Ada Ma said:biking is very heavy on the knees as well.
Nope, it isn't.
It is common practice nowadays to awake from knee reconstruction surgery
to find your affected leg strapped into a bike style device so that you
can exercise and retain mobility *without* injury to the knee.
I have had major knee work - bone grafts, ligaments replaced, cartilage
repaired etc., and they had me using a stationary (reclining) bike the
same afternoon that I had surgery. It was my major form of physiotherapy
for several weeks after the surgery.
It comes back to doing it properly. You have to adjust the saddle height
so that the fulcrum effect varies within an acceptable, non-injurious
range, also you have to start with a very low load. If the saddle is too
high, all effort is nearly straight down, if it is too low, you are
putting excessive pressure (leverage) on the knee. The distance between
the saddle position and the crank is also important, so it is vital to
have a bike that is designed for your height/leg length. Using a bike
designed for a shorter/taller person and adjusting the saddle height
will not compensate for the difference in size.
If you get a bike that is the correct size, begin to train slowly, and
don't overdo things, riding can be a very effective, safe and enjoyable
form of exercise.
One thing that I have often noticed with new riders is that they join a
group of more experienced riders and try to keep up. This is *not* a
good thing, you will injure yourself and turn a pleasurable form of
exercise into a form of torture.
Regards
David
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