A Newbie - 3 Questions

klia said:

Dear ForumReaders,

Thinking about buying a bicycle, I have some questions in mind, please, be so kind as to answer them, either or all, if you can and have some minutes for them.

The first concerns the length of a bike (supposed it’s a 26” one): It seems for me that bicycles differ in length and so I’d like to know what I should take into consideration when choosing one – what to measure? This is all the more a question for me, as I’ve read one must choose a bike depending on the person’s height (e.g. an iron horse with a 54-55cm high crossbar if (s)he is, say, 165cm tall), while in fact at the detailed websites here, there isn’t a single word on this latter topic, either..

As next, here’s a more general question: what kind of bike should I choose if I wish to have as little charging/strain on my knees as possible?

Finally, I ’d like to ask which activity means more strain for the knees, biking or skating? (If you can’t answer this last one, never mind, I’ve just thought I can give it a try 🙂 )

Thank you beforehand.

Cheers,

Klia

1) Go to a bike store in your area and they should size you up properly, this isn't something you have to do yourself, other than provide feedback to the shop about the bikes you try and how they feel.

2) When you get a bike and get it properly fit, you shouldn't have knee issues. If you use clipless pedals (where a cleat on your shoes clips into the pedal), having these adjusted properly means no strain on knees. Also certain pedals have more float which arguable mean less strain on knees.

3) Each can have strain on knees, I played hockey when I was younger and never noticed strain on my knees. But I've biked and never noticed it either (but have heard of knee issues for some people).

Good luck.

1) Absolutely, check out the local bike shop. Even if you don't end up buying there, they can certainly help you size. Keep in mind that the 26" measurement is wheel circumference, and fairly standard. You're looking for the measurement from the center of the bottom bracket (center of the big chain ring) to the center of the top tube where it touches the seat tube.

2) I compeletely agree with noonievut on this one - but to help you out - the Speedplay models typically have the most float of any of them. I use them myself and love them. The Shimano SPD models or similar usually have the least float, and unless you're actually fitted using some kind of RAD technology, you're going to have problems 9 times out of 10 on SPDs.

3) Skating, because your knees have to have a greater range of motion. In cycling, it's just up and down, not side to side at all.