2" or so of overlap on my KHS Aerotrack. You get used to it.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1072/951743128_386cb305ba.jpg

If she's not willing to learn to ride with it then maybe she shouldnt be on a track frame. Pretty simple really. Everyone else cuts sharp turns at low speed and deals with it. I dont mean to sound harsh but it's just about being aware of your bicycle. It's the same as a car needing to be aware of how it can perform safely. It's just something that has to be learned through practice.

Did I miss the part where the OP indicated this was a track frame? Sounds like maybe it's a conversion?

If it is a track frame, I would suggest finding a different frame -- if she's not on the track and not into aggressive riding, she'll be much happier on something more relaxed. If it is a converted road frame as I suspect, why not just make it a single speed, maybe even w/ a coaster brake? As cc700 points out, overlap is no longer an issue with the freewheel. Fixed isn't for everyone -- keep her comfy.

Fixed isn't for everyone
+1
If she can't learn to use the equipment properly, or if (as in this case?) she's not ok with learning something new and becoming comfortable with something she hasn't experienced before, then she's not going to enjoy riding.
Get her a bike she's comfortable with, which may very well not be a fixed gear.

as mentioned previously, try some 165mm length crank arms.
put some medium toe clips (maybe even small if her foot is small enough).
make her learn to angle her foot as she feels it approaching that part of the crank rotation (not all the time, just when her wheel is turned that much at slow speeed).
put a smaller tire on the front, like a 25 or 23.

Yeah, definitely not for all.

It's also about her state of mind. She says she doesn't "feel" safe with the overlap.

*sigh*

My girlfriend's Miyata has toe overlap. It's a touring frame. It's no big deal.

flip the wheel over to the freewheel side... problem solved! if she ever wants to ride fixed again, it'll be there... don't put yourself through more crap trying to please her and get her into fixed gear bikes

1) A small amount of toe overlap is unlikely to cause problems;
2) The posers here who say she should suck it up and deal with it or quite riding fixed are self-important punks. Ignore them.
3) My fixie is a converted 1985 Fuji Espree with almost no overlap. It is possible to find frames that have less, and frames that have much more. The challenge is weighing every trade-off you make. Finding a frame that has exactly the feature-set you want may be challenging....

^^^ Sometimes that's what it takes.
My fiance is new to cycling, and started riding because I offered her a Schwinn 10-speed that I'd tuned up. Eventually, she asked me to "take off all those heavy gears," because she never shifted anyway, so I SS'ed it (with a flip-clop hub and a lighter wheelset).
Eventually, she decided she wanted to try fixed, so I flipped the rear wheel and she rode fixed with 2 brakes and platforms for a while.
A month or so later, she asked me to put on some toeclips, so she could control her speed better using her legs. I don't expect her to go brakeless any time soon (nor would I recommend it for her), but she's made a natural progression as she became more comfortable with her bike, and with riding in general.
Initially, when I would suggest changes or offer advice, she'd get flustered and upset; turns out, she just needed to evolve at her own pace.
I suggest a similar approach in your case. It's all about the "comfort zone" and pushing the boundaries gently.

hehe.... TOEVERLAP

Maybe I missed something, but how much overlap are we talking about? A few mm, or like inches?

Almost any road frame short of a mega-slack touring frame is going to have a little bit of overlap (heck, I have a road frame with a 50mm rake fork in it and it still has a tiny bit of overlap with clipless pedals), and stuff like shorter cranks and smaller clips isn't going to buy you much more than 1/2" or so.

She needs to ride freewheel until she's comfortable with the bike overall, at which point overlap won't be a problem. And she can ride freewheel, because you didn't put your girlfriend who isn't experienced enough to deal with overlap on a brakeless fixed gear. Or do we need to go get the Stupid Helmet?

OP, sell the bike, hand the money over to her and tell her to get her own bike. If she's complaining about toe overlap and won't ride because of that, I bet she'll find things wrong with any bike you get for her that will prevent her from riding because she doesn't "feel comfortable" on it.

^^^ That's option #2. Option #1 is, of course, dump the whingey b!tch.

1) A small amount of toe overlap is unlikely to cause problems;
2) The posers here who say she should suck it up and deal with it or quite riding fixed are self-important punks. Ignore them.

Does not compute.

no overlap on my BF IRO. Sometimes too, people ride a frame that's a bit too small causing it. You take the same frame and build, but go up a size or two, and no toe overlap. But, most people do get used to having it. Doesn't seem to be a major concern.

Using a freewheel is the best option I've heard yet. That way she can get used to the geometry in a low-risk situation. It will also allow her to make tight turns with her inside foot forward and her outside foot back out of the way.

Short girlfriends = not cool.



ahahahahahahahahahahabhahaha

Amputate her toes.

yes and then the feet will be smaller. sell her this idea by telling her all the tiny shoes she will fit in to.

:D


or not.

if are using large sized clips, medium or small clips may buy you just enough clearance.

It's like an inch or two. But like I said, it shouldn't be a problem, but it is.

I'm not trying to convert her, she wanted the exercise benefits from riding a fixed bike. Just didn't work out.

2" of toe overlap seems a bit much for a road frame that is not tiny...

what are the chances that the bike was in a crash and the front end or fork is bent back ?

2" of toe overlap seems a bit much for a road frame that is not tiny...

what are the chances that the bike was in a crash and the front end or fork is bent back ?

I was thinking the same thing. Look for paint ripples where the top and down tubes join the headtube.