Who here has toe overlap? And by how much? Mine feels severe at what seems to be about 2 inches. It's only a problem going slow at lights and such. But I don't like it.

toe overlap isnt nearly as bad as belt overlap

None of the bikes I owned prior to around 1995 had any toe overlap. Then, I discovered that the new road bike I bought had a LOT of overlap...discovered it while trying to make a slow, sharp turn...

Many younger folks may not even know what you are talking about. If someone's "oldest" bike is a road bike from after around 1995, they have never been on a road bike that does not have toe overlap, so it feels normal...nothing worth noticing.

I read a post recently where a guy bought his first road bike. When he discovered that his shoe was hitting the front tire, he thought the bike shop had sold him a defective bike...Naw...the bike was fine, it is just the design that was defective.

My 1989 Paramount OS has significant toe overlap, as did my 1973 Zuess. So it's not just a modern phenomena.

Toe overlap is very common on racing-style bikes, not so common on touring bikes (though fewer and fewer touring bikes are sold these days). In practice, you need to be riding very slowly for this to be an issue and then you should be able to watch for and avoid the problem.

No one likes toe overlap but it's something you can learn to live with.

yeah, my 1989 (assumed) miele has significant toe overlap too. And this bike is supposed to be the largest I can ride. I'm taking a guess that it has to do with how aggressive or how comfortable the bike was designed to be since my miyata doesn't have a major toe overlap problem even though it's smaller than my miele.

Oddly enough, on my too-big '98 Lemond Reno with "relaxed" road geometry I had nasty overlap but don't on the new '07 Scott CR1. Still not used to not having overlap, heh.

Surprisingly though, my IRO Mark V track bike doesn't have toe overlap. Just the road bike (1999 race geometry). It is something that's only a problem at slow speed, or sharp slow turns, but it is something weird for me to deal with as I've never experienced it before.

I have some toe overlap and it's not a big deal. It is a sign that you need to lean the bike more. Turning bars bad, leaning bike good.

My Serotta has mild toe overlap, nothing that I can't deal with.
my Pogliaghi Pista has significant overlap, but then it's not designed
for riding on the streets.

Marty

one of my bikes had a slight bit of overlap, no real problem with it only an issue with tight turns at very low speeds.

after riding it for about 6 months I was 'riding too fast for conditions' buzzing down a relatively unfamiliar path in the dark at about 23mph, in a low spot maybe 60 feet from a corner, there's a post about 8" square and 18-20 inches tall placed about a foot and a half in on the pavement (right where normal keep right traffic rides) bushes all around the path in that area put it in shadow from the street lights so I never saw it till I was a foot away. Tried to stop but hit it perfectly square, frog jumped the handlebars just as I hit, landed on my feet and spun around to catch the bike as it flipped over.
Amazing thing is that the bike somehow bent perfectly square with just a tighter head tube angle and a slight almost un-noticeable bend on both top and down tubes, rides perfectly just turns quicker with a lot more toe overlap, with possibly 1/8 inch clearance between tire and down tube. untill I got home and realy checked it out I thought it had somehow escaped damage entirely, it's still a good daily rider.

Ken.

Don't say that! I just picked up a '91...54cm.

I noticed quite a bit on my brother's Cervelo Soloist, but I think the LBS screwed him by selling him a 51cm which is a tad small for someone who's 5'7"ish.

All four of my bikes have toe overlap. It has to do with frame geometry and shoe size. I have relatively big feet. I've never been inconvenienced by this in normal riding, and only on my fixie does it cause trouble during zero speed, tight radius turns.

Verdict: not an issue.

Also depends on how far back you put your cleats. Both my road bikes have overlap, and never had a problem with that.

My 2005 racing bike has no toe overlap. However, my track bike has a lot of toe overlap and I've made it worse by adding fenders. Still, it is not a big deal.

Try Orthotics

Then don't go slow at lights and such. Problem solved.

My 1988 Trek aluminum also has pretty bad toe overlap. It is annoying, but has never resulted in a crash. For me, it tends to be an issue either early in the morning, or at the end of a long ride, when I forget about it. I'm especially prone to banging my right foot with the front tire while sitting at a red light, with that clipped-in foot at about the 3-oclock position, and fidgeting the handlebars around too much while waiting for the light to change. I don't hit it that often while riding, unless I'm on loose dirt or gravel.

I guess my 1990 BASSO Paris-Roubaix frame was defective then. Most toe-lap out of any bike I have ever known. I ride smaller frames so toe lap is ALWAYS an issue for me.

Funny enough the bike that I own which has the least amount of toe lap....my 2005 Giant TCR Composite. That's right....a modern carbon frame with "compact" geometry. Maybe they just hired a bunch of old codgy in-gen-ears to design the frame. Ocassionaly if I listen closely I hear what I think is a slide rule bouncing around insider of the frame. One of them must have left it in there.

[Sarcasm]That or the finger the chinese slave child lost while building my frame finally dried up and is bouncing around like a rock......Oh those wacky slave children in China. Always losing something. A hat, glasses, finger, foot, eye, whatever.[/Sarcasm]

Have you considered toe reduction surgery?

FWIW, my '86 Gazelle Champion Mondial and my '89 Trek 660 both have toe overlap. 45.5 shoes + 54 cm racing frame = toe overlap.

I had it on my Onix and on my new Orca as well,I fell like 4 times but I'm a bit more coordinated now a days but is just something you will get used to,you'll see,just pay attention and be more coordinate with your feet while turning at slow speeds.

I don't shorten my appendages for nobody.

I ride a 2006 55 cm LeMond, have size 12 shoes, and don't have any overlap. I'll occasionally eat it when riding borrowed bikes of the same size, due to the overlap.