Help with new AUDAX 853

[Pedroboy]

Dear Bikers,
Today I took delivery  of new special order Thorn Audax 853 which I had been measured for. It looked fantastic when I took it out of box, but I was quickly disappointed  by one aspect. I had specified MKS platform pedals with Mt Zefal open plastic toe clips, but realised there is a problem with pedal/front wheel clearance when the cranks are horizontal and the handlebars are turned by about 20 degrees. The overlap is a good inch and I think this is potentially quite dangerous when negotiating corners or roundabouts or doing a U-turn in the road. Having paid about £2k for a bike I can't believe that I should have to worry about the position of my feet when turning a corner !!!  DOES ANYONE HAVE A SOLUTION ?
Many Thanks
Pedroboy []

[rhebarker]

Don't panic just yet!

Firstly, using prehistoric toeclips isn't helping, so make the effort and try some SPDs.  You could pick up some for next to nothing on Ebay to try:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SHIMANO-PD-M520-SPD-PEDALS_W0QQitemZ230195979910QQihZ013QQcategoryZ36137QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

for example

Then once you have seen the light (after the inevitable one fall - try and find somewhere soft..) get some of these:

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-Shimano-Shimano-PD-A520-SPD-pedals-11394.htm

Which are a match made in heaven for your new bike.  You'll need shoes that take spd cleats, but most modern cycle shoes do.

You can adjust the cleats fore-and-aft which will allow you some control over your overlap issue, but you'll probably find that adjusting the cleats so that they are under the ball of your foot means they'll work just fine for real world riding.

It's not often you have to turn the bars 20 degrees - get out and ride a few miles and you'll probaly find the problem evaporates.  Just bear the limited clearance in mind for tight slow speed manoeuvring.  

The 853 is intentionally tight at the front end - too much so for my taste compared to the relatively relaxed back end - but a lot of people swear by them.  (I swore at mine and replaced it with a Cyclosportif but that's another story..)

[The Raucous AUK]

I can't comment on the design aspect but would imagine that it's very hard to eliminate from certain geometries unless the head tube angle and fork rate are adjusted to create what would probably be an odd-looking frame. For normal riding I reckon you'll never touch the mudguard unless you are making a dead turn in the road or swerving to avoid a Jeremy Clarkson type using his mobile whilst driving.

Incidentally, I used toe-clips and straps when I was a mountain-biker and both my mountain bikes had TCO.

Living with TCO is easier than you might think. I had a Ribble 631 frame and added a straight bladed carbon fork to it but then realised that it now had TCO. It was so very rare that I needed to turn the bars THAT sharply and when I did I just paused pedalling. I rode LEJOG on that Ribble and then used it for time-trials for a while.

[john28july]

quote:Originally posted by Pedroboy

Dear Bikers,
Today I took delivery  of new special order Thorn Audax 853 which I had been measured for. It looked fantastic when I took it out of box, but I was quickly disappointed  by one aspect. I had specified MKS platform pedals with Mt Zefal open plastic toe clips, but realised there is a problem with pedal/front wheel clearance when the cranks are horizontal and the handlebars are turned by about 20 degrees. The overlap is a good inch and I think this is potentially quite dangerous when negotiating corners or roundabouts or doing a U-turn in the road. Having paid about £2k for a bike I can't believe that I should have to worry about the position of my feet when turning a corner !!!  DOES ANYONE HAVE A SOLUTION ?
Many Thanks
Pedroboy []

Hello,
I have an Audax 853 its my pride and joy. I do NOT see how you can have toeclip overlap-unless you have toeclips so long that you must have size 13 feet! I think that the pedals must be very very wide plus a large size toeclip. Get rid of both, send them back and get correctly sized if thats what you want, but I cannot see how you can have this problem.
John.

[freddered]

Lots of bike costing £2000 have toe overlap but I'm surprised you have it on the Audax bike as it's not exactly racing geometry.

Can you publish a photo demonstrating problem please?

It's my dream bike (but not with toe overlap)

PS.  Toe clips vs SPD shouldn't make a difference in overlap unless you are using abnormally long toe clips (which would place your foot too far forward).

Photos would be very interesting