Tsdz2 Q-Factor and ankle pain

[Bogmonster666]

I think the q factor and particularly the chainring side offset peddle is causing me ankle pain. In fairness I badly sprained my right ankle with an avulsion fracture 9 months ago and my ankle hasn't been right since. However, after a longish ride my ankle starts clicking and becomes quite painful.

I'm sure this is aggregated by the awkward peddle offset.

It's a shame, not really got back to running on ankle, but I do a lot of caving and walking and other activities on it. Even back bouldering which is how I injured it originally.

I believe a bafang right crank arm can be used to reduce the offset, anybody got any idea how much this improves things, how much does the peddle move to the left? It it is as much as an inch, that may possibly make a fair amount of difference?

Hopefully this is just a transitory thing but I fear that my cycling efforts may need to be curtailed. I can probably do short trips to pub and caving hut, supermarket is 10 to 12 miles around trip. My 25+ mile rides are the ones I think that cause the problem.

Not sure there is much point in trying to see my GP, doubt they will be interested, even when I did the original injury the hospital couldn't find a radiologist to look at the x-rays.

 

[Sturmey]

I have the version with the throttle that helps.

PS. You can also use a regular straight crank of the type found on older narrow frame bikes but you have to grind off the swaging to remove the unwanted chainwheel from crank.(I have done this to try out shorter cranks)
My mid drive is not as relaxing a ride as my hub motors. I find they are (imo) more like driving a car with a close ratio gearbox whereas the hub motor with cadence sensor and throttle is more akin to driving an automatic. ( this is my personal opinion)

 

[matthewslack]

Have you tried upping the assistance level so that you don't need to work so hard? That will reduce force through ankle. Also I know it is more costly, but wider range gearing means easier steep hills. Every bit helps. It would be a shame to stop.

 

[cyclebuddy]

Having both Torque sensor and Cadence sensor bikes, I would definitely choose the latter with an ankle problem.

Maybe time to retire the TSDZ for a BBS?

 

[guerney]

The BBS01B with cadence sensor at high power PAS, makes for extremely easy zero effort pedalling (except for the first couple of wheel rotations). Is it time to flash OSF to your TSDZ2 and try other modes? You might not invalidate your warranty, if you buy a new controller to do so?

 

[elinx]

.....

I believe a bafang right crank arm can be used to reduce the offset, anybody got any idea how much this improves things, how much does the peddle move to the left? It it is as much as an inch, that may possibly make a fair amount of difference?
.....

 

[Bogmonster666]

I'm fitting a slightly bigger cassette this weekend (7 speed wheel so only going from 28 to 32t) and I will get a straighter crank arm, probably a Bafang one (@elinx 's post looks like the Bafang crank arm will help quite a lot). I'm keen to persevere with the tsdz2 if I can - I want a moderate amount of exercise and the Bafang motor would make me lazy I'm sure, no will power. I did trundle back from caving and pub on 'speed' assist last night which required precious little input from me, despite have a small mountain of caving equipment as luggage.

I suspect it's the hills and the fact I'm pushing myself quite hard distance wise. @matthewslack is right in that I need lower gearing as my hills are longish and steepish, I need to work hard to keep the cadence high enough and stop the motor bogging down, and I think that puts sustained pressure on my ankle. The new cassette will give me a small amount of extra leeway, but not convinced it will be enough. I'm going to order a cheap smaller 36t chainring just to check chainline on non-dished chainring and see what options I have there? Otherwise I may need to opt for 10'ish speed to get acceptable low gearing and a 46t cassette or similar. If I reduce my pace a bit, reduce the distances a bit, reduce the gearing, and improve the pedal offset, that may be enough to allow me to build up some ankle strength without agrivating it too much. This whole episode is making me feel old.

I'm currently cycling 100 miles a week but that gets squished into a small amount of time due to other pressures. Maybe I need to retire to free up some time.

My thinking is that as my foot is flat on the peddle but the pedal is out of line with my hip, it puts my foot at an angle with my leg. The pain I'm getting is on the outside of my ankle, probably repeatedly stretching the damaged ligaments in a different angle to their usual range of motion. Body alignment issues can have all sorts of weird symptoms.

 

[matthewslack]

I think if you take away the extreme efforts by changing gearing, it may all become OK.

I had sore knees on my just finished unassisted delivery trip, which I expect not to be a problem as soon as a motor is fitted.

 

[Bikes4two]

I've just been out to my bike shed armed with a steel rule and measured from the downtube centre to the inside face of the RH crank adjacent to the peddle spindle:

• TSDZ2 with TS crank - 100mm
• TSDZ2 with Bafang crank - 90mm
• And by way of comparison from my Trek carbon framed road bike - 60mm

 

[Bogmonster666]

I've just been out to my bike shed armed with a steel rule and measured from the downtime centre to the inside face of the RH crank adjacent to the peddle spindle:

• TSDZ2 with TS crank - 100mm
• TSDZ2 with Bafang crank - 90mm
• And by way of comparison from my Trek carbon framed road bike - 60mm

Wow, that's impressive, and the difference between the tsdz2 crank and Bafang crank is very small. My thinking is 10mm isn't going to make much of a difference. I think lower gearing is where I need to start. Thanks for your help once again

 

[I893469365902345609348566]

Tendons don't have direct blood supply, therefore take ages to heal. I'm still waiting for tendons in my left palm to unbunch, a year and a half after my wrist broke on The Night Of The Badger Bike Attack

 

[Bogmonster666]

Well, a couple of weeks on, some limited cycling (and a couple of hard caving trips) and I'm pleased to report my ankle is improving. Yesterday I went for quite a short but energetic ride on the bike and all feels well today. I think it's just getting used to a different movement after knackered my ankle last year. Been up and down ladders fixing guttering and cleaning windows this weekend so it can't be too bad. Mrs BM would have been pissed with me if it was going to ruin our holiday...

 

[Bikes4two]

• Good to hear that things are on the up and that the 'Q' factor element has been put into perspective.
• I've always been sceptical about ordinary cyclists saying their bike's Q factor is an issue.
• For a normal healthy person it really is difficult to imagine that a few millimetres here or there is going to be an issue - maybe a significant factor for pro cyclists doing thousands of hard cycling a year, but for the average joe......?
• Now saddle adjustment is another matter - a few millimetres too high or low for the saddle nose can in fact make a big difference to how the 'crown jewels' feel .

 

[guerney]

Now saddle adjustment is another matter - a few millimetres too high or low for the saddle nose can in fact make a big difference to how the 'crown jewels' feel

This saddle angle looks excessive, but it's comfy for miles and miles - crown jewels kept completely clear. It's just a cheapo saddle.