There may be some truth to the other posts but the real reason is that when you walk or climb stairs you are using the same and different muscles in your legs and ass in different ways than they are used to while riding a bike. As a result their energy requirements are different and greater. Case and point, I am in Breckenridge, CO right now and I climbed 2 peaks today on foot. I traveled about 10 miles and acended more than 2500ft vertically over that 10 miles. I normally ride my MTB about 100 miles a week. When I was done with my hiking today I was wiped out and my legs were jello. I almost fell several times during my descents because my thighs were shaking. It is actually ironic that you created this thread today.Rachel_w said:
running up stairs is not hard on the knees, compared to many athletic activities. deep squats might be the hardest on the knees, or overgeared hill climbs on the bike.nugsfan said:
Running up is not the problem, its coming back down that puts the stress on your knees as your bracing. A stairmaster workout is much healthier for your knees however you tend to hit muscle failure doing this which means a longer recovery period before your legs have any oomph for other activity.velomanct said:
