# Pedals hitting on Roubaix in turn



## onemoreshot (Jul 23, 2013)

I took a test ride on a 61cm Roubaix today and on a turn my pedal bottomed out twice on the road. This is very rare for me. The lbs said this is normal for a road bike and I shouldn't pedal through turns. Is the Roubaix more prone to this than other bikes? I find it unacceptable that you can't pedal while goings through a 180 degree turn at slow speeds.


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## Dave Cutter (Sep 26, 2012)

I am not sure about the 180 degree... slow speed part.

But if you lean a bike far enough and keep pedaling.... the pedal hits the road. The proper method when leaning into turns is to stop pedaling AND raise the inside pedal to the 12 O'clock position with the outside pedal at the 6 O'clock position. It is the way it's done.


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## brianmcg (Oct 12, 2002)

Is this a joke. You don't pedal in turns. If its unacceptable then you need a recumbent.


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## onemoreshot (Jul 23, 2013)

Are some bikes more susceptible than others? I am getting back into riding. I have an old Super Le Tour that is 30 years old with thousands of miles on it and I can count on one hand the number of times I hit the pedals. It was surprising in a 5 minute ride to hit twice when going at slow speeds.


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## Dave Cutter (Sep 26, 2012)

onemoreshot said:


> Are some bikes more susceptible than others?


Well since the proper procedure is NOT to pedal through turns.... how would anyone know? But I really wouldn't expect any bicycles to be greatly different.


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## PJ352 (Dec 5, 2007)

onemoreshot said:


> Are some bikes more susceptible than others?


Bikes with lower bottom brackets are, but (generally speaking) that only varies by a couple of mm's.

This (IMO) is similar to discussions re: toe overlap. There are aspects to a road bikes geo that dictate that compromises be made.


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## Randy99CL (Mar 27, 2013)

It's really simple.
A 61cm bike has long crankarms. Road bikes have low bottom brackets.

You've gotten away with it on your old bike but it is not the right thing to do anyway. If you don't stop pedaling through corners you'll likely crash someday.

You corner much faster by leaning and not pedaling; watch the racers.

When going slow, just build enough speed to carry you through the turn. Or stutter-pedal and not hit the bottom of the stroke.


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## onemoreshot (Jul 23, 2013)

In my test ride, it was a simple turn around without much lean. According to everyone's logic, if you live on a cup de sac then you can't bike ride in it since it is one big turn. Of course when you lean into a turn you can't pedal. It comes down to how much lean is acceptable. I think a slow speed turn going under 5 mph where there is not but lean required at that speed should not be an issue. I will look at the bb heights to see what different bikes have.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

This seems a little odd. I pedal around corners all the time, especially at slow to medium speed, and this is on a 58cm Tarmac with long cranks (177.5mm). Obviously I don't pedal around corners while descending and leaning the bike. Crit riders do also pedal in some corners, and with serious speed and lean. The Roubaix geometry does have more bottom bracket drop than Tarmac, but only by a few mm. What pedals were you using? Clunky demo pedals?


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## Dave Cutter (Sep 26, 2012)

Dave Cutter said:


> .... I really wouldn't expect any bicycles to be greatly different.


However.... I was wrong. I just went out to the garage and checked. The difference between pedal clearance for my road bike and my mountain bike was huge. Even though both are Fuji's. 

I apologize for my inaccuracy.


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## Peter P. (Dec 30, 2006)

It's likely the onemoreshot's Schwinn Super LeTour had a high bottom bracket and/or shorter cranks-older bikes didn't vary crank length with frame size. That's how he was able to get away with "pedaling through turns". He's inclined to think there's something wrong with the Roubaix; there's nothing wrong with either bike-they're just designed differently.

There is a way to pedal through turns at speed but it's an advanced technique requiring the bike be kept upright while the rider leans into the turn. You apply mostly rear brake while you continue to turn the cranks.


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## onemoreshot (Jul 23, 2013)

They were the cluncky demo pedals. I thought that could be part of the problem but wasn't sure. Glad to hear your results with the Tarmac. Issue could have been a combination of the bigger pedals and the ighy lower bottom bracket.


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## tom_h (May 6, 2008)

What's with these comments that "_you don't pedal through turns_" ?!
It depends on circumstances. And if you never pedal thru turns during a race, it wont be long before you are spit out the back.

More constructively , pedal hitting is strongly influenced by:
-- crank arm length
-- pedal make and model.

With a store-bought "complete" bike, you are stuck with the "typical" crankarm they provide. If you were assembling a custom bike and debating between 2 crankarm length, normally I'd err on the shorter side. Eg, between 172.5 & 170, go 170.

Also note that track bike crankarms are significantly shorter (~5 mm) than equivalent road frame size. After a few minutes on the bike, you dont notice, you adapt quickly.

Shimano clipless pedals seem to have worse ground clearance than other types -- their platform is excessively wide. Look and especially Speedplay pedals & cleats, are narrower and less prone to hitting.

And no, narrow pedal body does NOT create "hot spots" or "impede power transfer" (whatever that means) ... modern road shoe soles are so stiff, that the sole (not pedal or cleat) is effectively the "platform".


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## BruceBrown (Mar 20, 2011)

Randy99CL said:


> It's really simple.
> A 61cm bike has long crankarms. Road bikes have low bottom brackets.


Long crankarms? LOL! The 61 and 64cm Roubaix comes with 175mm arms. 200mm - now we are starting to talk Zinn and long.

No problems on my 2013 Roubaix and 175mm arms on a size 64cm Roubaix in corners.


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## onemoreshot (Jul 23, 2013)

BruceBrown said:


> Long crankarms? LOL! The 61 and 64cm Roubaix comes with 175mm arms. 200mm - now we are starting to talk Zinn and long.
> 
> No problems on my 2013 Roubaix and 175mm arms on a size 64cm Roubaix in corners.


What type of pedals are you using? Wish they had the 64cm Roubaix in 2014. So far they are not offering it.


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## Randy99CL (Mar 27, 2013)

BruceBrown said:


> Long crankarms? LOL! The 61 and 64cm Roubaix comes with 175mm arms. 200mm - now we are starting to talk Zinn and long.


It is a regular production bike and those don't normally come with 200mm arms, do they? 
I wasn't comparing them to the longest crankarms in the world.

The geo charts show that many production road bikes have the same BB height no matter what the size, so a larger frame, with longer crankarms, would be more likely to hit than the 54cm/170mm that I ride. That was my point.


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## BruceBrown (Mar 20, 2011)

Randy99CL said:


> It is a regular production bike and those don't normally come with 200mm arms, do they?
> I wasn't comparing them to the longest crankarms in the world.
> 
> The geo charts show that many production road bikes have the same BB height no matter what the size, so a larger frame, with longer crankarms, would be more likely to hit than the 54cm/170mm that I ride. That was my point.


Correct. I was just pointing out that the 61cm and 64cm Specialized bikes come stock with 175mm cranks which for us tall guys is not considered very long at all. Yes, longer than the 172.5mm and 170mm lengths in the shorter sizes, but 2.5 - 5mm longer made me laugh at thinking they were _long crankarms_ in your post that I referenced with my reply.

The Zinn reference was for his specially designed bikes that do have a higher BB to accomodate the longer cranks (such as 200mm that comes standard on the KHS Flite 747 which Zinn helped design for KHS).

*onemoreshot:*_What type of pedals are you using? Wish they had the 64cm Roubaix in 2014. So far they are not offering it. _

XTR

That's too bad about no 64cm Roubaix models this year. I wonder if they will add some size HUGE bikes later in the model year cycle?

Loving my 64cm...


https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/9382601069/ https://www.flickr.com/people/[email protected]/


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## RkFast (Dec 11, 2004)

Look at that pic...the gathering of the Freds.


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## BruceBrown (Mar 20, 2011)

RkFast said:


> Look at that pic...the gathering of the Freds.


Indeed. About 10-20K of us gathered to ride across Iowa in July.

We even dip our front tire in the Mississippi River as we arrive at the eastern border (after having dipped the rear in the Missouri River on the other end of the state) to qualify for your description.


RAGBRAIMississippiDip https://www.flickr.com/people/[email protected]/

We're riding in Germany and Italy next. How about you?


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## tom93r1 (Jul 19, 2009)

my 64cm 2011 Roubaix with 175mm cranks and Dura Ace pedals has never once had a pedal strike.

I am not careful about it either, lots of pedaling and turning at same time but maybe because of my mountain bike background there is some subconscious pedal strike avoidance.


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## roadworthy (Nov 11, 2011)

RkFast said:


> Look at that pic...the gathering of the Freds.


Project much?
Your sub title is correct at least.

OP...its you, not the bike. Large size Roubaixs all have typical 70mm BB drop and 175mm cranks as mentioned. I ride the same and never a problem. A road bike doesn't have the pedal clearance of a cross or mtb.


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## RkFast (Dec 11, 2004)

Get a sense of humor, Freds.


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## RkFast (Dec 11, 2004)

BruceBrown said:


> Indeed. About 10-20K of us gathered to ride across Iowa in July.
> 
> We even dip our front tire in the Mississippi River as we arrive at the eastern border (after having dipped the rear in the Missouri River on the other end of the state) to qualify for your description.


Bragging about where you ride? That's very fred-like behavior.

Don't take it so personal. Its just a bike ride. A sense of humor will do you good. 

And Ive been in plenty of spectacular vacations across the globe. Thanks for your concern.


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## BruceBrown (Mar 20, 2011)

RkFast said:


> Bragging about where you ride? That's very fred-like behavior.
> 
> Don't take it so personal. Its just a bike ride. A sense of humor will do you good.
> 
> And Ive been in plenty of spectacular vacations across the globe. Thanks for your concern.


Come on out and ride RAGBRAI. You'd fit right in...


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## Stumpjumper FSR (Aug 6, 2006)

Deleted Post


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## crit_boy (Aug 6, 2013)

tom_h said:


> What's with these comments that "_you don't pedal through turns_" ?!
> It depends on circumstances. And if you never pedal thru turns during a race, it wont be long before you are spit out the back.
> 
> More constructively , pedal hitting is strongly influenced by:
> ...


Yes, this. 
You may not pedal corners because you never learned how to pedal through corners, but it does not mean cyclists in general do not pedal through corners. This is not a personal attack on your cycling skills. Just an observation. 

For a test ride bike, my first thought is blaming those junky nylon flat pedals that are usually affixed for test rides. 

For the mtb comments, pedal strikes are a problem in some new mountain bike designs. However, that is a bit different beast - possibly with some similar causes (low BB).


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## roadworthy (Nov 11, 2011)

RkFast said:


> Get a sense of humor, Freds.


Not to feed the troll aka you...but what you wrote isn't funny. It is you who need a sense of humor...or maybe a dose of perspective. All amateur cyclists are freds...and that means you pal. Further guys on the internet that hide behind a keyboard and put others down are cowardly freds. Pretty funny huh?


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## RkFast (Dec 11, 2004)

BruceBrown said:


> Come on out and ride RAGBRAI. You'd fit right in...


I would love to. Hopefully one day. I can embrace my inner Fred-dom with the best of them....trust me.


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## BruceBrown (Mar 20, 2011)

RkFast said:


> I would love to. Hopefully one day. I can embrace my inner Fred-dom with the best of them....trust me.


Unsheath thyself for the 42nd running next July...

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/10493308305/" title="CornLogoRAGBRAI2014 by BBcamerata, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2818/10493308305_6d855961dc_o.jpg" width="318" height="476" alt="CornLogoRAGBRAI2014"></a>


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