Hey everybody!
I want to buy some pedals off the bazaar. They’re lightly used Dura Ace blah blah 9000 ones, they look swell (good price), buuuuut they have 4mm axle extenders. Maybe you’ve seen them. To me 4mm sounds pretty negligable. My feet are pretty large. I’m pretty sure the extension is there for people who might rub the crank with their ankle. I read some stuff on Q-factor and my eyes were rolling. I’ll probably buy them. Am I being daft?
Thanks guys
They’re these guys
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205877284185870&set=gm.1608877669386181&type=1&theater
You’re right - it’s probably a relatively trivial difference. However, provided your ergonomics allow for it, a narrower q-factor is better in every way.
Personally I would definitely prefer a narrower set of 105 level pedals than a wider set of Dura-ace pedals. I can’t see the link you posted, so I’m not sure what price you’re looking at, but do bear in mind that the difference between 105 and dura-ace pedals is really really marginal: less than 40g for the set, and the reliability on 105 pedals is phenomenal (I’ve been using the same pair through 4 years of riding and more than a handful of crashes, and they show zero functional wear). This is not an area of bicycle componentry where your money is worth spending, IMO.
105 pedals will feel identical and last just as long; and you probably stand to gain more from 8mm less wide than 40g lighter.
What Eric said.
Pedals are pretty much the most marginal investment in terms of cost vs bike performance increase you can make.
It’s a more or less 100$ difference retail between DA and 105 for, what? 50 g max?
Put that 100$ into kit, food or beer.
Fun fact: the extra 8mm of axle weighs adds around 2g, using ballpark figures.
Thanks, this is good advice. This is probably why he is selling them. They were 140 and I’m sure I could have got them for 120. I’ll buy some new 105’s or ultegras, everything is on sale now.
Words like Q-factor give me the willies. I imagine they’re created to give wealthy retired fellows something to talk about while sipping cappuccinos beside their boutique bikes. This is probably my future so I should get used to it.
Q factor comes from the so called quadriceps angle that physiotherapists use I believe.
Qfactor is a real thing. There are a couple of papers showing lower Q-factor is better.
Also, bikes with lower Q-factors have more pedal clearance during turning.
Neither of these things are huge, but why bother with something sub-optimal?
I’ve heard pedaling in circles in the best way.
Bruhh, you’re only supposed to pull up on the back half of the pedal stroke, don’t you LPP?
I actually seem to prefer a larger Q-factor. My SRAM red bike has a 150 Q and my other bike has a 146-7 cannondale crank and the SRAM crank bugs my knee less with everything else being the same. I also tried Campy and the narrow Q-factor also bugged my knee a bit. I also have big feet. Then again this wont be the same for everyone…
Go with DA if your gonna ride a lot but the extenders may not suit you… I would make sure they are the right ones by maybe trying a lesser model.
Resurrecting a very dead thread (as is my M.O.)- Wikipedia says it’s ‘Quack’ factor in reference to ducks waddling. TIL.
Oliver, you enjoying your cappuccinos and boutique bikes now?
Very much so. Imagine I had bought those wide DA pedals, I probably would have given up due to reasons related to having a suboptimal q-factor. Or maybe a pedal strike on the track would have sent me sideways into the Olympic Basin 