I recently traded for a 2001 55 cm Litespeed Arenberg. The bike is equiped w/ Campy Centaur and has 172.5 mm cranks w/ Time Jalbert pedals. The bike has a Litespeed fork w/ a 40 mm rake. I wear Specialized road comp shoes in a euro size 44.
My delima:
The bike fits perfectly except that the end of my shoes hits the front tire when I turn. Not by much, but they definetly hit. I have the cleats moved up as far as they will go on the bottom of the shoes.
My question:
Will swapping out my fork for one with a 43 mm or 45 mm rake solve the problem? Will going from a 40 mm rake fork to a 43 mm rake fork give me an extra 3 mm clearance?
I’m no pro fitter, nor in the bike biz, but I do have a few comments.
I’m betting that the bike doesn’t fit perfectly. I’m not saying that it isn’t comfortable. I have some old frames where I have the same issue. I’m barely hitting the wheel, but hitting it nonetheless, and I’m quite comfy on the bike. I just think there’s a better fit to be had. For me it’s usually a longer top tube.
I would position your cleats relative to your foot and the pedal spindle, not how close they put your toes to your front tire. That just sounds like knee pain waiting to happen.
Increasing the fork rake, thus decreasing trail, will cause your bike to be more twitchy and less stable in it’s handling. Frames are designed with a specific trail in mind. I wouldn’t recommend changing it.
If you add 3mm of fork rake, you will gain a little less than 3mm of additional wheel clearance since rake is measured as the distance perpendicular to the line of the head tube, not a vertical line.
Hey- What your experiencing is toe-slip overlap and is a common occurence on most road bikes, and actually should be on most middle and small sized bikes. Bicycles turn by leaning not flopping the front wheel. I promis you will only experience this problem when making a below walking speed u-turn in your own drive-way or while track standing at a light. learn to adapt! pedal with your heel slightly down. I had a 59cm track bike with toe-clip overlap. It doesn’t matter. do not replace the fork. You have nothing to worry about. Fit and toe clip overlap have nothing to do with each other. Do not position cleats to eliminate this either! Position your cleats for pedaling efficiency. Hope this helps!