Originally Posted by
Trakhak
Don't remember anyone complaining about Q factor until diatribes on the topic began appearing over and over again in the Rivendell Reader. Pedersen may have invented the term, for all I know. (He also claims that wider handlebars "open the chest" and permit easier breathing---pity the poor world-class time-trialists who ride with their elbows practically touching.)
Like shelbfv above, I never notice the width of my double and triple cranks. However, the pedals on my Campy Record-equipped Peugeot track bike feel weirdly close together on the rare occasions that I ride that bike, though I get used to it after a while.
I raced a 1976 Sugino Mighty Comp double. Straight cranks. Close to both chain and chainstay. Missed the skinny Cyclone FD by not much. Never measured the Q but it was close. My TA and Sugino BB'd triples after that weren't a lot wider. I never gave it a thought; just set my next bike up close to the last, aware since 1978 that I had chrondomalacia and my knees didn't like change. Never had a Shimano BB until I set up my good bike 11 years ago. Also never saw knee issues going from one bike to another (other than from fix gear riding and climbing). It was when I found myself choosing to ride the fix gear rather than the good bike, then noticing my knees were not happier with all the low gears that I started putting this together. (Never followed Rivendale.)
That my knees are sensitive to Q-factor might be related to them being just as sensitive to crank length. I ride only 175s. Rode a year on a sweet Campy 172.5 while riding two other 175 bikes. Not a good experiment. I know we cannot possibly feel 2 1/5 millimeters with 890 mm legs. But I can feel my knees making my life miserable (and making it known they will not take it much longer).
Ben