General Cycling Discussion - Chainstay Clearance Issue Non-Drive Side - Kicking While Pedaling

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antimike
10-18-10, 08:37 AM
I'm looking into purchasing a road bike, but this problem isn't uncommon for me when I'm riding my mountain bike.

When I am pedaling, I have a problem with hitting the non-drive side chainstay with my foot. I was test riding a Fuji Roubaix 2.0 on Saturday and the bike felt great! It was confortable, I wasn't extremely stretched out, and it was a killer deal.

I wasn't ready to purchase the bike because I wanted to test out more bikes.

As a reference point, I have test ridden a Felt or 2, a Gianty Defy 2, and the Fuji Roubiax.

I wasn't using clipless pedals or proper road shoes. I was just using my tennis shoes. US Size 12 4E.

I asked the guys at Performance about it and they said to try and not twist your foot so much and I did and that pretty much cured the problem. Also that when I'm in my roadshoes and using clipless pedals, that the problem would probably go away because I'd be locked in with little room for twisting.

Is this a common problem? Are my feet just beasts and out of control?

Hopefully this won't be a problem. I'm not looking into a full carbon at this point, but maybe in the future I would like to get one. I figure that if I repeatedly hit the chainstay it would cause a crack which would cause that portion of the frame to fail.

Anyone have suggestions?

Thanks!

-antimike

Velo Dog
10-18-10, 09:46 AM
Could be a foot-size issue...I wear size 15 or 16 shoes (Euro 51 or 52), and I used to hit my heel on the stay occasionally. Over the years I guess I've learned to hold my feet straighter or something, because it rarely happens now on the same bikes. I have a slightly duck-footed walk, too, unless I think about it, and the two seem related.
I've been doing it for so long I don't even think about it anymore, so if your aberration is mild, that may be all you need. If not, it's possible to shim the pedals out a few millimeters. Not an ideal solution because of the leverage, which can crack the crankarms, but people do it.
antimike
10-18-10, 10:14 AM
Could be a foot-size issue...I wear size 15 or 16 shoes (Euro 51 or 52), and I used to hit my heel on the stay occasionally. Over the years I guess I've learned to hold my feet straighter or something, because it rarely happens now on the same bikes. I have a slightly duck-footed walk, too, unless I think about it, and the two seem related.
I've been doing it for so long I don't even think about it anymore, so if your aberration is mild, that may be all you need. If not, it's possible to shim the pedals out a few millimeters. Not an ideal solution because of the leverage, which can crack the crankarms, but people do it.

Thanks for the info. Is there a possiblity to get a longer spindle at the end of the pedal to put you out further way from the chainstays?

stapfam
10-18-10, 11:27 AM
Thanks for the info. Is there a possiblity to get a longer spindle at the end of the pedal to put you out further way from the chainstays?

This is one possibilty but You have to try to concentrate on keeping the toes in while pedalling. For the majority of riders- Riding with toe in on the foot will also decrease some knee problems aswell. You may not want to go there but Clipless pedals can be set up so that you will always have toe in by the position of the cleats.
antimike
10-18-10, 11:56 AM
This is one possibilty but You have to try to concentrate on keeping the toes in while pedalling. For the majority of riders- Riding with toe in on the foot will also decrease some knee problems aswell. You may not want to go there but Clipless pedals can be set up so that you will always have toe in by the position of the cleats.

I found some old posts on BF about using this product called knee savers, but since I AM going clipless, I will work the positioning of the cleat on the shoe and working on toe-in when I get my bike. I already have shoes, and I will look for pedals that may have a little bit longer spindle built in so I can avoid 3rd party products.

I was looking at the 105 pedals due to the suggestions of users in a post I made about looking for pedals. http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?687228-Looking-for-Pedals...

Thanks for the help.

-antimike
BlazingPedals
10-18-10, 01:08 PM
Kneesavers (pedal axle extenders) :
http://harriscyclery.net/product/kneesaver-kneesaver-pedal-spacers-1331.htm