Originally Posted by
jim-bob
Hasn't the geometry always been kinda wacky in the smaller sizes? You have to do some pretty silly things to avoid toe overlap and still use 700c wheels.
Not always. When these were primarily intended to be used as track bikes, they had more traditional geometry with steeper head angles (HA), even in the smaller sizes, with corresponding greater amounts of toe overlap. My vintage 1976 Schwinn Paramount P14 track bike has 74 degree HA and SA, and enormous toe overlap, as does my old custom steel road bike. In the bad old days, bicycles were designed either for racing or touring, and the geometries were very different. Today, they are a compromise that IMO makes them not very good at doing either.