Sore Knees...

McViegh

Just wanted to make sure on the "rule of thumb"...

Sore Knees - Raise the seat height

Sore Ankles - Lower the seat height

John Tserkezis

McViegh wrote:
> Just wanted to make sure on the "rule of thumb"...

> Sore Knees - Raise the seat height

Usually raise the cadance. Never heard of an instance where sore knees were
due to seat height, simply because no-one had their bike geometry _that_ bad
for long enough to cause sore knees.

> Sore Ankles - Lower the seat height

Could mean anything from twisted foot to knees, bowed legs, who knows.

See someone who specialises in the area of bike geometry. It seems your
setup is so far off it needs serious modification.

--
Linux Registered User # 302622 <http://counter.li.org>

Peter

"McViegh" <i_luv_spam@work.org> wrote in message news:4092c093$1@news1...
> Just wanted to make sure on the "rule of thumb"...
>
> Sore Knees - Raise the seat height
>
> Sore Ankles - Lower the seat height
>
>


I found lowering my seat helped prevent my knees from becoming sore. I
guessed with the seat to high and using those shoes that clip in was causing
my legs to stretch rather than just pedal.

I am now getting sore wrists which I have tried silicon gloves and those
horns on the handle bars so I can change grip and lower the RSI risk. This
helps but I am always open to other suggestions.


:-P

McViegh

"Peter" <someone@microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:4092d583$1_1@news.iprimus.com.au...
>
> "McViegh" <i_luv_spam@work.org> wrote in message news:4092c093$1@news1...
> > Just wanted to make sure on the "rule of thumb"...
> >
> > Sore Knees - Raise the seat height
> >
> > Sore Ankles - Lower the seat height
> >
> >
>
>
> I found lowering my seat helped prevent my knees from becoming sore. I
> guessed with the seat to high and using those shoes that clip in was
causing
> my legs to stretch rather than just pedal.
>
> I am now getting sore wrists which I have tried silicon gloves and those
> horns on the handle bars so I can change grip and lower the RSI risk. This
> helps but I am always open to other suggestions.
>
>
> :-P
>
>

Thanks for your reply. But I'm a little bit cautious about taking the advice
of someone that calls Bar Ends "horns".....lol

twojaks

Too many variables here to say, I would look at seat height then the
position of my knee over the pedal axle.
Lack of stretching before and after exercise or micro trauma from heavy
exertion may result in an muscular imbalance.

- to check knee go to your LBS and ask them to check
Or, run a plumb line from the "knob on the front of your knee, below your
knee cap. to the pedal axle when siting on the bike and with the pedals at
the horizontal position. Be sure to be on a flat surface and please hold on
to something - or you'll fall over ;-)

Saddle too far forward or back can make for significant leverage strain on
the knee and voila knee pain.

Failing that, see your GP or a qualified soft tissue injury specialist

MJ



"McViegh" <i_luv_spam@work.org> wrote in message news:4092c093$1@news1...
> Just wanted to make sure on the "rule of thumb"...
>
> Sore Knees - Raise the seat height
>
> Sore Ankles - Lower the seat height
>
>
>

Graeme

"McViegh" <i_luv_spam@work.org> wrote in news:4092c093$1@news1:

> Just wanted to make sure on the "rule of thumb"...
>
> Sore Knees - Raise the seat height
>
> Sore Ankles - Lower the seat height

In the UK at least, the rule of thumb was "sore knee caps - raise the seat.
sore behind the knees, lower the seat" (or maybe it was the other way
around). However, as others have said, it is rarely that simple and such
pain could be caused by a number of factors.


Graeme

McViegh

"twojaks" <twojaks@froggy.com.au> wrote in message
news:dXIkc.6625$TT.4437@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> Too many variables here to say, I would look at seat height then the
> position of my knee over the pedal axle.
> Lack of stretching before and after exercise or micro trauma from heavy
> exertion may result in an muscular imbalance.
>
> - to check knee go to your LBS and ask them to check
> Or, run a plumb line from the "knob on the front of your knee, below
your
> knee cap. to the pedal axle when siting on the bike and with the pedals at
> the horizontal position. Be sure to be on a flat surface and please hold
on
> to something - or you'll fall over ;-)
>
> Saddle too far forward or back can make for significant leverage strain
on
> the knee and voila knee pain.
>
> Failing that, see your GP or a qualified soft tissue injury specialist
>
> MJ
>
>
>

Thanks for your reply. Sounds like I better get down to my LBS!

Roadie_scum

wrote:
> Thanks for your reply. Sounds like I better get down to my LBS!



It's true that the biomechanics of injury on a bike are pretty
complicated, and it's difficult to get good advice from a rule of thumb,
but I'd say by the same token to be wary of the LBS for the same reason.
A lot of them have staff who aren't experts in injury mechanism or
correct setup (naturally... they are salespeople or mechanics). They are
often able to do a 'close enough' setup that feels comfortable to start
of with, but this isn't good enough if you ride at high volume (serious
roadies, MTB), very high stress/force/torsion (serious trackies and some
roadies), or have an underlying problem that needs to be 'babied'.

Consequently, it pays to appraise carefully the expertise and experience
of whoever works out your setup. If you are having real trouble, Emma
Colson, a physio at Olympic Park Sports Med Centre, does video analysis,
but it costs big bucks ($160 for an hour I think). She also puts
together strengthening programs and stuff like that to help sort out
underlying weaknesses and imbalance - a real expert in the area. Other
sports physios should be able to help too, but be wary of the advice of
physios and medicos who aren't well experienced in this area - I
personally have had some terrible advice in this area from physios who
didn't understand the mechanics of pedalling. Bike setup is quite a
specific skill.



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