Positioning

[yello]

When riding on the hoods and looking at the horizon, when I glance down thhe front hub is hidden.

That's what I was trying to gauge from the photo, and what made me think you were a bit far forward. It looks to me like the hub would in front of the bars from your view point.

 

[Mortiroloboy]

My first impressions:
You need to put the seat post up
take a steerer tube spacer out that matches the distance you moved the seat post up by
consider replacing the stem which I'm guessing is 110mm for a 120mm.

It's all a very personal thing though. or you could spend £35 on www.bikefitting.comfind a local participating shop, which will give you a good basic start point for any minor tweaks.

 

[Mortiroloboy]

Yeah you see thats what I dislike, my giant likes that and I feel I have to stretch to get to the hoods. I prefer the feeling of just 'slipping' into the hoods with no stretching. The other thing is that because im 6ft Im bang in the middle of the 56cm and the 58cm. I went for the 56cm becuase the 58cm was just too far to the bars.

Also, the other thing I noticed today when sopped was that if my foot is at around 2 o' clock on a rotation and I twist the handlebars quite a bit, the wheel touches my foot. Is there anything wrong with this/ I need to change? I never steer that sharply when riding...[/QUOTE]


Called Toe pedal overlap, quite common on compact and semi compact frames due to the shorter frame, you could always change your crank length. I have it on my Giant which now has 172.5 cranks, the OE were 170, and even at that length I still had some overlap. It's only a problem when setting off, just remember to keep the front wheel in line with the frame.

 

[Euan Uzami]

saddle a tad further back.

also, try modifying the hand position: i'll try and explain this the best i can, it may still not make sense, but instead of having the hood in the crux of the thumb, have it just in front of the knuckle, and the heel of the hand resting on the curve of the bars, so the hood is here:

and the curve of the bars is taking the weight, but the hood is just keeping your hand from sliding forwards. that way your hand is slightly further back, basically.

 

[roadiewill]

Hmmm thanks but that doesnt feel natural, Il try it properly on my ride tomorow though.

This positioning is proving a good break from biology revision.. keep the suggestions coming

 

[Randochap]

All race bikes will have toe overlap with the front wheel, nothing to worry about.

There is no reason a bike for someone 6' should have toe overlap. I'm 5' 4" and toe overlap can be a problem on small frames w/ 700c wheels, but I have 2 custom bikes that were able to get round the issue.

 

[Mortiroloboy]

It is my understanding that all compact and semi compact frames are prone to TPO because of the distance between the front wheel and the position of the foot on the pedal/crank, which is relative to the frame geometry/dimensions, be it a 50 or a 60.

 

[BentMikey]

There is no reason a bike for someone 6' should have toe overlap. I'm 5' 4" and toe overlap can be a problem on small frames w/ 700c wheels, but I have 2 custom bikes that were able to get round the issue.

That would depend more on the geometry and intended purpose of the bike. I you didn't get something race specific, then that's not surprising.

 

[roadiewill]

Yeah the geometry of the tarmac is very racey, so that explains that then I guess.

 

[BentMikey]

Besides which, toe overlap isn't much of a problem when you're riding gears, even when you have to do very tight turns to make it through standing traffic. It's a bit more tricky on a fixed wheel, but I don't recall bumping the wheel more than a couple of times.

You should see the heel strike on my recumbent - almost my whole foot overlaps the front wheel. It's not a problem - tight turns just mean pump-pedalling.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ls-mike/3110877904/

 

[Smokin Joe]

It is my understanding that all compact and semi compact frames are prone to TPO because of the distance between the front wheel and the position of the foot on the pedal/crank, which is relative to the frame geometry/dimensions, be it a 50 or a 60.

It's got nothing to do with whether the frame is compact or standard, it is purely down to wheelbase and steering geometry. The last bike I had without toe overlap was a sit up and beg when I was 13.

 

[Mortiroloboy]

It's got nothing to do with whether the frame is compact or standard, it is purely down to wheelbase and steering geometry. The last bike I had without toe overlap was a sit up and beg when I was 13.

That's the word I was searching for in my alcohol befuddled brain! I knew that I just didn't explain it very well

 

[roadiewill]

OK, I raised the saddle a bit and back a tad. What do you think of this?

Sorry for the odd angle, its my mums photography skills... also thats not my leg at the bottom of a rotation, it extends a bit more than that

 

[Smokin Joe]

That looks a bit better roadwill.

Did anyone ever tell you you look like Mark Cavendish?

 

[jimboalee]

There's well over an inch of toe overlap on my Spesh SWorks.

Learn to 'track stand' with the forward shoe on the inside. Usually, its the left foot forward, steering left so the front wheel points into the curve of the track.