IT-band

[indysteel]

Just curious, how was the triple related to the ITB issue?

The triple's width or "q-factor" was too wide for me. I can't say that I really understand the anatomy of it, but it appears that it threw my pedal stroke off. My further understanding is that it's not an uncommon issue for women to have from triples. All I know is that my knee is happier with the compact presumably because it's narrower.

[Kathi]

I'm pretty small with narrow hips. My road bike has Specialities TA Carmina compact crankset. It has a very narrow Q angle. When I ride, I feel my feet are directly under my hips, close to the frame. My mtn bike has a triple crankset, when I ride it I feel my feet are out at angles, beyond the range of my hips, away from the frame. The crank arms on the Specialties TA crankset are angled straight down whereas, the crankarms on the mtn bike angle out away from the frame. While these angles aren't extreme I can tell a difference. I've asked and asked about a different setup for the mtn bike but most shops I've talked to don't understand my issues. The keep telling me I need the wider cranks for the triple chainrings, which you need on mtn bikes.
If I rode the mtn bike more than I do I'd see if my fitter has any ideas.

We've had such a wonderful ski season that I haven't been on my road bike since early Oct. It has a flat tire and looks so sad and neglected.