Knee problems...

^ No brakes. Trying to do a decent skid stop but still a bit nervous about ‘humping the stem’. Using legs to reduce spin and able to do lots of little hop skidding things…

You started riding fixed brakeless again 4 weeks after a knee reconstruction? Are you normal?

yeah shit dude 4 weeks!!! full reco or arthroscopy?

Sorry make that 6 weeks after surgery and riding now for 4.
I’m a nurse and have a fairly good idea of what I can and can’t do, should and shouldn’t do.
My rehab was perfect and my surgeon was really happy with the results…me too!

I’m not trying to be a hero. I just knew it’d be fine and it has been.

The surgery was laproscopic but they still have to make a decent hole to harvest a hamstring tendon to use as a new ACL.

I usually ride a 70km round trip two to three times a week.

The joint is as tight as a frog’s dotta!!

man i’m envious, they took mine form my patella tendon and i wasn’t right to walk for weeks after mine.

whatta ya know!
after reading this thread, i got knee pains coming home.
im going to raise my seat a bit as i think that might be the culprit

I had knee problems from playing basketball a lot when I was younger (I’m 34). I haven’t had or required reconstruction but it was pretty bad. At times I would be walking and my knee would sort of give way under me and I’d feel a sharp pain.

I knew that cycling was good for the knees and about 5 months ago I bought myself a fixed gear. It came setup with a 48x16. After a couple of weeks of riding I felt that the gearing was too high. I experimented a bit with gearing and settled for a 42x17 setup. I ride regularly and I use my front brakes when I need to slow down. I never do skid stops. I honestly think that riding the fixed gear strengthened my knees or the muscles around it. I haven’t had any knee issues recently.

To summarise, I recommend a fixed gear with low gearing and usage of front brakes.

I got hit by a car about 3 months back (driver didn’t give way while turning right in front of me and I went over the bonnet). Went to hospital with intense knee pain, doctor said no damage that a few days rest couldn’t fix but it hasn’t quite been the same since. Can anyone recommend a good physio somewhere near Northcote?

what he said.

it’s kid of a tradeoff between looking the goods now or being able to walk when you’re 50

When only the best will do… as recommended by a number of (wiser) forum members.

+1. dom briscombe at first place for osteo, dr andrew garnham at alphington sports medicine (VIS cycling doctor), and scooter at impact massage for remedial massage (team fly V massage therapist). these men are responsible for my continuing ability to walk (most days).

Very useful topic as I am suffering some knee trouble on one knee as well and currently seeing my physio about it. Possibly caused by riding different bikes regularly with slightly different setups, running too big a gear on my track bike or hitting the hills hard a while back and ‘tweaking’ it out.

Have had the knee strapped (which seemed to help) and rehab includes extensive stretching (that I’m not so diligent at doing).

One tip: its a good idea to double check that your saddle is set to horizontal properly - I discovered my commuter fixie’s saddle sloped downwards by about 1 cm recently when I plunked a level on top of it for the first time - feels way better now that its adjusted.

Age 43. Years riding fixed - 2.5.

SW

I have had a few knee problems, that come and go, they are more to do with my build than riding fixed, tall skinny and inflexibile. I have had tendonitis in the left knee, and the patellar tracking issue in the right knee.

Speak to a good physio, don’t try to ride through the pain, and do the stretches/exercises is the best advice I can give. I do my routine of stretches 5-6 days a week.

I also ride a fairly low gear and use my front brake to slow and stop. Hope this helps.

My feeling is that riding a brakeless fixed gear is inherently bad for your knees.
On the other hand, if you use a front brake (or front and rear) in conjunction with your fixie, this will solve the problem. Of course, skidding with a high gear is not going to help your knees either.

I put my seat up about 5 mm and it seems to have solved any knee issues i felt. it seems i can spin alot better and everyone feels much more fluid.

Careful not to go too high, else you might fuck up a hip (like I did). It’s all a bit of a balancing act.

yeah, its definitely not enough where im having to reach to the pedal on each rotation, but its just enough so that my legs are extended a bit more. it feels good.

WTF? :wink:

maybe wrong word!
my pedal stroke feels more smooth.

From the guy that doesnt own a fixed gear (and probably never rode brakeless). :evil: