Toe overlap - does it matter?

[Dave W]

Anyone had trouble with toe overlap? Does it cause a problem and if so when?

I have a little overlap on most of my road bikes but can't say it's ever given me grief.

[cycleruk]

Only when your turning.
Had a couple of near misses when doing a very tight U-turn on one of my bikes, so frame went back to shop.

[tatanab]

Another one of those topics that comes up every few months. Some people do not mind, some people get really bothered by it. I am in the do not mind camp, and have had machines where the body of the pedal itself overlaps the wheel. Indeed I could argue the case that a small amount of overlap is an aid to safety

[Psamathe]

My 1st bike since starting riding again has toe overlap. The shop warned me. It has never been a problem. Never caused any issues. The front of my shoe has been caught by the wheel on a few occasions early on but never really caused any problem.

Ian

[Mick F]

I'm never aware of riding any bike with overlap, and my Mercian definitely doesn't have it despite being made with close clearances.

Overlap would be a problem to me I would think because we live up a very narrow steep hill and in a low gear I have to weave left and right to avoid stones and muck. In bottom gear riding slowly 2mph? whilst weaving, overlap would have me off I'm sure.

Overlap in a less hilly area may be ok.

[mercalia]

just dont wear winklepicker shoes?

[Quaker Mike]

Many years ago, when it was fashionable to ride with hub gears through the summer, and then change to a fixed wheel in the winter, I got caught out. I'd had no problem with a new frame all summer, automatically stopping pedalling on tight turns, but the first time out on the fixed wheel, unable to stop pedalling, I caught the front mudguard during a tight bend. It folded up, jammed in the fork, put a bend in the top tube, and put me on the road with a chipped tooth . So beware of fixies with short frames .

[Si]

Ditto - I only notice it when the fixed rear wheel is on the road bike - with the freewheeling one I don't notice the overlap at all despite being exactly the same bike. Thankfully, for me it has only been an annoyance at slow tight turns with no damage done.

[Ugly]

It depends on how much overlap... half inch or so you can dip your toes if turning very tightly. My fixed bike has about that much and has never been a problem. By the way if I was weaving across the road at 2mph I would get off and walk at 3mph!

[Mick F]

Walking is cheating.

[MrsHJ]

I have a smidge of overlap and winding up steep hills or making a sudden turn are when I notice it. I have a kona dr dew at the moment.

I'm 5'4 but with longish legs compared to body and I think longer femurs. I need to do something about the headset/handlebar set up too as my knee sometimes clips my butterfly bars. I have a 54cm frame which in theory is slightly too large for me. I am totally non techy when it comes to bikes. I just like to ride them.

For my next bike I'm going to go the whole hog on build and set up (I wonder) if 26" wheels might be the way to go?). Then I'm going to do the trans America! (Probably do a bike maintenance course first!).

[BigG]

I rode for many years with a toe overlap of about 1cm (with guards and clips). This was never a problem as I very quickly learned to "ratchet" the pedalling or freewheel when going through very tight turns. This only changed in recent years when old age and a serious operation left me using very low gears. I now climb at speeds down to 3 mph and cannot always keep a straight line on a steep hill. Ratcheting is no longer practical - I would stop - and I have had to change my frame accordingly (to a 1970s Holdsworth Mistral) to allow continuous pedalling in these circumstances.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

Only when your turning.
Had a couple of near misses when doing a very tight U-turn on one of my bikes, so frame went back to shop.

Bit extreme.............