Training & Nutrition - Knee Question

Hey everyone,

So a little bit of history first. I recently bought a fixed gear bike (about 3 weeks ago) and have been doing road rides on it to start getting in shape and losing a little bit of weight etc. I bought it mainly for getting around in Boston, but I'm currently living in CT for the summer. I've been riding between 3 and 5 times a week, distances anywhere from 15-30 miles, so nothing too long, although a decent amount of it is rather hilly, or at least to me it is.

Today on my way back from a 20 mile ride, probably somewhere around mile 15, my knees started to hurt, not terribly bad, but I definitely noticed it. I can't exactly pinpoint where, but its in the front and kind of just feels like they're... overly sore. This is the first time its happened, so I don't think theres any need for a doctor yet, and I've suspected my saddle was a little bit low anyways, so I'm going to adjust that first. However, my bigger fear is my gearing. I've been riding 46x16, and although theres nothing I haven't been able to get up yet, I'm not flying up anything. Does it sound like I'm putting too much force on my knees? In Boston I suspect it would be fine because most everywhere is pretty flat around me, however should I change to something else for the summer and these longer/hillier rides?

Thanks in advance for your help.

-Dan

Fixies are for flat terrain. Hills require gears if you want to save your knees.

Fixies are for flat terrain. Hills require gears if you want to save your knees.

Interesting.


A saddle too low could definitely cause it, as well as just starting to bike a ton of mileage. Your gear inches are around 75 which isn't too outrageous. It is better to spin at a higher cadence than to mash so if your knees continue to ache, you may want to start at something like a 42x16, which is more around 70 gear inches.

There are definitely some disadvantages to not having gears, and one is the stress you put on your knees when the riding is harder.

I had issues on my geared road bike caused by a combination of the saddle being a tad too low, too far back, and a cleat I needed to move outwards. It healed and I commuted for a week on my fixed gear. 3 days into it and the pain resurface in the same knee 10 times worse. I have a decent amount of climbing on my long commutes. I am hereby changing it to a single speed. The chance that riding a FG will trash my knees is not worth it no matter how remote said chance is.
If I still have issues with it as a SS I will add gears. The bike is a salsa casserole. Meaning that it can use gears as well.

Thanks for the responses. I rode a pretty decent length ride yesterday with the saddle adjusted a little higher and it seemed to help. My knees were still a bit sore, but I think Nickel was pretty right on in saying that it may just be a combination of a few things. I'm riding lot more than I ever have before, getting used to a new bike and trying to get the fit right, riding fixed, and may have to adjust my gearing. We'll see what happens. Thanks a lot.

I am in exactly the same position you are. I was riding a road bike for a few months without any trouble, but when I switched to fixed I got excited and started taking long aggressive rides more often. Soon enough my knees started to ache. It probably has a lot to do with the added pressure on hillier terrain, but I think a lot of it has to do with muscle conditioning. After a few weeks my knees are definitely starting to get better.
A common knee soreness a lot of cyclists get is Patello-Femoral Syndrome, here is a linky: http://www.spinalhealth.net/inj-pat.html
There are some exercises listed here that can help develop the muscles around the knee joint, which should help to strengthen it and take some pressure off.