So i seem to remember people having issues with their heals rubbing the chainstays on “normal” bikes. So is it really bad on + bikes or do they have some kind of fancy way of stopping it these days?

crank axles are usually longer by a bit to compensate for increased stay width.

crank axles are usually longer by a bit to compensate for increased stay width.

Which ones is that then? Fat bikes have longer axles yes but +bikes with ‘BOOST’ just have the chainring spider offset, crank arms remain in the same place as a standard 26/27.5/29.

Heel rub is down to bike design, some normal bikes have it worse than others. +bikes with boost might suffer a bit more but its only 3mm each side so again chainstay design dictates if you have a problem.

some kind of fancy way of stopping it these days?

Pretend your John Wayne

Heel rub is down to bike design, some normal bikes have it worse than others

And the rider, I heel rub anything I ride some people don’t on the same bikes

I get heel rub on my B+, on chainstays and occasionally on seatstays. But then I also provide pedal like a duck (heels in) so the same is true of other MTBs too. Tape them up and carry on or run + tyres in a fatbike frame with its wider BB.

I get heel rub on a shand stoater…..yet i dont on a trek stache – with teh same SPD shoes*

* I dont own either bike so have not tried to remedy it but it was the first thing i noticed when i jumped on my mates stoater 🙁

It’s down to the shape of the chainstays and it’s one good reason why you should always test ride a bike before buying. I tested a fancy carbon road bike being badged up and sold by a boutique seller in the Ribble valley and annoyingly my heels kept striking the chainstays. When I mentioned it on returning the bike, the shopkeeper retorted: “That’s because your pedals are set up wrong.”

No sale.

Some use 83mm BBs and DH cranks don’t they?

globalti – Member
It’s down to the shape of the chainstays and it’s one good reason why you should always test ride a bike before buying.

Then why do I get chronic heel rub on one side and others on the same bike get none?

I heel rub on most bikes, it’s down to my heel inward preferred foot comfort, the q factor of my cranks and the chainstay profile.

I rather impressively managed to heelrub my way through a cannondale chainstay in a matter of months running their very low Q factor CODA chainset once.

I kill chainsets too, a couple of XT’s have been worn through.

For me it’s pedals level flowy singletrack biking that causes the most rub, where there’s minimal pedallig to maintain flow. The non drive side chainstay gets it and the driveside crank.

On some bikes, as we no longer have a lot of choice about axle length with external BB, to increase the Q factor I use 1mm pedal spacers combined with heli tape on the scuff areas. That seems to sort most of it.

Then why do I get chronic heel rub on one side and others on the same bike get none?

because your feet are not their feet?

An individual might be more likely to get heel rub due to their pedalling style, but its how the frame is designed that determines if you will get heel rub vs another frame. Remember we are talking about heel rub on +bikes here, not just general heel rub.

Northwind – Member

Some use 83mm BBs and DH cranks don’t they?

That’s the ‘superboost’ idea developed by Pivot, no other big names in the industry have taken it on. [for clarity, because someone will mention it, yes im aware his-holiness-Brant did a bike with 83/157]

My heels rub on my process, have to replace the helitape every 3 months or so. Also my calves rub on the top pivot.

148 x 12 rear axle and chunky stays, PF92 BB (i think).

I understand that the newer processes have a narrower rear end though.

Yup, I heel rub on pretty much everything I ride mostly chain stays but quite often on seat stays too