They also mention toe out as a possible source of knee problems which may or may not apply to the OP. I have that particular problem myself and had to get a pair of these to accommodate my posture. Since my right foot points outward more than the other I only use the right side one. If that is the problem your knees will grind when you're trying to keep your feet straight. A good LBS usually can fit cleats for that kind of issue if you make an appointment with them for it. If you walk and stand with toe out, you will ride with toe out.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=331565

As far as fast cadence goes it's also good for building up your cardiovascular and it might take some time to get accustomed to it if you haven't ridden for awhile. But some people, like myself, like riding at the higher cadence and I personally last longer at a faster pace at it.

Being a heavier rider and doing lots of climbing I have always been concerned with keeping the knees healthy. I have big feet anf toe-out so I use Kneesavers, an extension/spacer which moves the pedal away from the crankarm. I have over 160,000 miles on road bikes and I always use clipless pedals for everything.

I spin low gears a lot but sometimes mash a bit. Of course, when I'm grinding up a steep grade the cadence will slow but training the knees has allowed me to do that for years.

I would avoid squats, but if you want to do them, don't go too deep or do them with a lot of weight. Spin and smooth out your spin as much as you can and you can mash big gears when you need to later. It takes time for the knees to adapt to the rigors of climbing but you may find you're O.K. pushing big gears after a time.

Some riders can use a much higher gear than others wil no ill effect but the best advice is to spin for now and give the joints some time to adapt.

The squats were just a thought. I am going to search the web for leg/knee strengthening exercises and stretches. I know stretching is good for any sport or exercise.

After I was done riding I packed the bike up and walked to go to the bathroom, it totaled about three quarters of a mile there and back. On the way I thought walking like this after a ride would be a good cool-down idea, instead of just getting in my car and driving off letting my legs stiffen up.
As far as raising up the seat post so my legs are straight when I ride my post is at the limit mark. I looked at angled seat posts and was wondering if one would help. I was experimenting today by sitting far back on my set which straightened my legs.

Hey, Miles, I see you are in Ann Arbor as well. If you want another set of eyes on your position and setup, I'd be willing to take a look.

I'm also looking for some more riding opportunities. I'm experienced, but not fast.

Your legs are NOT supposed to be straight at the bottom of the pedal stroke when riding. If they are, your seat is too high. For people like you, and to adopt a higher cadence like you are trying to do, a slightly lower seat is definitely better than too high.

Se if you can hook up with Road Fan who I am sure can give you some excellent pointers.

I think you need to ride more,take up a middle day,you don't need 5 days off.

Moving your saddle back by whatever method has the side effect of increasing the distance from your butt to the bottom of the pedal stroke. You need to adjust your saddle downward to compensate. If you remember high-school trigonometry, especially the Pythagorean Theorem, you can figure out how much vertical adjustment for a given horizontal adjustment.

But, while I do play with saddle forward/backward, my guess is that you don't need to at this point.

Fitting a bicycle has a lot of variables. Correct fit corresponds to a small range of values of the variables. It's really easy to get lost in that thicket if you don't proceed in a logical way making one change at a time and allowing your body to acclimate to each one.

As far as buying things like Kneesavers or setback seat posts, those (along with a million other gadgets) are designed to solve specific problems. They might lead you into other problems as well. If you don't know what problem you are trying to solve, don't reach for the charge card yet.

+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1

Which should cover every point you made, including the one, essentially, to keep it simple and focused.

In yoga poses like warriors and lunges it is very important to never let the knee travel in front of the ankle. This will put a lot of stress on the knee. Also it is ok to do warriors and lunges with a short stance until the muscles get strong enough that you can take the longer stances with no problems. Remember to always listen to your body.

I think that the op has received great information and taking shorter rides and easy rides for a few week will be very helpful.

Thanks, Jim, I forgot you are doing Hatha or Iyengar as well. I think the warriors combined with a few weeks of carrying stuff up and down stairs lead to me having this problem. That raised my overall stressing past the level I am conditioned to based on cycling and a few hours of Iyengar each week.

I'm really careful about overbending my knee in yoga. I think you're right, I should shorten my stance and not go beyond a vertical lower leg, to reduce the kneecap stresses.

You mentioned that
a. You are 5'11"
b. Your bike has an 18" frame and
c. Your seatpost is at the limit mark.
This suggests to me that you are riding a bike with a frame that is too small for you.
I am also 5'11" and my frames are 22" and 56cm and I have around 4-5" of seatpost showing above the frame.
Perhaps your next ride should be to a local bike shop and ask what size bike they would recommend for someone your size.
Just a thought.

If your planning on going big miles you really want to think about cleats, pulling up on every stroke is critical to a well rounded, muscle balanced leg...knee
If you only push down you only develop half the leg,pulling up will develop the other half of the leg, I know, broad brush stroke but hopefully you get the point.
Seat position is critical
Slowly warming up the muscles helps, keeping the knees warm helps, the knees have no blood circulation, if wet or cold they just keep loosing heat, the number of riders I see with coats on in cold weather(65 and below) and bare knees is indicative of ?, just can't comprehend that kind of obtuseness;)

I would think you'd need to know the OPs inseam and the standover height of his particular bike before you could come to that conclusion?

Really? There should not be any angular articulation of the leg from the knee down during any pedal stroke which will cause twisting stress on the ankle and the knee.

Huh?

My knee issue is a 50+ issue :(

Sorry, didn't mean to be personal. I had a similar injury in my 40s. I DO have more knee discomfort now that I'm 60, but it's still not strictly an age thing. At least according to someone who knew what hurt but is not a doctor.

But we do have a thread for training, which addresses training injuries.

At the same time, Rowan has already explained to me that I should not get too picky about thread content, and I agree with him.

But, should I call my congestion and runny nose a 60+ ailment?

Can you describe "angular articulation?" This phrase suggests to me several different motions, and I don't know quite what you mean.

Is "angular articulation" ok if you do not let it twist the ankle or knee?

If ankles cannot be permitted to twist, why don't riders with floating clip-ons or who ride toeclips without cleats have massive knee pain and injuries?

I really think the key is spinning more. 85+ and you'll be a lot better off.

+1. I've got a bum lateral meniscus / Osteoarthritis in my right knee, and keeping my revs high is the only thing that keeps me rolling.

+1 +1 I've had arthroscopic surgery on both knees and diagnosed arthritis in my right knee. When I told my orthopedic surgeon I was planning on doing weight lifting he quickly responded "Do NOT do any heavy knee exercises; squats, quad extensions, lunges. It will accelerate your arthritis....permanently"

Yes, that's starting to soak in for me. When I started riding a few weeks ago I thought more power (pressure), less spinning was the answer. One way to explain sort how I thought about was kind of like when you swing a bat at a baseball and miss it takes more power than if you make contact (so I've heard). Pedaling faster felt like I was waisting energy. I thought I was going to wear out my legs faster pedaling so much. I certainly don't believe in "no pain, no gain". My new slogan is "Ride well to ride another day".

Think of it this way: Power is what it take to propel the bike. Power is computed from torque (pedal pressure) and rpm (cadence). You can produce the same power with high pedal pressure (high torque) and a lower cadence, or lower pedal pressure and higher cadence. Lower pedal pressure is not only easier on your knees, you will be able to go further as well.

At 5' 11", for somebody to be on a 18" frame (46cm), they would have to use a freakishly long stem. They could not have long legs or the seatpost would not go high enough. I'm 6' and a 56cm frame will typically just barely allow me to ride it if I raise the seatpost right to the max. A 56cm frame is a pretty good size for most people around 5' 11". To ride a 46cm frame....well...I say no. No way is somebody 5' 11" riding a 18" frame. Pictures and video or it didn't happen :). And if it did....BLOW MY MIND (said like Kramer).
You don't need to know the inseam to know that a 46cm bike would only allow the seat post to be raised enough to accomodate a 5' 11" person -ONLY IF THEY HAD SHORT LEGS. My wife is 5' 7" and rides a 50 or 52cm bike (I forget which). For somebody 5' 11" to ride a 46cm bike....they would HAVE to have short legs, or they might sit way down low, I guess. Put a stingray seat on it :). Then their long torso would require a crazy long stem. So I just don't see it and think the OP simply must be somehow mistaken. Perhaps the bike is not 18". Maybe he's not 5' 11". lol