# Single Speed advice for rider with dodgy knees



## John_S (27 Jul 2015)

Hi All,

Firstly I was going to ask for the best way to simulate having a single speed bike so that it can help me to decide if a single speed is right for me.

Then I saw a post (link below) and it gives lots of advice about simulating single speed.

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/simulating-single-speed.177624/

I've only just had the chance to quickly skim read it so far and I'll admit to being a bit confused about reference to inches etc. and I dot really understand it yet. However I'll read it again when I have more time and I'll take a look at the Sheldon Brown website to try and get my head around it.

I currently have a Trek 7.1FX hybrid circa 2006 (I'm not certain because I bought it secondhand) and it's got a triple chainring and a 7 speed freewheel. At present I'm not sure which will be the best gear to stick it in a leave it there to try my best and simulating single speed but I'll try to figure it out. At the sometime if anyone has any quick tips/ideas about which gear to leave this bike in to try and best simulate single speed riding that will be great.

Anyway once I've saved enough money for a new bike I'm considering a single speed but I'm not sure if it'll be right for me or not and so I'll be grateful for any thoughts & advice. It's the simplicity which appeals to me and because it'll be used as a year round, all weathers daily commuter the hope is that it would be simpler from a maintenance perspective.

However one thing that has me concerned is that having played various sports when I was younger my knees are no longer in the best of shape. I can't run for more than a tiny distance without being in pain for the next week or so and so I am a bit concerned that if for example a single speed meant a lot of mashing uphill it might not be good for me knees? I appreciate that there might be an argument for riding fixed and momentum etc. but for now if I do abandon gears I'd like to go for a single speed first safe in the knowledge that if a switch to single speed were successful I could easily make the change to fixed at some point in the future.

My daily commute is not a long one at only just over ten miles each way. It's also pretty much flat with only about 250 feet of climbing over that 10 miles. It's roughly half rural roads and half urban roads.

One thing that concerns me is, particularly when cycling through the winter, when the winds are really strong the rural part of the journey can be a real slog even with gears. This is because where there are open fields if the wind is blowing right in your face you can sometimes feel as if it's a struggle to get anywhere and so I wonder if this sort of commuting ride will be even less fun with only one gear. As mentioned above the attraction of single speed for me is the simplicity which will hopefully make it easier/quicker to maintain and keep clean. However if those bonuses are outweighed by a bike which isn't entirely suited to all year round commuting, in for example the face of high winter winds, then maybe single speed isn't for me.

Whatever bike I get I'll be wanting to fit mudguards and a pannier rack to it. Whilst thinking about a single speed this bike, the Genesis Day One Disc, has caught my eye.

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/urban/urban-cross/day-one-disc

However if people thought that a single speed might not be right for me, considering my dodgy knees and not wanting to do excessive mashing, then I might consider a geared alternative such as something like this.

http://www.konaworld.com/rove_st.cfm

Although it's not the single speed that I like the idea of the fact that this Kona Rove St has a single chainring which at least makes me think that some of the cleaning & maintenance might be a bit simpler/easier.

Thanks in advance for any help & advice that people give.

Cheers,

John


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## albion (27 Jul 2015)

The advice is don't.

Use the Trek and maybe switch to slick tyres. With old problem knees I can assure you that gear changing is a necessary skill.


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## fossyant (27 Jul 2015)

Fixed and singlespeed still need cleaning. You also have to be aware of wear on 'evens' - if running even chain ring and sprockets. as in mathmatical numbers 2,4,6,8,10 etc,

I run fixed to work and it's great. Knee issues aren't an issue. It will strengthen your tendons and improve your cyclng RPM range. 

My commute is lumpy.. fixed is better than singlespeed as you get the avatage of momentum. Fixed isn't too scary in traffic once used to it - you can control speed and giving I am riding fixed, my top speed is reduced.


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## mjr (28 Jul 2015)

I like easier maintenance. I worry about my knees. My solution is hub gears, just to give me a couple of lower options for starting and climbing.


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## potsy (28 Jul 2015)

Similar commute to mine, I also have dodgy knees.

I think if you get the gearing right then it should be doable, not being the best climber I was worried about the couple of hills on the route but got up them no problem, having no option but to keep going you just get on with it at your own pace.

Hardest part I find is setting off on any slight uphill.


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## ayceejay (28 Jul 2015)

The Genesis looks like a nice bike and with the gearing (46 x 18) you shouldn't have any problems. There is a pedaling technique to be learned but you will soon get it and if you use the brakes rather than your legs this will help too.


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## Profpointy (28 Jul 2015)

If you've dodgy knees I'd be inclined to give ss or fixie a miss. I reckon my fixie has caused me knee twinges, and whilst I love it, it's something to be wary of. I live in Bristol which is a hilly town, so might be ok somewhere flattee


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## 4F (28 Jul 2015)

I buggered my knee (acl and mcl) in my last game of football 15 odd years ago and not had a problem with riding fixed in flat Suffolk


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## John_S (28 Jul 2015)

Hi All,

Many thanks for all of the replies!

It seems that there's a bit of a split in opinion with some saying it'll be fine for my dodgy knees and others advising to give single speed/fixed a miss.

Right now I think that I might start by experimenting on my commute by leaving my Trek derailleur geared hybrid bike in one gear for the duration of my commute and see how I get on. I know this doesn't sound like perhaps the best way to get to know what it would be like to ride a single speed but it might be s starting point to give me some idea of what it would be like to ride my commute without gears.

Thanks to everyone for your advice.

John


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## Citius (28 Jul 2015)

As others have said - dodgy knees and single speed/fixed are not compatible. In any way.


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## ayceejay (28 Jul 2015)

'Dodgy Knees' is not a very exact description of the problem although I would suspect a twist due to contact somewhere along the line causing fluid on the knee and alignment problems. Unlike running cycling doesn't involve any impact and in many cases is GOOD for damaged knees so the question remains: is riding single speed or fixed worse for the knees than a geared bike? My answer (given above) is that with an easy gear such as the 46 x 18 of the Genesis this should not cause any problems, I ride 46 x 19 riding undulating roads clip less and find it fun and beneficial to riding style and knees. One way to damage a knee on a bike is to mash a pedal down then relax ready to mash again, this sudden movement with an open knee can cause problems but the 360 pedaling learned from riding fixed eliminates this.


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## albion (28 Jul 2015)

Nope, mine is osteoarthritis and the wrong gear for me means bone rubs against bone resulting in further loss of matter.


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## ayceejay (28 Jul 2015)

Sorry albion I was addressing the OP


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## vickster (28 Jul 2015)

Riding single speed over mostly flat terrain causes no more discomfort to my dodgy knees/lower limbs meniscus tears, softened articular cartilage, but no bone on bone, and fibular exostoses). I tend to avoid steeper bits, that said they make my thigh muscles burn rather than causing knee pain. Think the bike has a fairly incline friendly gearing (I can't recall what)


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## John_S (30 Jul 2015)

Hi All,

On my ride home tonight I decided to stick with just one gear on my commute home. However I will admit to resorting to the gears just the once when riding on a fast downhill in a 40mph area where to be honest all of the cars are in excess of this. On this bit of road I have to make a right turn after the downhill and so I did go into a higher gear to get a certain amount of speed to keep up with the traffic to help with the right turn. However this bit of road is not part of my normal commute and I'm only using it whilst there are some roadworks on my usual route.

Anyway apart from the one deviation I stuck to the middle chainring and the 5th sprocket on my Trek 7.1FX. There was noting scientific about my choice but it just seemed like a gear I felt I'd be able to get up what excuses there are for hills in the flat lands of east anglia. I'm not sure what gear ratio this was because I've not had time to count how many teeth are on the middle chainring or on the 5th sprocket however I'm not sure how much this would tell me in comparison to a single speed because of the derailleur set up.

When I was on the flat or any slight downhill I was spinning like crazy at anything over 17mph. However on the other side I managed to get up all of the inclines ok although on the one steepest bit of hill I was breathing a bit heavily by the top. I'm sure that most people would laugh at the tiny hills that I have to face on my commute but living in east anglia I'm not used to steep slopes so any incline can catch me out.

Back to tonights experiment and I quite enjoyed riding home with just the one gear and I don't think that I got home much slower than normal. I actually quite enjoyed just leaving it in the one gear and not thinking or worrying about changing it a all. However one factor tonight was the fact that it wasn't very windy and I don't know how the same commute home would be on some of the autumn/winter/spring days when it's blowing a near gale. Annoyingly I should have thought about doing this experiment earlier in the week because it was actually pretty windy then.

I think that I'll experiment with using the single gear again and I'll try to do it a few times in different weather conditions to see how I get on.

John


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## Broadside (20 Jun 2016)

Thread resurrection time...!

I have recently started riding fixed gear but a mate said he had to give it up due to knee problems developing. 

What is the risk area with fixed and knees, is it due to having a big gear when going up climbs and grinding or is it something to do with using your legs for braking which stresses the knees?


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## fossyant (20 Jun 2016)

Just don't leg brake, simple. You select a reasonable gear that you can get up most hills. You will grind a little, but it's no big issue on the knees. Leg braking isn't good for the knees.

If anything, fixed helps stregthen the tendons and muscles.


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## Broadside (20 Jun 2016)

fossyant said:


> Just don't leg brake, simple. You select a reasonable gear that you can get up most hills. You will grind a little, but it's no big issue on the knees. Leg braking isn't good for the knees.
> 
> If anything, fixed helps stregthen the tendons and muscles.



Thanks, that makes sense. I will give the leg braking a miss in that case.


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## fossyant (20 Jun 2016)

You get a rollocking off the coach if you leg brake on a track session. You have to be careful doing it anyway as you can do some damage. Use the TWO brakes.


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## Broadside (20 Jun 2016)

Thanks, i didn't realise that about leg braking. I've been surprised how much I have to brake going down +5% gradients because I spin out around 28mph, well it's pretty uncomfortable after that speed. I will not be shy in using the brakes in that case.


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## JimboJames1972 (20 Jun 2016)

One thing extra to consider - cleat angles. Obviously, this only applies if you are riding clipped in, but getting the "wrong" angle of your feet on the pedals puts excessive strain on all your joints, including knees.

I went to clipped about four months ago. I bought a set of pedals and shoes off a buddy (plus a second, identical pair of pedals from my local bike shop for my second bike) and just went for it. After just a couple of weeks both knees were aching quite a bit, but my right one (the one I have had a couple of bouts of surgery on) was really complaining, so much so that I ended cutting a few rides short on account of it.

I moaned to both my buddy and then the bike shop and both pointed to foot angles. We had a tinker and things are much better now :-)

Gearing will definitely play a big part, so will the terrain you cycle over. However, bike geometry, bike fit and overall ergonomics will also need consideration.

J


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## Broadside (20 Jun 2016)

Good point. I am using the same shoes and cleats SPD SL that I use on my my roadbike so hopefully that won't be a problem.


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## rideswithmoobs (1 Jul 2016)

I ride single speed, I do around 20 to 30 mile rides 3 times a week when I'm home and steadily built up the hills. Today I did 21 miles and took in borwick road hill out of caperwray, steep winding short climb. Also cycle up the hill out of gressingham, Yealand Conyers, Warton Crag and such but took time to build up to these. I think unless your incredibly fit, competent cyclist a SS will have a limit for most. It's built my strength and fitness back up and I love it but a geared road bike or a CX bike and some events beckon this Autumn. Would I fancy SS with dodgy knees ? Probably not


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## Ian H (1 Jul 2016)

There seems to be a lot of alarmist stuff here about fixed. Whilst fixed might be physically harder on the hills, I don't believe, from experience, that it's harder on the actual joints, particularly given that it's not impact stress. It does take a while both to build the muscle and to hone the technique. You want a gear that's a bit lower than feels comfortable on the flat – you'll get used to it after a while. On single-speed you can go lower than on fixed because you don't have to worry about downhills.


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