Originally Posted by
pannierpacker
Thanks for the advice everyone. For those suggesting time off of the bike, please keep in mind that I don't use a car and that my bike is my primary vehicle for getting to work and everywhere else.
Also question:
What is spinning? Is that just running at high RPMs?
Also I have biopace chainwheels. Is that making this worse or better?
I think Bio Pace is better for me, and in general, kind of designed for "cruising" at a steady cadence. Not that beneficial for a lot of stop & go.
Supposedly, the arms are the slowest 6 & 12 O' clock. That means your leg isn't changing directions quite as rapidly, so your foot is less likely to come off the pedal at the top of the stroke. (or spin faster before it does)
Since you have to ride your bike, I'd suggest just taking it easy and avoid mashing. If it takes you more time to get where you're going, so what.
when I went to my 160MM cranks from the 170's, I forgot to raise my seat the necessary 20MM to compensate.
I went for a 10 mile test run to check out the cranks,. After about a mile or so I realized I'd forgotten to raise the seat. Instead of heading home to fix it, I figured "big deal", I'll do it when I finish the ride.
I was a bit carried away, trying to set new spinng speeds and basically "hammered" my knees. I was still pushing down hard and ran out of stroke.
Anyway, I had knee pain for about 2 weeks and was really getting concerned. I don't have a car either, so I'm in the same boat. I just backed off and kind of took the "enjoy the ride" approach and things are OK now.
So, just take it easy and don't worry about setting any cadence records. Keep to a lower gear and just worry about getting there. Don't be "macho" about it!
BTW, one of the best investments I made was a $12 computer. I discovered I was actually a bit faster in a lower gear and spinning a bit faster. That taught me that just because you are pushing harder, doesn't necessarily mean you are going faster.