General Cycling Discussion - The newbie has questions

Hi all :) I wasn't sure which forum to post in so I figured I'd take my chances in the 'general' area...

I have a ladies (girly) step-thru Trek 7200 hybrid that I ride pretty much every day and I usually put in a minimum of ten miles; More if I go more places like the store or whatever.

I'm noticing some pain in my knees which is beginning to bother me. I've been trying to challenge myself on hills but not so much that I overdo it. I have moved my saddle up 4 times now and I have it in the forwardmost position. So I'm not sure what other adjustments I should make or if I'm just having knee pain because I've only been doing this consistently for a month. Ideas?

I'm noticing even more pain in my wrists, especially the right one. I think maybe I'm pulling on it (the right wrist) too much when I mount my bike and when I go up hills. I've been trying to relax my grip and my upper body on the inclines but it's just so natural to want to pull while you're going up. So what do I do to ease the wrist thing?

And this might be just a touch off topic but how are these jerseys supposed to work? The material is supposed to wick moisture away from the skin, right? Well, the material dries fast but my skin is not dry at all. What gives?

Thanks for all the help - I'm really looking forward to hearing your advice because I enjoy biking very much except for the 'being in pain' part.

Re: Knee pain,
Are you using clipless peds (Looks, SPD's, Speedplays)? Or just platform pedals?

I found that lowering the saddle slightly helped reduce the amount of knee pain I was getting while riding. Ensuring that you are not over extending your leg is one of many tips on keeping the knee problems at bay. As far as your wrist pain, you are probably very close on the causes. Too much pressure on the arms instead of the sit bones/saddle will yield pain in the wrist. Being that you are on a hybrid I can't see too much of a reason where you'd be putting extra pressure on them though - in comparison to a road bike anyways. A forum search will likely yield lots and lots of threads on these kinds of problems, with even more very good tips and solutions that you may consider.

Make sure the saddle isn't too far forward. Someone posted a great example, stand straight in the middle of the room. Squat down. You keep youself balanced over your feet. Now try it with your butt against the wall. Either you support yourself on your hands, or you fall over on your face. The saddle being too far forward is like having the wall there, your weight is centered too far forward leading to more weight on your wrists.

The knees definitely sound like you're in too high a gear, especially since you said you're challenging yourself on hills. To climb hills at a faster speed, pedal faster in a low gear, don't pedal harder in a high gear. The harder you push, the harder it is on your knees. It'll take a little getting used to to pedal really fast but you'll find it easier on your body in the long run.

Can't help you on wicking fabrics... My polyester shirts feel a lot better wet than cotton shirts, and they dry faster... but I sweat like an ice cube in a blast furnace, I am always soaked if it's warm out.

I'm not using clipless pedals, Bikepacker67, but instead Power Grips (http://www.ekosport.com/pg_benefits.shtml) . I just installed them this weekend but so far I really like them.

As for saddle height, I read that you were supposed to adjust until you could fully extend your leg with the heel of your foot on the peddle. Reasoning was that when you pedal with the ball of your foot, your knee will be bent the right amount. That's what I did but maybe I went too far. I will try lowering it just a tad to see if it helps.

Thanks for the help so far :) I'll keep at it until I get it dialed in.

Try using lower gears and pedaling faster to get up the same speed you are riding now. See what that does for your knee and wrist pain.

General guidelines.... Knee pain in the front of the knee, over the patella, generally means hyperflexion. (Your knee is bending too much.) Raise the saddle slightly, and/or move it to the rear.

Pain in the back means hyperextension, that is you are moving too close to being "locked out". Lower the saddle slightly, and/or forward. For a ballpark measure on the saddle fore-and-aft distance, a plumb line dropped from the little bony process at the bottom of your knee should fall through the center of the pedal axle when the pedals are level. There are lots of good sites with setup advice, including Park Tool.

Actually it's the other way around. Pain in front means the saddle's to far back or too low. Pain in the rear of the knee means it's too far forward or too high.

Ellen, sounds like you've got the height just fine, knee-pain isn't as sensitive to height as it is to fore-aft adjustment. You can have a +/- 0.5" adjustment in height from where you are now with the heel on the pedal and it should work fine. However, use the plumb-bob test of dangling a string from the front of your patella. It should fall through the pedal axle with the crank-arm aimed forwards and horizontal with the ground. I suspect your seat is too far back. Typically having the seat too far forward causes less knee pain than having it too far back.

Also check your pedaling motion and gearing. You should be exerting even pressure on the pedals all the way around, not just on the down-stroke. And use easy gears, you should never feel yourself pushing on the pedals, instead, you should feel like your feet have to continually catch up to the pedals.