Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
My 64 year old knees would strongly protest if I stood on the pedals to accelerate from a stop light, or to power up a hill like I used to. Years ago I finally decided to gear down and stay in the saddle, my knees rarely protest like they used to. But if you are young and have not blown out your knees yet, keep trying to win the race by gaining a few seconds here and a few seconds there.
Getting out of the saddle is not always about bursts of speed. It is also about torque to get up really steep inclines, give your tushy a rest, syretch out leg muscles, and to keep your balance over rough patches. And while good knees is a pre-requite, it is not enough. Torso strength is also implicated. But you already know this...