Help...Calf hits front deraillier???

Prometheus7 said:

Got a question that my LBS can't answer. The setup is a 3 chain ring
Lemond. My wife's calf hits the front derailler when she's in the big chain
ring. It is enough to bruise her pretty good after a 30 mile ride. It is
not like she's got monkey legs. In fact, she is tall and slender. Anyone
every experienced anything like this and know of solutions?

Lock the calf in the barn with the other cattle before riding.

--
Tom Sherman – Quad City Area

In article <[email hidden]>,

Prometheus7 said:

Got a question that my LBS can't answer. The setup is a 3 chain ring
Lemond. My wife's calf hits the front derailler when she's in the big chain
ring. It is enough to bruise her pretty good after a 30 mile ride. It is
not like she's got monkey legs. In fact, she is tall and slender. Anyone
every experienced anything like this and know of solutions?

There are several possible solutions, but they all involve getting the
foot and the calf further away from the chain ring.

From easiest to most elaborate:

1) correct whatever wobble in your wife's pedaling motion there is that
causes her leg to hit the derailleur. There may not be one, but check
this first.

2) adjust the pedal cleat so it is closer to the inside side of her
shoe, effectively moving the foot out and hopefully giving clearance to
the derailleur.

3) get a set of pedal extenders, or whatever they are called. These are
little threaded units that your pedal and crank thread into, effectively
pushing the pedal out wider.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

"Prometheus7" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Got a question that my LBS can't answer. The setup is a 3 chain ring
Lemond. My wife's calf hits the front derailler when she's in the big chain
ring. It is enough to bruise her pretty good after a 30 mile ride. It is
not like she's got monkey legs. In fact, she is tall and slender. Anyone
every experienced anything like this and know of solutions?

To begin to respond to the question, people will want to know the
model of the front derailer, pedal, and crank.

Are you sure the front derailer is adjusted and positioned right? Is
the contact that's occuring just her brushing up against the derailer
cage, or is it more severe?

Cranks and pedals that give a wider "q-factor" (distance between pedal
contact points) are the obvious answer. Usually a lower Q is better
and most components are built with that in mind, but this seems to be
an exception. If you switch these components, you'll probably want to
try out whatever you get before you buy, since the q-factor a specific
pedal or crank gives is not usually specified, especially not
accurately.

Ryan Cousineau said:

...
3) get a set of pedal extenders, or whatever they are called. These are
little threaded units that your pedal and crank thread into, effectively
pushing the pedal out wider.

These are called "Kneesavers": <http://www.bikescor.com/product/knee.htm>.

--
Tom Sherman – Quad City Area

Quoted message said:

Got a question that my LBS can't answer. The setup is a 3 chain

ring

Quoted message said:

Lemond. My wife's calf hits the front derailler when she's in the

big chain

Quoted message said:

ring. It is enough to bruise her pretty good after a 30 mile ride.

It is

Quoted message said:

not like she's got monkey legs. In fact, she is tall and slender.

Anyone

Quoted message said:

every experienced anything like this and know of solutions?

She propably rides with her knees inwards so you'll have to try to get
her foot further from the outer chainring.
You can do this in many ways: cleats further inwards, cranks with
bigger distance between chainring and pedal hole, pedals with bigger
distance between crank and cleat center or pedal spindle extenders.
You could also try a shorter bottom bracket spindle if it doesn't mess
up the chainline, this way derailleur won't go out as much and her
lower legs will propably have a straighter motion. Maybe best is to
try with feet on the pedals (not clicked in) first to see where the
foot has to be to avoid contact with the deraillieur.

"Prometheus7" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Got a question that my LBS can't answer. The setup is a 3 chain

ring

Quoted message said:

Lemond. My wife's calf hits the front derailler when she's in the

big chain

Quoted message said:

ring. It is enough to bruise her pretty good after a 30 mile ride.

It is

Quoted message said:

not like she's got monkey legs. In fact, she is tall and slender.

Anyone

Quoted message said:

every experienced anything like this and know of solutions?

On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 21:51:49 -0400, "Prometheus7"

may have said:

Got a question that my LBS can't answer. The setup is a 3 chain ring
Lemond. My wife's calf hits the front derailler when she's in the big chain
ring. It is enough to bruise her pretty good after a 30 mile ride. It is
not like she's got monkey legs. In fact, she is tall and slender. Anyone
every experienced anything like this and know of solutions?

Did this happen from day one, or is it a new thing? I'd look for a
bent crank if it just started suddenly.

It might be worthwhile to look at cleat position and angle if these
are clipless pedals, or perhaps swapping to a pedal with a longer
platform might help if the bike has conventional pedals. The pedal
extensions (aka "kneesavers" mentioned elsewhere might help as well.
It really sounds like a matter of pedalling style to me. Sometimes
shifting the seat position can have an effect on that. Have you
ridden behind her to see what's going on?

--
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