pedal strike and crank length
 

just curious if anyone here has experienced pedal strike...
where your pedal hits the ground in a turn. (not when your foot touches the front tire....is that pedal strike too or does that have a diff name?)

by any chance do you know what length your crank was when it happened?

i am thinking of purchasing either 165 or 170 cranks. I am tall and lanky limbed so thinking the 170s would be good for me, but ive noticed 165 seems to be some sort of fixed gear standard.

yah i know bottom bracket clearance/height has allot to do with it as well.

maybe i should just not be a weenie, get the 170s, and be careful on turns.

You'll be fine with 170s unless you're riding something a real low BB, but you're probably on a track frame. Pedals make a difference too. Pedal strike is more likely on fast wide turns that have you leaning a lot, take a good line and you'll be fine. If you're not comfortable cornering then slow down before the turn otherwise you will go wide.

Just watch out for those raised curbs

When I was a kid I struck a pedal on my MTB pedaling though a corner. I might've hit the curb, I'm not sure. Since then I've been paranoid and now take wide corners on my FG. I have 170 cranks, and I probably have way more room than I feel like I do. I wouldn't worry about it unless you have a super low BB.

I'm riding a lo pro with 165's. Pedal strike is not apparent but toe overlap is huge! This makes me very paranoid as well

toe overlap is so much better than a long slack front.

yah the frame's bb is not super low or anything. guess im just being paranoid. normal track pedals, so they arn't super wide or anything. i guess you would have to be getting real sideways in a turn to pedal strike.

yay now its time to buy the ird defiant cranks ive been pining over ;p

i have 172.5 on my black bike
and i never had the strike.

but on my touring bike, with 175s (and lower BB) i've gotten strikes abuncha times (thank god for gears in this case)

I have a 58cm Windsor hour and 175 cranks and do run into pedal strike fairly often. Most of the time it's no big deal. I road the bike for several years and never went down because of it even after so many petal strikes that the petals had bent / been ground down where it happened. It wasn't until a couple months ago that I took a fast U turn and had to lean in very far that I fell.

Your petal on strike:
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._5874030_n.jpg

I wouldnt go much higher than 170 on a track frame.

If your running ss then ofcourse it is not as much of a problem

If you plan to put 170 cranks on your tommaso, youll be fine :)

I pedaled right through a strike mid pack during a race. So freaking sketchy and a total noob move, but I didnt lose control. That was a fast wide turn by the way.

I think I had 175mm cranks on my first conversion, and I had such bad pedal strike one time that i completely broke my pedal lol.

At 9'6" this could have been a major catastrophe.

speaking of losing control, after nearly getting hit, then getting clipped during a ride someone lost control and swerved into me, I some how managed to unclip, jump off my bike and run through a half dozen bikers without falling down.

Also, Ride clipless. Using my SPDs I've noticed I have significantly better clearance on turns and no toe overlap.

Yeah, this. I have plenty of toe overlap, but I never have to worry about pedal strike.

This x1000.

I ride fixed with a normal road or cross frames and 170-172.5 cranks. The only time I've gotten pedal strikes was with 23mm tires and big chunky platform pedals. The thing is it only seems to happen at low speed turns, and has never been a big deal the few times it happens. With lower profile pedals like crank brothers I've never had any problems. Just be conscious of the bike you're riding and your surroundings and you'll be fine.

I hate the feel of both high bottom brackets and short cranks, so I don't use either. YMMV. :)

welp thanks guys for the input.

so yes i ended up buying some ird defiant cranks in 170:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2711/...6f692f61f5.jpg

im sure pedal strike will not be an issue. the bb is not super low, standard track pedals that arn't super beefy and wide....guess i was just being a weenie. i figured since i pretty much always see 165 cranks on street fixed gear bikes that 165 was standard for pedal strike reasons. i had 165 length cranks in the form of pakes but they did feel a little stubby for my daddy long legs.

ive actually been interested in getting some spd shoes/pedals because me and the girl go to this spin class together and they have spd combo pedals, shes interested in getting spds too....haha i think im rubbing off on her (giggity!) lol i mean in terms of interest in riding bikes....was thinking either chrome or mission workshop "street" spd shoes. that way i can commute to work to wear them around the office as well as use in spin class.

anywho yah thanks people ;p

I did the same thing after someone crossed my front wheel. After a few steps and an apparent lifetime I rolled onto my back and escaped without injury. I'd like to do it again but without the risk of breaking my neck

bear clawing half the pack would go viral quickly though.

there is also DZR, who makes the mission ones and cheaper too...

You know, I ride my fixed gear so much slower than my geared bike I don't ever really turn corners fast enough to lean over enough to even think about pedal strike.

if im on my fixed gear, i have no ambitions to go fast.