biking and IT band issues

I too am one of the few people that had an ITB issue from the bike.  I tried all sorts of different ways to alleviate it but I think it is so specific to individual riders that it will be hard to say what is causing it.  A fit would never hurt, and I would especially let them know about the ITB pain.  That is what I did and the fitter looked at how I was pedaling and it was determined that I was trying to bring my knees in too close to the top bar.  I think I saw all the professional riders angling their knees in on the bike races that I tried to copy that.  This was causing a lot of stress on the ITB.  I was advised that my knees need to be directly over my pedals.  Once I started riding like that and building up my mileage, the ITB pain went away and I have not felt it since it was corrected last year. 

Good luck with it.

I have had issues with my IT band on my right leg caused by cycling. I found that the cleat on my right foot was causing me to toe in very slightly (hard to even see it was so slight). Just that little bit of toe in would cause pain if my mileage was high for the week. So I adjusted my cleat a little and it has all but gone away.

I would just try tweaking little things here and there to try to find the fix. I could always feel the IT tightening up as I was riding and I would fight the cleat to toe back out to stop the pain. Try to adjust yourself on the bike to alleviate the pain and then make that mechanical adjustment.

The underlying cause is probably a weak hip abductor muscle. 

What helped for me was getting one of those rubber stretch bands.  They come with a clip so you can creat an "O" shape of it.  Before using the foam roller, stand up straight, put it around your ankles and lift one leg out to the side.  It's like stretching a giant rubber band.  You can also sit in a  chair, pull the band up just past your knees and move your knees outwards creating resistance.  You can do the same lying on the ground on your side with the band around your ankles and doing side leg lifts. 

With a stronger muslce, it will put the tendon in a better position so it doesn't rub against your knee as much. 

Once i was hiking for four days and it got so bad i could barely walk for a month.  I was downing perscription Ibuprofin like they were tic tacs.  Best not to get yourself into that situation.

With me it was a combination of issues:

1.) Trying to work power too early on in my training.

2.) Foot position.  I'm very bow-legged and have discovered that I need to keep my knees pointed out to the sides a bit when I'm climbing/pushing hard.  Luckily I have Speedplays, which are known for their redonkulous float and allow me to do that.

3.)  Lack of flexibility in my hips.  My physical therapist gave me stretches to do that really help.

4.)  Seat height - my seat had slipped at some point.  Once it was re-fitted correctly, I had fewer problems. 

There is a video article on ITBS on the front page of BT, if you have not seen it. I have not actually watched it, so cannot tell you how much info it might have for you. I just thought I would mention it in case you did not know it was available.