Aventure Pedal Grounds Out On A Turn

[Raiderbrit]

My Aventure pedal stems ground out when I am pedaling through a turn. This is disconcerting and could be dangerous at speed.
Is this a design flaw or should I just keep pedaling and hope the pedal stem grinds away enough to stop grounding out?

 

[Merle Nelson]

Welcome to EBR Raiderbrit. What is the definition of "ground out" as you are using it?

 

[Raiderbrit]

The pedal stem strikes the ground when I lean while pedaling through a turn. I just read on another thread to not pedal during turns.

I will have to adjust accordingly.

 

[Merle Nelson]

Ahh, yes. I have heard that called pedal strike at times. Yeah it becomes second nature to have the off side pedal all the way down in a hard turn which has the most vulnerable pedal all the way up.

 

[Tom@WashDC]

"Pedal Strikes" - Yes, this has been a consistent problem with my Level when pedaling through a banking turn. When I am pedaling through a turn which is not very extreme in my judgment, the pedal strikes the pavement which is can be very destabilizing, to the point where I could lose my balance. I've since ceased pedaling through a banking turn, which is easy to synchronize, but it is more fun to pedal through a turn. I have been looking at getting a shorter crank set for the Level. The Level and the Aventure both have 170mm crank set. My riding buddy has an Aventure being delivered this Thursday so I hope to be able to give my impressions on the Aventure soon. FYI he cancelled his Sonders LX order for the Aventure.

 

[Brockrock]

My Aventure pedal stems ground out when I am pedaling through a turn. This is disconcerting and could be dangerous at speed.
Is this a design flaw or should I just keep pedaling and hope the pedal stem grinds away enough to stop grounding out?

Yes. This can be very dangerous, especially with a heavier bike. One of the first things I did with my Level was to swap out the stock pedals with a more low profile, all steel pair from my traditional hybrid bike. They cannot strike the ground in a turn unless I am already going down. It's all well and good to get into the 'habit' of not pedaling through turns, but it only takes that one time. I suggest swapping them out.

 

[Brockrock]

 

[Raiderbrit]

Yes. This can be very dangerous, especially with a heavier bike. One of the first things I did with my Level was to swap out the stock pedals with a more low profile, all steel pair from my traditional hybrid bike. They cannot strike the ground in a turn unless I am already going down. It's all well and good to get into the 'habit' of not pedaling through turns, but it only takes that one time. I suggest swapping them out.

Unfortunately it is not the pedal itself that is hitting the ground, it is the pedal shaft. I really don't want to swap out the shafts as that will change my pedal stroke etc. I'll check out Aventon support see what they recommend.

 

[Tom@WashDC]

Yes, the outer edge of my pedal strikes the ground so a pedal with less width would help significantly. I will dig up the mathematical formula, for every reduced millimeter in pedal width or reduction in crank length there is a corresponding increase in the banking angle of attack.

 

[Merle Nelson]

I notice Watt Wagons offers an upgraded crank arm that happens to be 10mm shorter, about 3/8ths of an inch. (From 170mm down to 160mm.) How much difference would that make in a banking turn?

I would tend to guess it would be insignificant with regard to stopping pedal strike if one is pedaling through a sharper turn.

 

[Brockrock]

Unfortunately it is not the pedal itself that is hitting the ground, it is the pedal shaft. I really don't want to swap out the shafts as that will change my pedal stroke etc. I'll check out Aventon support see what they recommend.

I guess I'm unclear what you mean by the pedal shaft. Usually, it is the outer base of the pedal that sometimes hits the ground during turns. On my pedals, the outer base is machined and angled slightly upward to allow clearance during turns. On uneven ground, I still have to be careful.

 

[Merle Nelson]

Unfortunately it is not the pedal itself that is hitting the ground, it is the pedal shaft. I really don't want to swap out the shafts as that will change my pedal stroke etc. I'll check out Aventon support see what they recommend.

I think those pedal shafts are called crank arms. If you went with shorter ones as in the 10mm shorter I listed above and it solved your problem I believe you would just raise your seat post up to regain that pedal stroke you had - with the exception of loosing the 10mm more of torquing force.

 

[Brockrock]

I think those pedal shafts are called crank arms. If you went with shorter ones as in the 10mm shorter I listed above and it solved your problem I believe you would just raise your seat post up to regain that pedal stroke you had - with the exception of loosing the 10mm more of torquing force.

I'm just wondering how the crank arm could hit the ground prior to the outer frame of the pedal itself hitting, at least on flat ground. If there is a curb involved, I can understand that, but in that case, the rider has to be aware. I think the answer here is a different set of pedals

 

[Raiderbrit]

I'm just wondering how the crank arm could hit the ground prior to the outer frame of the pedal itself hitting, at least on flat ground. If there is a curb involved, I can understand that, but in that case, the rider has to be aware. I think the answer here is a different set of pedals

This is definitely the cranks arm hitting the ground, not the pedal. I attach a picture.

 

[Brockrock]

This is definitely the cranks arm hitting the ground, not the pedal. I attach a picture.

Wow! In general though, that is a rare strike point usually caused during off road riding involving a rock or some other hard, raised object, and that type of riding does require ‘pedal awareness’ on the part of the rider. I don’t think a slightly shorted crank arm would help in these cases. To avoid this, you will want to be aware of the contours you are riding on and position the pedals accordingly. The cages that I have on my pedals in post 7 above help with pedal control in these cases.

 

[bluetick]

I have a RadRover and an Aventure. The Aventure's pedals are nearly 2 inches lower than the Rover's. The great thing about this is I can put my feet down when I'm stopped. The bad thing is pedal strikes in tight turns and on trails. Once I realized it was a problem I've been paying more attention to my pedal position and it hasn't happened since. But I'm curious if swapping pedals really makes a difference.

 

[Merle Nelson]

Ahhhh, that's great info - almost two inches lower. That could make a difference.

That explains how this might happen so much better than anything I could even imagine.

 

[jonny boy]

Pedal strike will be affected by the geometry of the bike, namely the bottom bracket height. Measure from the ground up to the center of the BB. That is a number you can then take and compare against other designs.

BB height is a trade-off. Higher and you have more clearance, lower and you have lower center of gravity, which is good for handling. It is a big deal especially for mountain biking, so I am all too familiar with pedal strikes going straight over rocky terrain.

Pedaling through steep turns would be crazy. I guess you have to re-adjust what you consider a steep vs. shallow turn, if the BB height on this bike is low.

What is low? I think ? I recall mountain bikes being around 13". You might use that as a reference or search around.

 

[Merle Nelson]

Looks like this person got a shorter crankarm.

Great video testimonial for shorter crank arms for anyone having pedal strikes as an issue. Thanks for putting it up Timpo.

 

[revvr]

I just got an Aventure and can confirm this is a real issue.

Coming from riding motorcycles, I'm used to leaning aggressively on turns. However, I found that even leaning slightly (at a roundabout, for example), causes the pedal to strike the ground. This is dangerous because if the strike is hard enough, it can cause the rear wheel to lift into the air and then it's game over at that point.

I'm training myself to keep pedals level horizontally during turns and using the throttle, but it'll take me a while to get used to it. I'm naturally inclined to pedal during turns to unload the front (like on a motorcycle) or to keep pedals aligned vertically (one pedal down, one pedal up). Both of these are problematic with this bike. I might have to look into those 152mm cranks like the guy in the video mentions, but it is annoying that I have to spend more money than I already did on the bike to address a basic safety issue.

Other than this, it is an amazing bike overall.