Is it just me or what?
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Is it just me or what?
I just got back into biking for the first time since high school (I'm 44). My wife and I bought a pair of Trek Navigator 3.0 comfort bikes with 26" tires (a 14.5" frame for her and an 18" for me. We also picked up a pair of Avenir ATB RM100 rear racks and Avenir BG39 Metro Panniers. I'm diggin' the bike but the backs of my shoes hit the panniers with every revolution of the pedal cranks (the same goes for my wife). I don't know of a way to mount the panniers any further toward the rear of the bike. What am I missing here?!
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If your shoe size is larger than men's size 10, they your heels might hit. The remedy may involve moving the hardware on the panniers. Usually there is a nut and a bolt and a washer or two. Make a new hole in the fabric and the plastic stiffener with a cheap soldering iron so the fabric does not unravel. Then bolt it all back together.
If that is not enough, look at a Jandd Expedition rack. It's a few inches longer than most others which allows you to move the bags back a bit more.
It's not just you. The geometry of the bike plays a part too. Touring bikes have really long frame tubes at the rear wheel which makes room for large panniers. Touring panniers also have a cut-out where the heel of a shoe would hit the bag. If your bike has tight frame geometry, and you have size 15 feet.....not good.
If that is not enough, look at a Jandd Expedition rack. It's a few inches longer than most others which allows you to move the bags back a bit more.
It's not just you. The geometry of the bike plays a part too. Touring bikes have really long frame tubes at the rear wheel which makes room for large panniers. Touring panniers also have a cut-out where the heel of a shoe would hit the bag. If your bike has tight frame geometry, and you have size 15 feet.....not good.
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I had the same problem with my commuter. Just need to figure a way to slide them back an inch or two. How you accomplish that depends on how they mount.
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I guess the panniers don't have a pivot so they can be tilted to avoid heel strike? If that's the case, a longer rack. Take them back to the LBS and tell them you want to return the racks for longer ones. Alternatively, return the panniers for ones that pivot out of the way.
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I had the problem until I realized I didn't need full sized panniers just for a commute. I got some Nashbar Daytrekker Panniers and that totally solved the problem.
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I ended up getting an Arkel Commuter bag for my pannier when I ran into that problem. The mount lets you move it back and forth on the rack quite a bit.
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It makes no sense to me that Avenir doesn't manufacture a back rack that is compatible with their own panniers in a typical installation. But then again, what do I know?
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Thanks for the input. I'm considering the Jandd Epedition rack. Although, the price is somewhat steep for a casual biker like myself. I was hoping for a less expensive solution.