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My knees freakin HURT

1182 Views 13 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  NardoSS, 
scottzg
I swapped bikes with my buddy a few days ago, he's got a cluster of parts, the important ones being a road crank with the 39t chainring mounted in the big ring position to clear the stays on a 1x9. Bad chainline means you can't go lower than the 26t cog without issues. I cranked this damn thing all over skeggs 3 days ago, and my knees are still killing me. It's not muscle pain, but like the joints themselves, it really hurts to stand from a squat. I have been collecting the last couple parts to build a short travel budget SS, but if this is how it is, screw it.
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Cholopolitan
I've had knee issues for a while now, but SS doesn't make it any worse (touch wood)... If anything, it encourages me to stand more often to get better extension. I also feel like I build more strength in general from SSing.

For the knees, I had been to get the x-ray/ultrasound thing and it was just tendonitis... Ice the f#$k out of your knees.. Hit some anti-inflammation creams.. Ibuprofin... 800 mg on rougher days. But icing and stretching are not to be underestimated.
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Cholopolitan
I've had knee issues for a while now, but SS doesn't make it any worse (touch wood)... If anything, it encourages me to stand more often to get better extension. I also feel like I build more strength in general from SSing.

For the knees, I had been to get the x-ray/ultrasound thing and it was just tendonitis... Ice the f#$k out of your knees.. Hit some anti-inflammation creams.. Ibuprofin... 800 mg on rougher days. But icing and stretching are not to be underestimated.
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CB2
Were you remaining seated? Was that on a 26" bike? If so that's a 39" gear (39x26), pretty low, but if your pushing it seated on a steep climb it could eff you up. That's how I hurt my knee; pushing too big a gear seated.
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Ryan G.
Riding at Skeggs is not the most ideal, done it before. But you did it 3 days in a row, pushing gears on a bike not yours. Hence the knee pain I guess...

Is this your first time on SS? If so build up to it a little, Skeggs is either all up or down :D
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H
I've been messing about a bit with my setup and I can tell you that I cannot move off of a 165 crank or my knees hurt.

Also, I'm one of those weird folks super sensitive to pedal tread (or Q) and if I ride anything even 10 mm wider I have knee pain.

You might look at both those parameters to see if you had a big change...
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zuk88
Stand -up....when I was running 1x9 I had knee problems and found that it was the seated climbing I've been accustomed to for 20 years. When I went SS last month I was worried about knee problems reoccurring. I started to stand on all but the easy climbs(I read it somewhere on here) and haven't had a problem....yet.
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scottzg
Yeah, i did almost all the climbing seated, I'm a big guy and there wasn't enough cockpit to stand and feel ok. It was a 26'er, and i'm the mashing sort anyway, so there wasn't any strength issue, but this morning, 4 days later, my knees still ache.

Maybe i need to build up to it anyway.
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T
Any time you change something it takes time for your muscles and joints to get used to it. Skegg's is perfect single speed territory, especially full rigid. Nice flowing trails, all up and down, not too rocky. Build your single speed but ease into it and don't forget to stand up.

Gearing is important - I run a 32 x 21 on my 29er and Skegg's is my main riding area. (That'd be 32 x 19 on a 26er).
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mrkaztro
Few things for you to ponder

Is this your first time out on a SS?
Are you a gear masher?
Do you have pre-existing injuries?
proper bike fit?

This was your friend's bike and I'm sure that didn't help your cause.

I think that there are a lot of circumstances that can cause knee pain. SS or not. I've been riding a bike for a very long time mostly gearie and my knees have hurt on occasion. I been SS ing for the past 2 months and luckily have not experienced any knee pain.... hmmm.
Go figure!!
Anyway-
I have many injuries from roller blading years ago and am more susceptible to knee pain and (joint pain in general) If I'm not careful. I've learned to be a spinner, I've worked on stretching and strengthening the muscles around the knees and I also take a supplement called Glucosamine. You can find this at any health food/vitamin store. I get it at costco you know the Kirkland brand. I get the Glucosamine with Chondroitin and it ROCKS!!! my joint pain is gone. Funny thing is that when I stop taking it my joints being to feel achy and stiffen up. HERE is some info on the supplement. Good luck and feel better :thumbsup:
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boomn
I concur with the general sentiment here: seated climbing in harder gears is what made my knees (and lower back muscles) sore

I tried SS a year ago and started with a fairly easy gear; but it was too easy and I could get away with sitting and mashing most of the time. This killed my knees. When you are sitting on a bike, your knees are bent and out in front of you as you start the downward stroke. To transfer a strong push to the pedal the power from your core muscles and thighs goes starts going through your knee at a 90deg angle and uses your knee joint to leverage the power downward. This isn't really a problem if you can spinning a bit faster in an easier gear as you aren't pushing as hard on each stroke.

Standing and mashing is a natural power position that transfers your effort straight down with less leverage on your joints IMHO. Maybe if you have thin or damaged cartilage between the bones it could still be a problem, but as far as ligaments and muscles go it seems much better for mashing, again IMHO.

I have been riding SS only for the last few months but with a gear that is 2 to 4 teeth harder (now using 32x18 with plenty of climbing). I stand a lot now and my knees feel great! They feel strong, they don't get sore, and I don't get pains walking around the next day.
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tg
Try this

22 toother works great on my 29er in CO. Your knees will thank you. :thumbsup:

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scottzg said:
Yeah, i did almost all the climbing seated, I'm a big guy and there wasn't enough cockpit to stand and feel ok. It was a 26'er, and i'm the mashing sort anyway, so there wasn't any strength issue, but this morning, 4 days later, my knees still ache.

Maybe i need to build up to it anyway.
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Well, doh!:) That'd tear up anyone's knees! Gear it down, get a proper SS frame, STAND on it, watch the knee pain go away. Ice/Ibuprofen/rest/repeat.:thumbsup:
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G
scottzg said:
It's not muscle pain, but like the joints themselves, it really hurts to stand from a squat. I have been collecting the last couple parts to build a short travel budget SS, but if this is how it is, screw it.
Click to expand...
SS is NOT for you. If something hurts in a bad way then STOP. :eek:ut:
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