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ITBS after switching from Road to MTB?
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I have ongoing ITBS which I can normally manage through strength, stretching and core work. I recently bought a mountain bike to mix up workouts and enjoy new scenery.

However I noticed that the ITBS flares within 10 minutes on the mountain bike. I can ride 2-3 hours on road bike without same issue.

I thought that the more upright position would be easier on the ITB so it seems something else is aggravating it. Maybe increased Q factor or crank length? The pain manifests mostly on Gerdy’s Turbucle beneath the knee on the outside. I normally ride 155 cranks and 147 Q factor on road bike with Ultegra pedals (52mm Q factor). The MTB has 170 cranks and 172 Q factor with XTR pedals (52mm Q factor).

Saddle is the same on both bikes and cleat position has been set-up to match road bike.

Does anyone know why ITBS would flare so quickly like this on MTB rather than road bike? Any clues as to what muscle imbalance needs extra attention? Or whether to try a shorter crank or a smaller q factor crank?

Thanks in advance!
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Re: ITBS after switching from Road to MTB? [badoc] [ In reply to ]
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The power meter on my mountain bike reveals that even though I may average 150 watts for a ride there is a variation of power from 80 to 400 watts.

Maybe that kind of variation puts more stress on you than you may think?
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Re: ITBS after switching from Road to MTB? [jaretj] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for your input. In this case, I don't think power input variation is causing ITBS- I get pain after 10 mins even when I do a gentle MTB ride on flat roads.
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Re: ITBS after switching from Road to MTB? [badoc] [ In reply to ]
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badoc wrote:
I normally ride 155 cranks and 147 Q factor on road bike with Ultegra pedals (52mm Q factor). The MTB has 170 cranks and 172 Q factor with XTR pedals (52mm Q factor).

Saddle is the same on both bikes and cleat position has been set-up to match road bike.

That's a big difference in crank length (unless it's a typo).
If that's the case then you shouldn't have the same saddle height.
I'd lower it on the MTB
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Re: ITBS after switching from Road to MTB? [The Red Baron] [ In reply to ]
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The Red Baron wrote:
badoc wrote:
I normally ride 155 cranks and 147 Q factor on road bike with Ultegra pedals (52mm Q factor). The MTB has 170 cranks and 172 Q factor with XTR pedals (52mm Q factor).

Saddle is the same on both bikes and cleat position has been set-up to match road bike.


That's a big difference in crank length (unless it's a typo).
If that's the case then you shouldn't have the same saddle height.
I'd lower it on the MTB


Yep- you are absolutely correct. But I have already accounted for crank length difference and saddle height- the MTB saddle is lower by 15mm to centre of bottom bracket.
Last edited by: badoc: Apr 26, 21 4:10
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