i'm mostly a denizen of the road forum however,

as a way to log extra miles and time in the saddle- i commute to work. however, due to high traffic, lack of road shoulder, curbs, medians, and crappy roads in general... i ride a mtb.

my question is- the BB width and pedal to pedal measurement of the mtb is quite a bit wider than my road bike. recently, ive noticed some knee pain.

are mtb's generally wider and there's nothing i can do- or are there narrower crank sets out there that could reduce the transition between the two bikes.

many thanks in advance in advance for constructive answers.

I had knee problems because of wide qfactor too. I replaced the standard spindles of my eggbeater pedals with short ones, which was a cheaper option than getting new cranks. It worked out great, and since then I haven't had any knee pain.

Try duplicating your road setup on the mtn bike. The relationship between my knees, the seat height/position and the pedal spindle are all basically the same on the two bikes, with small allowances on the mtn bike for getting behind the saddle. Since your ride isn't technical at all, you should be able to get pretty damn close. If you get everything set up the same and you still have trouble, then the Q-factor may be the problem.

thanks-

it took a few tries... but saddle height and reach are darned close. i literally come off the morning ride, change my shoes, grab my back pack and hop on the mtb to work. so i can instantly tell set up changes and the q factor "feels" like its at least an inch wider. that's why i'm posting this thread.

i cant change pedal spindles... so i'll look into cranks at the LBS.

(or perhaps its an excuse to get a NEW bike!)

(i'm currently riding a CAD2 that's at least 12 yrs old.)

New bike FTW!