mack_turtle

I have a mountain bike and a touring/commute/ everything else bike. the mtb has cranks with a Q factor of 168mm and the other bike is 145mm. both have Shimano SPD mtn pedals on them and I wear the same pair of Giro shoes for each. I am having a hard time getting my cleat position set up so that I can ride both bikes comfortably.

I rode about 40 miles two weeks ago on my mountain bike and never had any serious knee pain, but after a 50 mile gravel grind on my other bike yesterday, my right knee is killing me, strain-pain on the outside of the knee along my IT band. I think that the 23mm difference in the position of the pedals relative to the center of the bike might have something to do with it.

How likely is it that I can set up my cleats in such a position that my knees will be happy on both bikes?

if not, should I just use a different pair of shoes for each bike, each one set with the cleats set up for that bike?

both bikes have GXP cranks, so i can't adjust the spindle length (not that would I want to, and screw up chainline).

I have found that bike fit pedal spacers exist, but the shortest ones are 20mm and I have no need to add that much to the Q factor on my bike. I am an average-sized guy with normal skeletal proportions for my height.

any other suggestions?

fietsbob

Q is the width between the pedals .. BITD straight crank arms TA, CAMPAG., used long spindles, you could bring them closer together,

but since MTB became popular the cranks were getting curved arms , for fat tire clearance..


maybe you want a Hybrid , w/o the need for fat tire clearance you may pick a different crank , and would certainly be easier rolling on a 40 mile trip.

Hit a shop ask again where someone can see things in front of them ..

mack_turtle

I am not about to buy a whole new bike because the fit on one of my bikes is slightly off. I don't think an hybrid could replace my Vaya. I think buying a different pair of shoes would be wiser than a whole new bike, if it comes down to that.

badrad

Have you looked into kneesavers? might do the trick. I believe they come in different lengths.
Kneesavers - Product Catalog

mack_turtle

I mentioned Knee Savers (obliquely) in my initial post. They come in a minimum width of 20mm, which is waaaaay more than what I need. I think those are intended for clydes or people with really wide hips, which i don't have. I just have two bikes with ery different Q factors.

fietsbob

OK just accept that fact. you have 2 different Q bikes


and think what You will . based on what you Know.

I fit Knee savers on My Touring Bike so my Insulated shoe covers keeping my feet warm and shoes relatively Dry, would clear the crank-arms Better ..

mack_turtle

sorry Bob, but that makes no sense. of course I have accepted that I have two Q's to deal with among my two bikes. I am trying to do something about it so that I can ride more than ten miles at a time without blowing up my knees. Knee Savers would widen the Q too much. I think just setting up a pair of shoes with the cleats set up for one specific bike and only using one shoe for one bike and the other pair for the other bike is the only thing that will work. I just wanted to see if there was something I overlooked that was not as absurd as buying a whole new bike to deal with a minor fit issue.

79pmooney

Are you using the same pedals on the two bikes? Edit: I just saw that you answered this in your first post. (Just to narrow down that it is the Q-factor and not some other difference.) My knees a Q-factor sensitive, but unlike you, I need narrow pedals. Most of my bikes are poor compromises. Shimano BBs are easy and work very well in Portland's rain, but Shimano appears to like symmetry over Q-favor so the left crank is far from the chainring. (My legs cannot tell that my feet are a cm or so off-center. Never was an issue when my cranks barely missed the left chainstay and large-small chain combo 40 years ago. I'd love to see that now on my geared bikes.)

Two pairs of shoes sounds to me like the way to go. (I've had foot issues, plus I ride year around, plus I ride several very different bikes for very different purposes. I now have way too many shoes and use a half dozen pairs on a regular basis. (LOOK Deltas on two road bikes. Toeclips, straps and slotted cleats on my two road fix gears. (The redundancy of cleats + straps may well keep me from the crash I never want to see in this lifetime; unclipping one foot at 225 rpm. 45 mph on a 42-17.) And my recent acquisition; MTB shoes and SPD mtn pedals for my gravel bike. I like this setup, esp its ease of use and walking, but am not ready to commit to either fix gear (no redundancy) or the road bikes (lousy pedal clearance and not so stiff shoes). I have summer shoes and larger winter shoes for each pedal setup.

Imelda Marcos, I'm after you.

Ben

spokes5678

I had a similar problem although I used different shoes for road and mtb.
I used spd's on the road ultegra and the xt mtb.
The problem was the foot angle, one straight ahead one splayed out. The minutest angle adjustment solved it.
Also if you look at the front and rear adjustment on the cleat it's quite a bit different on road and mtb shoes, I imagine to allow for a wider q on mtb.