Originally Posted by
milesofsmiles
I looked around here a bit but didn't find a thread about knee health, conditioning or the like. I am 54 and just got back into biking (after about 35 years) a couple of weeks ago. I know my knees aren't the greatest and I don't want to hurt them more. I rode last weekend and started feeling pain in my right knee while riding. I ride a mountain bike and have had some trouble with keeping the seat at the right height, I think I solved the problem. I know when I have knee pain wrapping it with a bandage helps a lot. I plan on doing that tomorrow when I ride. I know it will take some time to get my legs in shape and I have to keep from over working them. I am trying to avoid too many hills right now and making sure (learning) the right gear to be in on what ever ground I am riding.
So I was wondering what riders here of any age do to keep there knees and legs in shape, keep from straining them. Right now I only ride on the weekends so I have time to rest my legs/knees.
Slipping seat post, the cure is to swap out the quick release for a standard bolt, unless you do some really technical mountain biking, the only thing the QR does is make it easier for some low life to steal your seat and seat post. Another thing, you can try, pull the seat post out, wipe it down with a rag dampened in degreaser, add a very thin layer of grease to keep the post from rusting into the frame, then reinsert it. If you have a carbon fibre frame or seat post, there is a special stuff you can get from bike shops to use instead of grease for this.
Bike fit, is an involved process, of using measurements and special tools to get the bicycle dialed in to the rider. This can get expensive, especially if they need to swap out parts like seatposts and stems to get it right.
For gearing, a bicycle computer with cadence is a good investment, your shooting for 80-95 RPM. If you get below 80, you down-shift, if you get above 95, you up-shift. This range is really the human power band, after a while you learn to go by feel and you can ignore the cadence. I have the computer with cadence on the mountain bike, because I am more likely to need it on the mountain bike.
You really should try to get in at least one mid-week ride. What I do, the night before I set up my gear, bike clothes ready, shoes at the door, bottles in the fridge, tires inflated, set the alarm an hour earlier then usual. Hop out of bed with the alarm, change, grab the bottles, and go.
I ride by the clock, so if I normally get up at 7 and set the alarm for 6, to get in a ride, then I want to be pulling into the driveway at 7. Yeah I know that will often mean needing lights a good part of the year. When I get back, I head to the shower and start my usual day. When you only ride on weekends, the muscles, tendons and ligaments get to stiffen up during the week, and you never really get to improve. Adding a mid-week ride means your getting a ride in before they can stiffen up.