Did another 2 hour ride this morning with gregoradon. I really need to do something about the knees. And purchasing a second knee brace, while a good start, would not be sufficient =)
Stretching before doing such things, and yoga may help.
<sigh>
Getting a word in edgewise
Did another 2 hour ride this morning with gregoradon. I really need to do something about the knees. And purchasing a second knee brace, while a good start, would not be sufficient =)
Stretching before doing such things, and yoga may help.
<sigh>
Check your seat position, man. You tend to ride too high, and that will mess up your knees as quickly as riding too low. This may not be the problem, but if it is, then all the stretching and braces in the world won’t fix it.
Amen. Also, if you’re using a pair of clipless pedals, you may want to trade them in for some with more float.
No clipless pedals, but “float”? Ie freedom for you foot to float free from the pedal? =)
Thanks for the advice. Do you have any sort of objective metric I can use for “too high”, “too low” and “just right”?
There exists a metric, but I don’t know it offhand. Right before the GMG, I went to a pretty hardcore bikeshop where they watched me pedal and adjusted my seat in various ways. I remember a little from that conversation, but you should look for someone who actually knows what s/he is doing.
That said:
Only the ball of your foot should be on the pedal. I would seriously consider having cages installed on your pedals to keep you honest about this. I was petrified of these, but Biker Len at the Burly Bike Shop really pushed them and I agreed to give them a try. They are easy to use, and you get used to putting your feet in and taking them out really quickly. They are inexpensive, and keep your feet positioned correctly on the pedals while also allowing you to get a little power out of the upstroke. This evens out your pedalstroke and is easier on the knees.
To determine how high your seat should be, have someone watch you ride. If your hips are moving at all your seat is too high. If your knees are hitting your chin or something, it’s too low. You will tend to err high, so don’t worry too much about too low.
To determine how far back your seat should be:
When your pedals are at the same distance from the street, you want your forward kneecap to be directly above the center of the forward pedal. The pink line in the drawing represents a plumb line from kneecap to pedal. In the drawing, the kneecap is too far forward. It should intersect at the center of the pedal. The drawing also shows a rider who sits too high. I am it turns out not a talented user of PAINT.
