The effective bond‐orbital model is used to calculate the subband structures of GaAs/AlGaAs and InGaAs/InP quantum wires of various geometries. The advantages of the effective bond‐orbital model over standard effective‐mass theory are its flexibility to accommodate otherwise awkward geometries, the straightforward manner in which boundaries between materials are treated, and the inclusion in the Hamiltonian of terms inkhigher than quadratic. We focus our attention on the subband structures of epitaxially buried Ga0.47In0.53As/InP quantum wires of triangular cross section with axis in the [011] direction and (111), (11¯1¯), and (100) faces.