You can measure Q or tread by aligning each crankarm sequentially with the down tube and measuring carefully from outside of the arm to the edge of the down tube. Add the measurements and then add the width of the down tube to get total Q. (Or, just stick a good stiff ruler between the spokes of the rear wheel with the "0" mark at the edge of top of one crankarm, then, carefully holding the ruler still, rotate the cranks backward until the other arm comes to rest on top of the ruler. Then mark the spot where the outside of that arm falls -- that will be the Q measurement.
All that said, if your two bikes haven't caused knee problems in the past, I would assume that the Q of those bikes is not the cause of your recent stiffness; were you pushing against a wind, or up hills, or carrying heavy loads? My 56 year old knees are (thank God) pretty forgiving and accept Qs as low as 130 (they don't like the even lower Qs of, say, Raleigh Sportses) and as high as 160 (but no more), but I have to beware of pushing too hard, too far, seated in too high a gear -- something I'm prone to do as I ride fixed a great deal. (I stand when I have to and get used to standing and pedaling slowly for longer distances.) Patrick "not gonna ride today in that dam' wind" Moore On Mon, Oct 17, 2011 at 9:44 AM, Liesl <lchat...@smm.org> wrote: > Micheal said, "I have a Campy Centaur square taper with the 110 BB > with a 39t ring on the > outside that works for me. I have a Phil rear hub with the Dos Eno > 16/19 on > one side, and a 18t cog fixed on the other side. My 52 year old knees > are > sensitive sensitive to Q, and this works just fine." > > Micheal and others, could you talk about this subject? While I was > doing some work on my riv's, I was commuting on my Friday and > developed really stiff knees. I have one knee that's a bit gravelly > under the kneecap, and it's particularly susceptible to stiffness and > swelling on vigorous hikes. Normally, though, bicycling has not given > it trouble. Anyway, could the q-factor of the Friday have set this > off? (It's set up as a 1x8.) May I add that I am not yet geeky > enough to say right off the bat what all my Q-factors are--but here's > my learning opportunity, eh? Here's my first attempt at getting > knowledgeable: My main rides are regular old Saluki/Protobleriot > bottom brackets both with Sugino 165 cranks. The Saluki has a triple > up front and a riv-installed regular 8-speed cassette. The Proto has > a single chain-ring up front and an ENO hub with a DOS. Can't say > without looking it up at home what bottom bracket is on either. > Neither gives me knee problems as long as I don't ride in too high a > gear. Don't think I was riding in a tall gear on the Friday... > > Okay, any advice on aging knees would be greatly appreciated. > > yours, > Liesl > > -- > 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-bunch@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. > > -- Patrick Moore Albuquerque, NM For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW http://resumespecialties.com/index.html -- 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-bunch@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.
