Recumbent bike harder on knees than upright?

This question related to stationary exercise bikes. I bought a recumbent bike a few moinths back and
have noticed that I seem to have developed some mild knee pain which I didn't have before when I was
using my road bike indoors on a wind trainer.

Are recumbent bikes known to be harder on the knees due to the pedaling position (legs more 'in
front', relative to body mass, vs. legs below you on an upright) or perhaps it's just the model I
have (Proform 965R)? I've tried adjusting the seating position (fore and aft) and it doesn't make
much difference. I wonder if I should sell it and go back to the wind trainer or buy an upright
instead. I don't want to permanently injure my knees. Thanks.

 

"Plin321" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> This question related to stationary exercise bikes. I bought a recumbent
bike a
> few moinths back and have noticed that I seem to have developed some mild
knee
> pain which I didn't have before when I was using my road bike indoors on a
wind
> trainer.
>
> Are recumbent bikes known to be harder on the knees due to the pedaling position (legs more 'in
> front', relative to body mass, vs. legs below you
on an
> upright) or perhaps it's just the model I have (Proform 965R)? I've tried adjusting the seating
> position (fore and aft) and it doesn't make much difference. I wonder if I should sell it and go
> back to the wind trainer
or buy
> an upright instead. I don't want to permanently injure my knees. Thanks.

Make sure the seat is far enough back, and SPIN.

Pete

 

Make sure that your knees follow a straight pathway on the power stroke and don't bend in towards
the center (or outward). This is a common fault in pedaling technique on all types of bikes and
leads to extra wear on the outside (or inside) edge of the kneecap cartilage. An aid to avoiding
this for some riders may be the LeWedge Pedal Shims, formerly known as "Big Meat Wedges", by LeMond
Fitness. They are designed for cleated pedals, but I've made my own version for personal use from
wood and fiberglass, to fit on standard pedals that have toe straps. They've made a great difference
in eliminating my knee pain and regressive damage. Here's a webpage that explains this and offers a
mailorder source for them:

http://www.cambriabicycleoutfitters.com/pedals/big_meat_pedal_wedges.htm

Steve McDonald

 

Thanks, Steve. I think that might have been the problem - I was bowing my legs out a bit while
pedalling on the recumbent, whereas on an upright doesn't really allow you to do so. I think I'm
naturally somewhat bowlegged, which may have also contributed to pain while hiking (esp downhill).

I've since made a conscious effort to keep the pedalling path straight and the pain seems to have
diminished.

>Make sure that your knees follow a straight pathway on the power stroke and don't bend in towards
>the center (or outward). This is a common fault in pedaling technique on all types of bikes and
>leads to extra wear on the outside (or inside) edge of the kneecap cartilage. An aid to avoiding
>this for some riders may be the LeWedge Pedal Shims, formerly known as "Big Meat Wedges", by LeMond
>Fitness. They are designed for cleated pedals, but I've made my own version for personal use from
>wood and fiberglass, to fit on standard pedals that have toe straps. They've made a great
>difference in eliminating my knee pain and regressive damage. Here's a webpage that explains this
>and offers a mailorder source for them:
>
>http://www.cambriabicycleoutfitters.com/pedals/big_meat_pedal_wedges.htm
>
>Steve McDonald

 

hi steve. could you give me detais on how you made your wood\fiberglass shims. i don´t clip in and i think this could help my knees. like where they go on the pedals, etc. i think my problem is knees going inward when i pedal up hills. thanks. casey