Seems to be a problem because it has a name/acronym. All it means is that at speeds less than about 6mph, if you turn the wheel enough and time it just wrong with your pedal stroke, your shoe hits the fender or tire. It's one of those things that sounds worse than it is. It cannot happen at faster speeds, because you don't turn the wheel that much except if you're doing a near or full U-turn. When you go around a hairpin at 17 mph, you turn the front wheel maybe 1.5-degees. It is ONLY at SUPER slow speeds and super sharp turns that you can make contact.
I want to say this, because it even being a topic of discussion suggests that there's something wrong. At the risk of being gross or something, it's sort of like, "I have mucus coming out of my face--what can I do? What's wrong with me?" And the answer is "blow your nose." But "TCO" (a term I've used a hundred times, by the way) is "mucus coming out of face" in a different context. In a bike like the Atlantis, or any fatty tire bike, the designer, at some point, comes to a fork in the road. He can design for NO TCO and compromise the elements of design that affect position and fit and ride; or he can design for P, F, and R and accept some TCO. Or, just go to a smaller wheel. But even that involves some value judgements. A 58cm Atlantis with a 26--inch wheel would have a monster-long head tube that would look funny and make the bike less suitable to load carrying than the 700C wheel version (with a longer fork and hence shorter head tube). As it is, the 58 is a really well triangulated frame, and the bike rides like a demon (my opinion, but I am biased). TCO ends up being a problem---in my opinion---only in theoretics, but not in practice. THere are some builders who would disagree; and although in the spirit of diplomacy and reasonableness and "agreeing to disagree" and all that, I accept that....I can't understand it. To fear TCO or to regard it as Dangerous....well, it's ust something that to me doesn't make any sense. I'm not saying anybody here fears it. I haven't read all the posts and prolly won't...I just clicked on this thread for the heck of it, read something, and now.....ahhh....shouldn't have said anything! Will regret it in the morning. Going to bed. Goodnight, Moon. Best, G -- Grant Rivendell Bicycle Works www.rivbike.com 925 933 7304 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.