Low bottom brackets in real life?
 

Okay, I've tried searching for this, but didn't come up with much. I'm interested in a few frames out there, (Steamroller, The Orange One, Jamie Roy) but I'm concerned about the 7 cm bottom bracket drop on all of these frames. Is pedal strike a real concern here? I'm planning on running 170 crankarms, FWIW.

Any stories of horrendous pedal strikes/crashes from low BBs?

Nope. I run 170s on a conversion and have not wiped out yet---I have had just one little smooch on a hard left turn. You do have to keep strike on your mind in the corners but it's really not a big issue. I run dual compound tires and when they start to sing as the soft compound engages the pavement it's kind of a pedal strike proximity alert.

the only time i've ever clipped is when i had a road conversion with 172.5's, fat platforms, and even then i only scraped (twice) when i clipped a curb

I don't know what the BB height on my schwinn world conversion is but I've struck my pedal multiple times with 170mm cranks and MKS GR-9s. Not to the point where I crashed but the outsides of the pedal are worn down. I know when it is coming so I usually just barely hit.

You'll be fine with a 7cm drop and 170mm cranks- this is where I set it on my fixie frames and have had no trouble. Also, I had a Jaime Roy w/170's, rode it aggressively for quite a while and never hit a pedal.

If you're worried about it, get 165's.

it's not like getting 165s from 170s will be the solution to all your pedal strike problems.. just think about it and it wont happen.

conscious, cogent thought usually doesn't go hand in hand with split second traffic situations where you may be forced to make a hard emergency left or right turn to get out of the way of a potential accident.

it's 5mm

your point? it makes a difference.

The point was 5mm isn't going to make a difference. Good job. Post #10 contradicts #8 so badly that a star just imploded.

I ride a conversion with 175s. No problem. And I go fast, so I have to lean over when I turn.

is it just me or does it seem that the conversions that aren't having problems are a different issue... the frame design should put the pedals higher on the fixed frames...

and the reason road frames don't have a problem is because people know what pedal strike and can do and lean accordingly. i stroke a few times when turning into an incline(leaning into a curved incline) and quickly learned not to lean that much. if anyone has a frame mentioned in the OP with 170 cranks, that would be more helpful.

likewise when i started, except pdal strike was a big issue for me.

Thanks for the input everyone. I ended up ordering the Steamroller frame and am starting my build asap. I'm really stoked!

i just swapped my cranks and wheels over to a kilo TT which has way more aggressive geometry... it's got a lot more clearance, but pedal strike has more to do with riding technique and quackfactor/pedal width because of leaning over.

Yeah if you never corner sharp you clearly won't hit but what you can get away with varies pretty dramatically based on the bb height, crank length and pedals.

Depending on the bike it's either something you'll have to think about every time you corner or not.