Wheel problem - advice sought

Hi everyone. Once again, your advice is sought... I bought a bike on ebay (have posted it here elsewhere asking about bars) which is a fairly small unknown frame which came with very nice 700c DT Swiss Wheels. I just put it together this afternoon, and when I first got on I realised that something fishy is going on with the wheel size. With cranks horizontal my feet strike the front wheel if it turns only the slightest amount. Cranks are 170 but even the smallest feet would hit the wheel.
changing to 165 would still leave it very tight, and anyway, I bought the bike with the (reasonable) assumption that wheels, frame and cranks were all compatible.

I have the option of keeping the wheels, chainset, cranks etc, and buying another frame (a separate question leaps out here - what compatibility issues would limit my choice of replacement frame??).

But, separately, do I have legitimate grounds for complain here? Buying a new frame would cost me some, and with the money I have already spent I could have got something very nice, instead of patching together a bike with what I can salvage from this deal. So maybe I could try getting my money back and getting something different entirely.

I'm a bit pissed off to be honest, since I expected to be riding around on this godawfully cold afternoon......

thanks in advance for any advice

part-and-parcel of selling a complete bike on the bay is the implicit truth that the wheels fit the frame? Even changing to 165 cranks would leave it tight.

It's called toe overlap and is common on (proper) track geometry frames - that's what you get with tight angles. Doesn't mean that you have been 'done'.

but seriously this ain't just toe overlap - it's most of my foot!

This it?

http://i7.ebayimg.com/08/i/000/c3/aa/85d9_1.JPG

Doesn't look *that *tight...wheels look too small if anything! ;)

that's the one. with pedals and clips on there isn't a great deal of room.

or do I have to just get used to riding in straight lines?!

a lot of toe overlap can be dangerous, especially fixed. small amounts is generally alright, you get used to it after a while?

There's isn't much you can really do to reduce toe overlap, you either have to get used to it, or I guess you could change the fork to one with a longer rake, but this could really affect up the handling ...

How big are your feet?

photoben How big are your feet?

11

650c in front? Barrrrrrrrspin city...

That's kind of strange, being that it looks like a regular road frame - maybe check if the forks are bent or something. On my track frames there's masses of overlap (like 2" on one of them) but it's very rare that I do turns that tight - if I do they'll be low speed anyway and then I just watch out, and it's usually fine. Just turn a little bit later and your toes don't hit.

With medium clips? I guess lots of leaning into corners or point your foot down? Nice bike.

also... it certainly looks like a nice bike to me - has it been resprayed? If it has they may not be the original forks, in which case it might not do any harm to change them for some with a slightly bigger rake on them.

yes it's been resprayed so it could easily be that the forks are not original.

Try the toe up / toe down technique - give you an extra inch and a half, becomes second nature after a while.

Clipless pedals will make a few mm's favourable difference relative to clips?

I know that photo isn't showing the cranks fully horizontal, but in all honesty it doesn't look as though there can be all that much toe overlap at all.

However if there is, on a bike like that it might indeed be because of bent forks or something.

Toe overlap is very disconcerting at first when you're not used to it (I posted on here about it when i got my pista), but you get used to it fairly quickly. To help my confidence i switched from (shitty) clips & straps to clipless pedals. This gives you the option of positioning the cleat as far forward as possible, seating your foot further back on the pedal. Before that I'd recommend getting some smaller (metal) toe clips. This is more an issue of confidence than anything else, do what you feel most comfortable with (getting used to toe overlap, fixed riding and clipless pedals all at once led to a couple of silly accidents)

I personally (not being very dextrous) would avoid toe overlap at almost any cost. I used to ride with it but that was on long rides country-side training rides where it is was hardly ever necessary to turn the wheel much, and I learnt to co-ordinate no problem ..

In London, commuting, zig-zagging through traffic, sharp-cornering where there is no time or room to wait for the cranks to be in the right place ???? oh ... no, no, no,! ... disastrous (but probably funny for on-lookers) with my co-ordination ..

Hmm seems strange because the frame doesn't look that tight.

I wouldn't be happy riding it if the overlap was that bad, I filter through tiny gaps all the time usually between moving cars and that + overlap = going under = death or lots of pain.

Perhaps another frame?

have you got the forks on backwards? haha

@ glow - I not *that * stoopid

@ Zippie - agreed. My daily ride is ten miles each way from north east to south west, through plenty of traffic in the middle. I've got enough to worry about without the extra concern of the cranks being in the right place.

@ eeehhh - the photo is taken from behind the bike, with the near, drive-size crank down. It does not look too tight. I wish I had my camera with me now to take a pic, but a side-on pic of the cranks horizontal would show you there ain't much room at all. I would persevere if it was just toes but it is half my foot.

New frame seems in order.

bind your feet like the japanese girls used to....

i think i'd then have to get new shoes too:

I knew they used to do that, never actually seen it though... freaky.

New frame?! I'd try new forks first. You can always use them in a new frame if that turns out to be the problem. I think we need pics of this toe overlap to get an idea of what's wrong! :)