Pain in the Knees

[Bollo]

I'm not a medical doctor but that sounds suspiciously like tendinitis. I was advised that rest is the only real cure, which means for me having a week or two off the bike once every quarter. For you it might mean more or less rest.

If it is tendinitis, all the advice on here about seat positioning and spinning is valid - the more unnecessary strain you put on your knees the more likely it is to flair up.

Get yourself to a GP to get a proper diagnosis.

 

[BentMikey]

I'd suggest that knee problems might be related to bike setup - saddle height, cleat adjustment (assuming clipless), etc., or it might be that you're simply riding too much too quickly. A big increase in mileage and/or effort for me always brings on kneepain, and my solution is to try to spread out the increase, and to reduce the intensity/speed.

2) trying to push too high a gear.

Those who ride fixed wheel would tend to suggest that this idea is rubbish - a long standing urban myth. The anecdotal wisdom of many experienced fixed wheel riders is that a fixed wheel is either neutral or slightly beneficial to knees.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Those who ride fixed wheel would tend to suggest that this idea is rubbish - a long standing urban myth. The anecdotal wisdom of many experienced fixed wheel riders is that a fixed wheel is either neutral or slightly beneficial to knees.

.. could that be because most people who ride fixed wheels are very experienced and / or fitter than average? I don't know .. I'm certainly not in a position to judge that myself, just offering a hypothesis / asking a question.

Also, where do most fixies sit in terms of the gear ratios offered by a "typical" bike? I know it's hard to define either of those terms, but I'm assuming a fixie would generally be quite "middly" (I'm setting myself up for a fall here I know) and so not be equivalent to a novice trying to push along the tallest gear out of their 24 ??

Edit: 'cos that's what I tried to do ..

 

[skwerl]

I'm not a medical doctor but that sounds suspiciously like tendinitis. I was advised that rest is the only real cure, which means for me having a week or two off the bike once every quarter. For you it might mean more or less rest.

If it is tendinitis, all the advice on here about seat positioning and spinning is valid - the more unnecessary strain you put on your knees the more likely it is to flair up.

Get yourself to a GP to get a proper diagnosis.

it sounds more like chondromalacia to me, or at least the mis-alignment of the patella that can go on to cause it. Especially so if the OP does a significant amount of running.

 

[skwerl]

Also, where do most fixies sit in terms of the gear ratios offered by a "typical" bike? I know it's hard to define either of those terms, but I'm assuming a fixie would generally be quite "middly" (I'm setting myself up for a fall here I know) and so not be equivalent to a novice trying to push along the tallest gear out of their 24 ??

Edit: 'cos that's what I tried to do ..

You're correct in your assumption. Generally you'll set your bike up so your pushing an optimum gear for the longest amount of time. This means you're not grinding or spinning too much so fixed riders don't tend to spend a lot of time pushing big gears anyway (unless they live in a hilly area and don't like spinning). I'm sure there are some that do but my response would be that you need to review your gearing. Mine's set up to spin at 90-100 RPM when in a low 20s MPH cruise. Ideal for my flatish commute.

 

[swee'pea99]

I'd never heard that 'x.883' thing - I've only ever adjusted my saddle by the 'not quite straight with heel on pedal' method - but just out of curiosity I checked my current setup and bugger me if it wasn't bang on - to within 1 or 2 mm. I were amazed!

 

[briank]

.. could that be because most people who ride fixed wheels are very experienced and / or fitter than average? I don't know .. I'm certainly not in a position to judge that myself, just offering a hypothesis / asking a question.

Also, where do most fixies sit in terms of the gear ratios offered by a "typical" bike? I know it's hard to define either of those terms, but I'm assuming a fixie would generally be quite "middly" (I'm setting myself up for a fall here I know) and so not be equivalent to a novice trying to push along the tallest gear out of their 24 ??

Edit: 'cos that's what I tried to do ..

Correct. Typically a fixed gear would be 65-70 ins. 70 ins spinning at 90 rpm will give you 18mph.

 

[Bollo]

it sounds more like chondromalacia to me, or at least the mis-alignment of the patella that can go on to cause it. Especially so if the OP does a significant amount of running.

Could be. There's no way though that you're going to get a definitive answer from us lot, hence the bit at the end about getting it looked at by a GP.

 

[Bodhbh]

You are probbaly just over doing it a bit. The cold won't help either.

I've been noticing saddle ache and the knee playing up seemed to hit in parallel, and generally early in a ride. Did wonder if it must be something systemic like cold and/or circulation.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Correct. Typically a fixed gear would be 65-70 ins. 70 ins spinning at 90 rpm will give you 18mph.

Aha. A valid assumption!!

That coincides quite nicely with what I consider as my "crusing gear" .. I have 2-3 useable gears around that range that I use for most of the time when it's flat with no wind.