# Heels hit bag



## older and slower (Apr 21, 2008)

I'm short, so my bikes are short. I use Jannd grocery bags to get my lunch, jacket, etc., to work. But my heels hit the bags, and last week my lunch ended up in the middle of the street.

Suggested solutions? I'm 50, so I can't grow.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Longer rack.....

As I understand it, the Tubus Logo rack is a great choice for smaller bikes. Tough if you are not looking to spend a lot of money tho.


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## nepbug (Sep 3, 2004)

For slightly less than the Tubus you can get the Jandd Expedition rack tht is 3 inches longer and will give you a bit more room. An Old Man Mountain Red Rocks is another option too.
Expedition Rack
OMM Rear Racks

You could also go with asymmetrical bags that have more heel clearance built in.
Pacific Outdoor LTW Rear Panniers - Bike Panniers/ Rack Trunks/ Handlebar


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Backpack?


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## electrik (Oct 22, 2009)

Longer rack or adjust the pannier clips and slide them to the front of the bag.

Alternately just buy a front-rack if your bicycle fork supports it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

older and slower said:


> I'm short, so my bikes are short....
> 
> ...But my heels hit the bags, and last week my lunch ended up in the middle of the street.


The rider`s height should have little or nothing to do with heel clearance. The front triangle (from the BB shell and seat tube forward) is what gets changed from size to size. The chainstays, which mostly determine that clearance, usually have little or no difference from one size to another in the same model frame. Some styles of bike will generally have very short chainstays (BMX trials bikes, for example), some will have very long stays (think Long Haul Trucker), and others fall in the middle. The other problem is that I`m guessing those grocery panniers are pretty bulky, which makes them good for toting large amounts on one hand, while being dificult to pedal around at the same time.

A long term solution would obviously be a frame with longer rear end that`s better suited for carrying cargo. If you already like the bike you have, you might consider looking for a whole used bike for cheap that accepts all your current components, and just switch frames. Take a tape measure with you and check the chain stay length.

Without going to such extremes, people have mentioned longer racks, which will probably help a lot, but at the expense of handling. I know that I have to slide my panniers all the way back on my rack (also for heel clearance issues) so that the weight is actually carried behind the axle, which results in a huge shift of weight to the rear wheel. The handling is definitely affected, but I can live with it- maybe you could too. You might also be able to come up with some kind of bracket to allow the rack you currently have to mount further to the rear, which would essentially be like using a longer rack. Whether or not that`s possible depends on the rack, the frame, and your capacity to fabricate or modify stuff, but here`s an example of one product designed to do that with Tubus racks (item 1 on the page):
Fit Solutions for Tubus Bicycle Bike Racks

Less dratic fixes might work too. Shorter cranks, change the way you position your foot on the pedal, different style shoes, remount your pannier clips so that the bags cock back at the bottom, different style paniers.... 
Or maybe a trailer would work better for you than panniers?


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## stucktruck (Oct 4, 2010)

I am sorry for posting this but... 

Trim off a little from your heels, it will also save weight.
Or you could remove your feet and pedal cages and just put the spindles through your ankles, this setup saves the most weight.


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## stucktruck (Oct 4, 2010)

so sorry
forgive me


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## pursuiter (May 28, 2008)

O&S, just a few obvious points:
- Make sure the bags are back as far as they can go on the rack, lots of folks think the bag needs to be centered.
- Is the rack mounted as far back as it can go? Lots of racks have sliding mounts for the seatstay, the rack can be slid backward by tilting the rack . It might not be perfectly level but the bags will be further back.


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## older and slower (Apr 21, 2008)

Thanks.

All good suggestions. (Well, except for the amputation, which I think is a little extreme.) I ordered a "trunk" from REI outlet that sits on top of the rack and should hold my lunch and jacket. I'll report back. Delta Cycle Day Bike Rack Bag - Special Buy at REI-OUTLET.com


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## nepbug (Sep 3, 2004)

Rodar brings up a good point, shorter cranks could help if you're just barely hitting the bags, or even sliding your cleats all the way back on your shoe so that your foot is more forward could help as long as your bio-mechanics are ok with the position change.

Being that you said you are short though I assume you are already running 170mm cranks, 165's are harder to come by so the cleat thing might be your best bet for a $0 try-it-out change.


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## Likes2Bike (Sep 8, 2011)

I recently discovered the Bontrager Back Rack II works pretty well, they redesigned it 'finally', much needed. Now it works great, holds 55 lbs and seems to work pretty well. I like the design of it much better than the old one.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*As per the jandd site*

"There is a three-pocket daisy chain stitched at the bottom of the suspension system so that you can adjust the bag farther to the rear for greater heel clearance, or closer to the bike's center if you so desire".

Grocery Bag Pannier


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## nativeson (Apr 4, 2005)

you can angle your rack to accommodate for heel strike.


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## older and slower (Apr 21, 2008)

jrm said:


> "There is a three-pocket daisy chain stitched at the bottom of the suspension system so that you can adjust the bag farther to the rear for greater heel clearance, or closer to the bike's center if you so desire".
> 
> Grocery Bag Pannier


Well dang! Who knew? I've adjusted to bring it back another inch or so and maybe that will take care of it. Thanks JRM!


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## TheBigV (Aug 18, 2011)

nativeson said:


> you can angle your rack to accommodate for heel strike.


I tried that and I am still hitting my pannier bags....


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## rollinlegend (Feb 23, 2011)

axiom make a road specific rack that moves it back 4cm back . it works great because i use to have the same problem but now i have no problem. It cheap kind of at 35-40 dollars.

support your local bike shop


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## older and slower (Apr 21, 2008)

So I took the hard plastic "floor" out of my Jannd grocery panniers and now it works great. I also noticed I could drill new mounting holes to reposition the rack clips and move it up, if I have to.

The baq I bought from REI was for [email protected] Too small, didn't really have a "universal" on my Blackburn rack.

Thanks to all.


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