Stand up or Stay seated?

[albion]

With a problem knee, I get by, by avoiding long hilly routes and/or using granny gears far more.
This has worked to an extent and obviously I take it easy.

Whilst its far more effort 'standing on the pedals' are there any views on this with regards to knee damage?
Obviously my knees would be straighter and I will get an occasional 'hill buzz'.

 

[numbnuts]

All my rides I have to sit and spin and use granny gearing, I've just lowered my gearing on my touring bike for this reason, I refuse to get off and push, the day I have to do that the bikes goes on ebay

 

[cyberknight]

I spin and hack dependant on how long the hill is and how i am feeling.

You can still spin while standing but it takes a bit of practice to resist the urge to just push a big gear slowly.

I am more of a Cav/fab build than a contador so i need all the help i can get , sram apex ftw !

This clip show armstrong ( no i am not getting drawn into the drug debate ) shows what i mean i think .


[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7THIhZEP4QM[/media]

 

[chris-s]

Standing causes the knee a lot more grief. I use to stand a lot, not anymore.

Chris

 

[jefmcg]

On the other side (according to Dr Google), cycling is not a weight bearing exercise (ie does not increase bone mass) unless you stand and pedal sometimes.

Dr G. also advises that it's gentler on the knees than most weight bearing exercises as there is no jarring motion.

fwiw

 

[albion]

That's what I'm wondering.Just maybe it is weight on a bent leg that's the main knee pain inducement.Most likely its a bent leg which simply highlights the inflammation without being the whole cause. Its worth a short, maybe futile experiment.

 

[Albert]

I do a lot of climbing because where I live has a lot of hills and I never do less than 1000 ft of climbing per 10 miles of riding. In my limited experience sitting is less stressful on the body in general and the knees in particular.
If a hill is too steep, get off and push. My lowest gear is 34 - 27 and once things get to 20% for more than 50 yards it is game over for me - and if truth be known - for most people of mature years.

 

[Allirog]

I ride a single speed and if I remain in the saddle when climbing a hill my left knee will start to hurt a little, but if I stand on the pedals and 'honk' my knee feels fine. All those Tour de France riders can't be wrong about the best pedalling technique for getting up a mountain,can they?

 

[lilybY]

Stay seated. I get accustomed to do that, I think it's less stressful to my body.

 

[BSRU]

All those Tour de France riders can't be wrong about the best pedalling technique for getting up a mountain,can they?

The tour riders sit down for climbs, in general only getting out of the saddle if they need to accelerate or they are too tired to remain seated.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I stand up to give my bum a break and if I need a burst of power. Other than that I stay seated.

 

[lulubel]

For me, standing is kinder to my knees than grinding in the saddle when I run out of gears. So, if it's a really steep hill, I'll get out of the saddle before my speed drops too low just to maintain what I find a reasonable cadence. It's taken a bit of practice to develop a rhythm, though. I find it a lot harder to maintain a higher cadence out of the saddle, and it's very tempting to let my speed drop and start grinding.

 

[Fiona N]

My approach too and I often run out of gears so I've found it pays to develop a good standing technique.

When I lived in Switzerland, on my commute to work I'd usually ride the main hill - about 4 km - standing all the way. It develops the strength in the arms and shoulders, which women often don't have, and you learn to get a good rhythm going - why it's called 'dancing on the pedals'

Whether standing or sitting is best for your knees depends on the gearing and what's wrong with your knees. Generally standing out of the saddle will be preferable to grinding while seated on the same gear as using your body weight to push the pedal down means you reduce the shearing across the knee joint that you generate when you're struggling with a gear. This assumes that you stand up with your weight vertically over the forward pedal which usually means moving closer to the handlebars (on steep hills I've knee-d the handlebars) - I have seen people trying to ride with their weight way too far back thus getting the worst of both worlds.

 

[crumpetman]

I started to get a really achy knee after riding single speed (approx 80 inch gear) and found that I was out of the saddle quite a lot. All of those traffic light starts and a few little hills really added up. If I had a easier gear I could have made it up more inclines without getting out of the saddle.

I have since switched to a geared bike and stay in the saddle a lot more and use an easier gear for the hills but still get up and grind for a bit and have found my knee is much, much more comfortable.

 

[Leaway2]

no i am not getting drawn into the drug debate


[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7THIhZEP4QM[/media]

Or the helmet debate, oh no I said it


Oh and I never stand.