[RBW] Low q factor, IT bands, and pedals
I know this has been gone over and over but I'm looking for some first hand experiences. I've noticed in the past few weeks that my leg hurts substantially more after riding my Bleriot with Ritchey/Sugino triple and RMX sneaker pedals than on my fixed Motobecane with a Sugino RD crank and MKS sylvans. Given that folks seem to correlate higher q factor (to a point) with lowered IT band pain I'm looking for solutions. Can I overcome this replacement spindles for the MKS pedals or would I be advised to get a crankset with a higher q factor for the Bleriot to alleviate my pain? -Justin -- 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.
Re: [RBW] Low q factor, IT bands, and pedals
Justin, I had severe ITB pain that took me off the bike for several months. When the inflammation finally receded, I was limited to 10 miles for a while before it cropped back up. I still have it, and probably will forever, but it's greatly reduced to the point I can pretty much ride as long as I want. There will be little twinges here and there, but not the debilitating pain that it was. So, that said, my fit solution consisted of lowering my saddle ~5mm and going exclusively to SPD pedals. I canted my heel INBOARD as far as I could (angled toe out), and pushed the cleats OUTBOARD as far as possible to widen the Q factor. Now the cleats don't have a ton of adjustability, so that widening wasn't huge, *maybe *5mm or so each side, for a total 1cm wider Q. I can't isolate the one change that benefited me the most, but I would put my money on keeping my heel in with the SPDs. I also bought a foam roller and did some stretches, but haven't done those in a while. I'm slowly raising my saddles back up a bit. From what I've researched and talked to people, there isn't a single fix. It's a VERY individualized causation and therefore solution. All my good bookmarks have been deleted in the great crash of '11, but I'll try to dig through some gmail and forward you what I can find. On Sat, May 7, 2011 at 5:56 AM, Justin August justinaug...@gmail.comwrote: I know this has been gone over and over but I'm looking for some first hand experiences. I've noticed in the past few weeks that my leg hurts substantially more after riding my Bleriot with Ritchey/Sugino triple and RMX sneaker pedals than on my fixed Motobecane with a Sugino RD crank and MKS sylvans. Given that folks seem to correlate higher q factor (to a point) with lowered IT band pain I'm looking for solutions. Can I overcome this replacement spindles for the MKS pedals or would I be advised to get a crankset with a higher q factor for the Bleriot to alleviate my pain? -Justin -- 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. -- Cheers, David Redlands, CA *...in terms of recreational cycling there are many riders who would probably benefit more from improving their taste than from improving their performance.* - RTMS -- 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.
Re: [RBW] Low q factor, IT bands, and pedals
On May 7, 2011, at 7:56 AM, Justin August wrote: I know this has been gone over and over but I'm looking for some first hand experiences. I've noticed in the past few weeks that my leg hurts substantially more after riding my Bleriot with Ritchey/Sugino triple and RMX sneaker pedals than on my fixed Motobecane with a Sugino RD crank and MKS sylvans. Given that folks seem to correlate higher q factor (to a point) with lowered IT band pain I'm looking for solutions. Can I overcome this replacement spindles for the MKS pedals or would I be advised to get a crankset with a higher q factor for the Bleriot to alleviate my pain? There are multiple possibilities. Generally (not not necessarily), if the pain is on the outside of your knee, the Q factor is too low. If the pain is on the inside of your knee, the Q factor is too wide. If the pain is on the front of your knee, the saddle is too low. If the pain is behind your knee the saddle is too high. You may be able to address the problem by adjusting your saddle height or fore-aft placement. If the pain is on the outside of your knee below the joint line, as happened to me on PBP in 2003, you may be able to obtain relief by lowering your saddle just a few mm (about 3 mm, it's a tiny adjustment). That's counterintuitive but is what is recommended by Andy Pruitt. Basically this just changes the range of motion slightly and avoids the irritated area. Back in 2003-2005 I had recurrent problems with left knee pain, which turned out to be a torn medial meniscus (old martial arts injury, I think) which ended up needing arthroscopic surgery. So there is some possibility it's not the bike. -- 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.
