Wide Hips and Q-Factor

Pete Cresswell wrote:
Per :
I have to have them [Kneesavers®] on all my bicycles, or the inside
of my thighs get sore from pulling my legs in.

How much do you weigh and how long have you been using them?

I brought the idea up to a guy at a LBS, and he thought it was a
terrible idea mechanically. OTOH, seems to me like the stresses
are the same whether I plant my feet an inch outboard on pedals
without extensions or I center my feet on pedals with extensions....

Rather hard to put your feet at different places on the pedals if you
are using foot retention. Therefore, the Kneesavers® would be a solution.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
“Mary had a little lamb / And when she saw it sicken /
She shipped it off to Packingtown / And now it’s labeled chicken.”

On Aug 25, 2:44*pm, "(PeteCresswell)" wrote:
Per :

I have to have them on all my bicycles, or the inside of my thighs get
sore from pulling my legs in.

How much do you weigh and how long have you been using them?

I brought the idea up to a guy at a LBS, and he thought it was a
terrible idea mechanically. * OTOH, seems to me like the stresses
are the same whether I plant my feet an inch outboard on pedals
without extensions or I center my feet on pedals with extensions.

But I'm about 220# and find things definitely break more often
with me on them.
--
PeteCresswell

290 lbs 3 years. Hurt since I started riding again in 2000 on MTB,
hybrid, road, and now recumbent.

On Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:46:30 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)" wrote:

I'm pretty sure my hip width is towards the right side of the
bell curve.

The distance between my sit bones (as measured center-to-center
on the indents they make on a sheet of styrofoam) is 5" or 127mm.

Extrapolating from the usable area underneath a WTB Speed-V
saddle (the softer gray spots) I'm guessing that the average sit
bone width is more like 3.5" or 89mm.


To cut to the chase:

My bike's Q-factor is 165mm (MTB bottom bracket).

I ride flats.

Whenever I look down, my feet are planted almost an inch outwards
on each pedal. I can move them in, no problem. But after a few
miles they always find their way out to the original position.

I would also note that my hips used to ache a *lot* when I was
riding clipped in. Now they don't bother me much at all.

I'm thinking there's a relationship between ichial tuberosity
width and the most desirable Q-factor that transcends the rear
cog's width and chain line considerations.

i.e. Some people would benefit from wider pedal spacing.


Anybody care to comment?

According to the seat fit guide that came with my Topeak Allay seat, 90mm is
the small zone.

http://www.allaysaddles.com/line/racing.htm

(see sitbone width zone)

Ben

cog's width and chain line considerations.

i.e. Some people would benefit from wider pedal spacing.

Anybody care to comment?

--
PeteCresswell

Yes. A wider Q factor helped my wife with many issues. People come
in many sizes and shapes and if all those shapes are going to clip in
to pedals and rotate them at 100 rpm for a few hours at a time then
there needs to be a wide variety of Q factors to match. A fact
ignored by mass production economics.

Wayne

Per Ben Kaufman:
According to the seat fit guide that came with my Topeak Allay seat, 90mm is
the small zone.

http://www.allaysaddles.com/line/racing.htm

(see sitbone width zone)


At last! A saddle maker addresses the obvious: usable sit-bone
width.

IMHO their presentation leaves a lot tb desired, but the idea
finally soaked in after reading it awhile.

I'm tempted to sign up for the Sport 1.1/L (AS-L11).

Where did you get yours? Following the "more information" links
didn't give me the warm fuzzies I had hoped for.
--
PeteCresswell

On Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:34:40 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)" wrote:

Per Ben Kaufman:
According to the seat fit guide that came with my Topeak Allay seat, 90mm is
the small zone.

http://www.allaysaddles.com/line/racing.htm

(see sitbone width zone)


At last! A saddle maker addresses the obvious: usable sit-bone
width.

IMHO their presentation leaves a lot tb desired, but the idea
finally soaked in after reading it awhile.

I'm tempted to sign up for the Sport 1.1/L (AS-L11).

Where did you get yours? Following the "more information" links
didn't give me the warm fuzzies I had hoped for.

I got mine back in April/May and I ordered it directly from the US distributor
Todson because at the time, no one had the model I wanted in stock and my
problem was so bad that I could not sit in a conventional bike seat any more.
http://www.todson.com/

BlueMoon in CA is a dealer but they were out of stock and I was really jonsing
to ride.

I have the Race 1.1. in medium. With the front cushion deflated it provides
virtually no pressure on the pernerium sp? and forward. It did take my sit
bone area some time to get used to the extra pressure and make me use a more
rear padded chamois but my ass ache would not bother me once the ride was
over, the former urological issue was painful and lasted for several days.

I can't speak for the whole line but from the model I am using, due to the
extra sit bone pressure I would not recommend it unless urological problems was
the motivation.

Ben

Per Ben Kaufman:
I can't speak for the whole line but from the model I am using, due to the
extra sit bone pressure I would not recommend it unless urological problems was
the motivation.

Why extra sit bone pressure? Less padding?

--
PeteCresswell

On Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:04:39 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)" wrote:

Per Ben Kaufman:
I can't speak for the whole line but from the model I am using, due to the
extra sit bone pressure I would not recommend it unless urological problems was
the motivation.

Why extra sit bone pressure? Less padding?

The seat has padding in that area. I believe that in my case some of the
former seat weight load from my anatomy had been placed on other areas of the
seat other than the sit bones, if even just intermittently, are no longer
possible. I have also fiddled a lot with seat position, settling on a very
slightly nose up angle, lower post height and further back.

Ben

Per Ben Kaufman:
The seat has padding in that area. I believe that in my case some of the
former seat weight load from my anatomy had been placed on other areas of the
seat other than the sit bones, if even just intermittently, are no longer
possible. I have also fiddled a lot with seat position, settling on a very
slightly nose up angle, lower post height and further back.

How long have you been at it?

My impression is that one's sit bones get more tolerant of
pressure over time - maybe even like surfer's shins developing
"surfers knots".

I base that on several seasons of adaptation to a Brooks saddle.

I used to wish for more (or at least some....) padding.

Now, when I try some other saddle and it has any padding at all I
find it uncomfortable bc my sit bones sink in and pressure gets
applied to the perineum - whereas with a hard saddle, the sit
bones take the load and the perineum does not.
--
PeteCresswell

On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:36:32 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)" wrote:

Per Ben Kaufman:
The seat has padding in that area. I believe that in my case some of the
former seat weight load from my anatomy had been placed on other areas of the
seat other than the sit bones, if even just intermittently, are no longer
possible. I have also fiddled a lot with seat position, settling on a very
slightly nose up angle, lower post height and further back.

How long have you been at it?

My impression is that one's sit bones get more tolerant of
pressure over time - maybe even like surfer's shins developing
"surfers knots".

I base that on several seasons of adaptation to a Brooks saddle.

I used to wish for more (or at least some....) padding.

Now, when I try some other saddle and it has any padding at all I
find it uncomfortable bc my sit bones sink in and pressure gets
applied to the perineum - whereas with a hard saddle, the sit
bones take the load and the perineum does not.

It took me about a month to get used to it. I did a 50 mile ride last weekend
(Tour de Putnam) with just under 3 hrs in the saddle and it was OK.

Ben