Kneesavers...

[benb]

A month or so ago we had a thread about increasing Q-factor.

I ordered these:

Kneesavers (http://www.bikescor.com/product/knee.htm)

I finally got to try them.. easy install, but they do not use a standard pedal wrench, you need to use a regular crescent wrench on them.

They are kind of expensive ($45 for steel, $100 for Ti) but they are well made.. I got the 20mm steel ones.

Anyway I've only gotten to ride 20 miles with them, but they seem to work for me.. I hadn't been on my road bike in close to a month, and went out and hammered, and I didn't have any of the expected tightness in my ITB, etc.. and my pedal stroke felt nice and smooth. My right foot didn't want to duck out and there is no way the inside of my toe is going to hit the crank under any circumstance with them.

I had my cleats slammed all the way to the inside of the shoes before, I recentered them which probably negated about 5mm of the outward shift.

When I look down it looks ridiculous and if I knew I needed these I might have asked for a higher then normal BB on my bike.. it definitely feels like you'll touch down a pedal easier.

I'm sure I'll get used to the strange look if they really do make me knees feel better long term.

[dekindy]

I don't know anything about your situation and I may be way off base. My observation about the facts presented would be that maybe the month of inactivity was needed for your knees to get better. Did you have a fitting or get a professional opinion or have professional advice to try this approach? Just curious. Some of the best remedies are found by experimenting when all regular approaches have failed.

My best friend had knee problems all his life and when he started riding in his 30's his knees problems vanished. Cycling is generally recommended for chronic knee conditions and therapy after knee operations so I am always curious about cycling related knee problems.

I hope your knees continue to stay well. I cannot imagine having an injury that kept me off my bike. That would be sad indeed.

Sounds like you are already aware of cornering clearance issues. Just be careful and do not forget.

[benb]

No there was no injury.. I'm 31, maybe if I kept riding with a Q-factor too narrow there would be damage by the time I was 50.

I've spent enough $$ on fitters without it working this was something I was trying on my own.

I rode my mountain bike exclusively for the last month while waiting for parts for my road bike.. it was not an "off" month. I only made that comment because I tend to hammer on my road bike and chill a bit more on my MTB.

This was just an effort to try and get rid of a little discomfort and/or make my fit better and/or see if I would get any extra power. I got the idea to try it based on feeling better/stronger when riding with a Triple due to the wider stance.

I'm not worried about the clearance issue.. it's just a noticeable thing.

This was also cheaper then trying a different pedal.. that's partly why I tried it.