Bicycling and your knees

[Derrick]

I'm 48 and doing a bit of biking besides roller skating. Basically, I'm going to and from work 3.5 miles. I also ride home for lunch. I have a racing style 27" and I put the saddle high to fully extend my legs on the downstroke. Is this good for the knees?

[WJCIV]

27" tires or frame size?

You want your legs to pretty much straighten without locking (without dropping your hips). If you start your seat about an inch low, you can ride a couple miles, raise it a quarter inch, ride it a couple miles, etc. It will be pretty clear when you raise it too much. With each raise you should feel like you are getting a little bit faster.

Your local bike shop should be able to help. Most of the local based ones have pretty knowledgeable staff who are happy to talk if you go in at a time which isn't overly busy and you buy some stuff, even if that is just tubes and grease, which is fairly cheap and you will need anyway.

Most people around here have their seats way too low. I'm on a college campus, so bikes are common. Basic bike knowledge and etiquette, not so much.

[ursle]

Do you use cleats? Not only height but placement of the pedal shaft under the foot is important, I see many with the pedal under the sole of the foot when riding instead of under the front big toe ball.
When seated on the bike with the pedal down the sole(just about the front of the inner ankle bone) of your foot should reach(touch) the pedal comfortable, to high is bad for the knees, ankles and hips from constant overextension, to low is painful, tiny, incremental changes after finding the spot I indicated, keep the knees warm and dry, don't torque until you ride a few miles.

[tomykay12]

Not so critical as height, but can really affect comfort on a longer ride. I don't remember the technically correct way to do this, as it is a little over engineered IMO, but just make sure you are not overextended, aka seat too far back. This can also affect your leg extension, so if you move your seat fwd, you may also need to raise it a little. Experiment till comfy, tk

[WJCIV]

As long as we are talking about cleats, the angle makes a difference. One reason I got Speedplay Frogs was because of the "float", which allows me to position my knees in a line that feels right. Some of the other types have 0 degree float, which means they lock in the line. If you are slightly out of adjustment, that can cause knee problems.

[Derrick]

Just pedaling back and firth to work, twice a day. 3.5 mile x 4 trips. Don't know how hard I should push. I've been taking it real easy lately. It still can work out the upoer knee quite a bit. Just looking for the best sadlle height.

[tomykay12]

Not a push, think circular, spinnng, pulling up as much as pushing down on the backside of the circle. It can work without cleats too, just taking pressure off the pedal on the upstroke. HTH, tk

[rufusprime99]

It should be pretty good for your knees. Cadence is another factor. (pedal speed) You want about 80 to 90 revolutions per minute and not have to pedal hard, mash, on the pedals.

14 miles broken up into 4 pieces. Easy smeasy. Just a little something to stoke your metabolism.

I have very bad knees. I typically fine in the 15-25 mile range, done at once. A few years back, I tried some 30's. Did a number of those, and then did a 40 miler and hurt my knee. So it took a bit to get to my bad knees. Your 14, assuming decent knees, should just be a nice little workout.

[purlingwood]

I think your doing it right. Take it easy, use the right gear.

when going on longer rides, I walk the bike the last 1/4 mile.

Keeping hydrated on longer runs is even more important. Starting drinking a good bit of water before even starter a longer ride.

When my joints or back hurt, I take a big glass of water and it seems to help.

Those 3.5 mile rides aren't bad at all. However, longer rides shouldn't be done the day after a good skate session. Atleast in my case.

[sk84luv]

Pretty shocking article here talking about sham knee surgeries. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...e-surgery.aspx

By Dr. Mercola

Arthroscopic knee surgery is one of the most common unnecessary surgeries performed today—along with back and hip surgeries, pacemakers, cardiac angioplasties, hysterectomies, and Cesarean sections.

Several studies over the past decade have highlighted questions about arthroscopic knee surgery, and now, you can add one more to the pile. The meniscus inside your knee is a thin crescent-shaped disc of cartilage that serves as a cushion between your femur and tibia and helps stabilize your knees.

Over time, your meniscus can develop tears, especially if you have arthritis. The standard orthopedic surgeon's intervention for meniscal tears is performing an arthroscopic partial meniscectomy—trimming the torn meniscus and smoothing the jagged edges of what remains, which assumes the tear is what's causing your pain. However, that may be a faulty assumption.

Knee Surgery No Better Than Sham (read more at the above link)

[oldspeedskater67]

I'm a biker too. I ride spring til fall. I hate riding on a stand, that is why I started skating again. Great for the winter time. I have had knee surgery on both knees. Meniscus repair on the left, and clean up on the right. Riding the bike has helped my knees as far as less pain, and stronger. Just don't over do it. I wore braces at first, but they seem to cause more pain than without them. After about a 30-35 mile ride they start hurting now. there is all kinds of info on YouTube, also a site bikeforums.net about setting a bike up properly.