Pedal strikes and geometry?

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
I’m not sure what the deal is but I have been striking pedals like crazy on my mach429sl. Sag is set, in my mind an maybe it’s a funky geo with the XL frame? Does the XL put the BB closer to ground?

I ask this because I never really strike pedals on other bikes. Yesterday I ate shit pretty bad because of it. I love some of this Pivot but am frustrated with other aspects.
 

one piece crank

Well-Known Member
I experienced lots of pedal strikes when I got my XL Fatboy last year. I hadn’t built a bike since 2008 so I was certainly not used to modern low BB’s. My BB sits lower than your static BB height, but after a couple months riding the strikes mostly went away. I still can catch a pedal but it’s mostly hidden sticks/stumps that I simply didn’t see and pedaled through.

I’ve since read a lot and really studied modern geometry trends. I’ve got an open mind but my gut says not-for-me. Any bike that strikes my interest gets dumped into geo comparison spreadsheet, all pending a test ride of course.
 

SmooveP

Well-Known Member
Lots of reports of this issue on so-called "modern geometry" FS bikes. Part of it is lower BB to bring down the CG for better handling downhill. The other part is more suspension travel, which lowers the BB even more when the suspension is compressed. I ate it big time on one of the first rides on my Yeti. I've adjusted to it somewhat, but part of that adjustment means less pedaling when going through the rough stuff (which is not a good solution if you race or just like going fast).
 

jShort

2018 Fantasy Football Toilet Bowl Lead Technician
Team MTBNJ Halter's
You striking on rocks or in turns?

I try to not lean my bike in the turns as much and I'm able to pedal through better. Seems trivial but I definitely feel like I can carry more speed when I'm making a conscious effort to do this.
For striking on rocks, that just takes vision and preparation.
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
You striking on rocks or in turns?

I try to not lean my bike in the turns as much and I'm able to pedal through better. Seems trivial but I definitely feel like I can carry more speed when I'm making a conscious effort to do this.
For striking on rocks, that just takes vision and preparation.
Both but I struck while pedaling locked out on a flat jeel road. Not sure how I set it up an different than using pivot’s suggestions.
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
You striking on rocks or in turns?

I try to not lean my bike in the turns as much and I'm able to pedal through better. Seems trivial but I definitely feel like I can carry more speed when I'm making a conscious effort to do this.
For striking on rocks, that just takes vision and preparation.
But it’s weird , I do on this bike set up in xc mode and never on my vassago. I noticed it a lot yesterday. Sag was set inthe least amount of sag(should sit higher). The reason I crashed was maybe I didn’t see the rock. I was on double track cruising at 20mph in Panther Run. Ultimately I’m just mad as I broke my scapula and it felt like I in the zone on a gravel road.
 

Joe J

Well-Known Member
BB height of 32.32cm is pretty low for example a Top Fuel on the high setting is 34.4cm on the other side a Scott Spark is 31.95. Everyone is being told they want slack HT therefore lowering the BB's.
 

pixychick

JORBA: Ringwood
JORBA.ORG
I ride the same bike in size small and noticed strikes in g outs and in rocks early on. I have since learned to ride without striking. I do not have the luxury of a higher BB with a 28 inch inseam so I adapted. I can see that this can be annoying to someone taller. I also think that a suspension expert could try and fine tune or customize your rear shock for less squat. Also do you run standard 175 cranks? as longer cranks do not always work on FS.
 

Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I’m not sure what the deal is but I have been striking pedals like crazy on my mach429sl. Sag is set, in my mind an maybe it’s a funky geo with the XL frame? Does the XL put the BB closer to ground?

I ask this because I never really strike pedals on other bikes. Yesterday I ate shit pretty bad because of it. I love some of this Pivot but am frustrated with other aspects.

Do you have the 100mm fork? If so, you have a bottom bracket height of 12.75 which isn't exactly high. If you go with the 120mm fork it's 13.00 which is getting more normal for a NJ rocks bike.

You running 175 or 180mm cranks?
 

chemgirl

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Pump up your rear shock and see if you still experience it. If no, it’s your pressure, if yes, it’s your geometry.
I don’t have experience with your particular setup but certain geometries definitely are more prone for pedal strike. The LIV bikes for example, when they started out with the LUST, one of the biggest complaints was pedal strikes (low BB on the smaller sizes). Over the past 7 years they have consistently tweaked the geometry yearly to overcome that.
Your riding an XL frame so assuming you aren’t short. But smaller women have been dealing with this for years.
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
Pump up your rear shock and see if you still experience it. If no, it’s your pressure, if yes, it’s your geometry.
I don’t have experience with your particular setup but certain geometries definitely are more prone for pedal strike. The LIV bikes for example, when they started out with the LUST, one of the biggest complaints was pedal strikes (low BB on the smaller sizes). Over the past 7 years they have consistently tweaked the geometry yearly to overcome that.
Your riding an XL frame so assuming you aren’t short. But smaller women have been dealing with this for years.
Ah, still perplexed a bit. A lot of people love the Pivot Mach 429sl. Lots use it with 100mm travel as well. I just noticed it recently. I don’t strike pedals at hart but often at ringwood. At wilderness I feel like it happened 4 or 5 tines. It usually never happens to me on my ss. I had sag set for xc and fork was too much psi. Maybe what @Joe J said is more correct?
 
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