Originally Posted by Jose Cuervo
When I started riding fixed my knees were a little sore and tired at first but it just took time to build up stamina and I got pretty used to it. I do have pretty bad knees as it is from skateboarding for many years and riding a fixed gear definately doesn't help (I just hope i don't regret it in 10 years from now).
I do occasionally take Glucosamine Sulphate. It is used for the maintenance and regeneration of healthy cartilage in joints. There's lots of info on it out there. I would do some research first though to see if it's right for you.
I don't wanna be a party pooper and I am certainly no authority on fixed riding (I'm more SS) but I'd say just don't ignore your knees (or any other body part that hurts!). I had only sporadic minor soreness for years but when I started heading for 40 my knees went south pretty fast. I am still riding but I gotta push low gears now. I think what killed me was too much sit/spin on long hills, pushing a 3:1 or even 2.5:1 with too much crap in my bag (and around my gut
).
Bottom line - yes, do the RICE thing and supplements if they help but try to balance hills/gears/honking/twaddling. Be nice to your knees and hopefully you'll feel a lot better about them in 20 yrs!