Out2Ride

42 years young and I had surgery almost a year ago, last June (a Hamstring ACL reconstruction with a meniscus repair). Almost a year later and recovery has been slow. As almost a year later and I am unable to manuever up and down stairs; without going up and down one at a time. It turns out my muscles have shut off on the left side (quads and left glute).

My Ortho has switched me to a more specialized therapist back in January, and she is definitely getting me further than I have ever been. She has me now on a stationary bike and I told her maybe I'll buy an excercise bike for home. I looked around a bit, and thought to myself why not just buy a real bike.

The last bike I had was as a child; it was a used "chopper" bike. So looked around a bit. I looked at a Great Roam1, Fuji Absolute 1.0 (online), and a Trek DS. The Great was to tall in their 17, no Fuji LBS, but the Trek DS 8.2 felt great. I Pick up my Trek DS 8.4 this Saturday, as they only had the 8.2 put together and in the shop to try.

I am so looking forward to this, the test ride felt great, with the exception of stepping on with the bad leg; quickly changed that to the good leg. I am hoping this will help build my quads and my dead glute.

How do you DS owner's like yours? Anything I need to know up front, other than bikes actually have gears; as my chopper did not . lol

Thanks for any input on this new venture of mine. Looking forward to getting into riding; can't wait to go out this Saturday...Then Maybe do some riding with my wife and kids.

zerogravity

I too had ACL replacement. My DS helped strengthen my right leg enough that i can now walk and run up stairs. If i decide to play sports again like Football or Basketball, i will have to fork out $1500 for a custom brace. The DS is a better investment i think. WHat is great about riding in general is that is is low impact compared to running and walking on your joints. What you need is to strengthen your muscles while allowing your joints to heal. Good move on the DS!

Out2Ride

That what I was thinking; thanks for the input...

Ironhand

I had ACL, MCL, and meniscus repair on my right knee when I was 16, 25 years ago. I was one of the last patients who had the old-style repair, complete with 12" scars down both sides of my knee, as well as circular scars below my knee from the arthroscope. Even though I was 16 and in pretty good shape it still took over 1 year to bounce back, and even then not completely. I still have about 3 degrees of motion missing from being to straighten my knee, lost reflexes and numbness around the joint, and it kept me out of the Armed Forces when I tried to enlist at 19 years old. I finally put away my cane almost a year after the motorcycle crash that nearly killed me, and limped for a total of 18 months.


Good on you for using low-impact exercise for rehabilitation! Get back as much range of motion as you can, but don't push your knee too far.

Big Man Dan

Congrats on the 8.4DS, nice choice! I bought a Trek 8.5DS last month and love it. Only modifications I made were adding Bontrager bar ends (https://www.bontrager.com/model/02558 wide & nice), a Serfas RX-921V saddle (https://www.serfas.com/products/view/173/refererroducts%7Cindex%7Csaddles%7Crx-saddles) and some Shimano MTB pedals that are wide for my big feet (https://bike.shimano.com/publish/cont..._mountain.html).

I found the stock seat on my 8.5DS to be uncomfortable for my big frame, especially any ride over 7-8 miles. The Serfas RX saddle is very comfortable, no more discomfort. The Bontrager bar ends are a great addition and give me another hand position or two. Love the Shimano pedals, no slip at all with my tennis shoes, even after walking through wet grass. Just my two cents with my experiences on my DS, hope you have great experiences!

WC89

My Trek 8.4 DS will be a yr old this August. After some minor changes (added clipless pedals, new saddle, bar-ends, changed to 700X40 semi-slicks) and 1 major change (changed out hydraulic DBs for mechanical DBs), I love it for serious fitness riding that I do twice a wk, 12 months a yr, mostly on the road, sometimes on gravel Rails-to-Trail trails. I think the 8.4 is a serious bike. It is fast but not uncomfortable. So far, not once have I used the granny ring or the largest cog (32 tooth) that it came with (and I climb some tough, steep hills on the road) but other than that, the gearing is just fine for me. A SOLID MULTI-PURPOSE BIKE!
Oh yeah! I ride w/ meniscus tears in both knees (cannot be surgically repaired) but haven't been a major problem so far.

brandini

This was pretty cool:

Mlas

I tore my ACL, meniscus and some cartilage in my left knee on July 4. I had pain and difficulty walking for a few weeks, went to ortho, MRI etc. Was all set for surgery Aug 23 but it just stopped hurting...period. Because of the cartilage tear it was going to cost me 4 months out of work, so both the doctor and I decided that we didn't see fixing something that wasn't bothering me. I'm going to reevaluate it again in a few months, but in the meantime need to get in better shape than my 5'8" 235.

Bought a 2013 Trek 8.4DS last Monday and so far I'm loving it. I'm up to about 60 miles already. I don't enjoy walking, so I got this as an alternative and so far it's been a great way to exercise if I can just get it fitted correctly so I can ride pain free. Good luck on the ACL.

Whiteknight

In 1975 I tore the ACL in my left knee at work. Used a bicycle to go from one end of the factory to the other. ACL repair in 1977. Post op rehab can be tough. That rehab exercises must be done every day after you are released from PT. I have big scars on my leg from the old method of surgery. Had problems with scar tissue buildup. Nursed the leg by carrying most of my weight on the other leg. Used the other leg more in walking when it came to forward thrust.
By 1990 the left knee had gone degenerative. Muscle weakness. Then started falling to my left. Left wrist now held together with a plate and several screws.
By 1994 I was having trouble walking. Ortho guy said get a bicycle. Took his advice. Started with a Trek Navigator. Now ride mainly the Trek Multitrack. A good day on the bike is 60 miles. A short day is 40 miles. With the bike you work the knee without impact damage to the joint tissue. Knee now no longer gives me problems and I am 71 years old. Had I not taken up the bike I'd be walking with a cane.

If I sit for long periods of time the knee stiffens up. When it snows I use the exercycle in the house. I limit the amount of standing pedaling. Use the gears to the max in dealing with hills.

When I sit I work the left leg. Lifting the lower part of the leg to work the muscles that support the knee. Working the knee without impact helps keep the joint tissue healthy.

I still ride with platform pedals. I tried clip pedals and my left knee cap did not like that at all. Lifting the pedal puts a lot of pressure on the rear face of the knee cap. Degenerate tissue on it. Irritated the joint and had to go back to platform pedals.