Lombard

No, they implode.

livedarklions

I should probably start out by being clear that I'm agreeing with you because that almost never happens.

SS is great for the people it's great for. Whenever the issue of knees comes up, people always start posting as if self-selection is not a real thing. For example, I get asked why if bicycling isn't rough on the knees, why do so many cyclists develop knee problems? Totally ignores the fact that people with bad joints generally are going to prefer bicycling as a fitness activity over running, etc. I got into bicycling very young because I have bad ankles and it doesn't stress them.

Lombard

Maybe that's one reason why we ride multi-geared bikes. Don't put the cart before the horse.

wolfchild

It's great that pushing big gears works for you...I myself prefer to ride lower gear and spin more. With SS I need a gear ratio which allows me to climb some hills and still be able to maintain a reasonable pace when on the flats or riding against the wind. My cruising speed on the flats is compromised but I can live with that, I am in no rush to get anywhere.

PeteHski

The main reason is because multi-geared bikes are easier to ride and faster over mixed terrain.

Lombard

I have known a few cyclists who used to be runners, but took up cycling because their knees were shot after years of running.

livedarklions

This is the classic reasoning from anecdote fallacy. You have no way of knowing whether your friend would have developed knee problems if he had never skied at all. I'm not telling you that your knees can and should be able to handle the stress, but don't tell other people that it's dangerous because there's absolutely no systematic proof that it is.

I'm not going into a one true cadence argument here. That's another damn rabbit hole.

wolfchild

So what's causing their knee problems ?.Is it genetic ?.. Is it the result of some old injury ?....Did they have knee pain before they started cycling ?....or did they start getting knee problems after they started cycling ?...If people are having knee issues on multi geared bikes, then it's obvious that SS is not the cause and multi geared bikes don't seem to solve that particular problem.

wolfchild

Which activity wore out his knees ? Was is skiing or was it cycling ?..Was he a runner, did he do heavy squats ?.... What's the cause ?

Maelochs

Maybe if you had bought $14,000 knees ......

PeteHski

It was the accumulated load cycle over time that simply wore them out eventually. Simple as that

PeteHski

I'm merely stating that you are putting more stress on your knees for the same power at low cadence. That is a fact, not an anecdote. Read it again.

Lombard

Exactly my point. The answer here is a big "it depends". As one poster in this thread wisely said, your knees aren't my knees.

Lombard

Is there any evidence that $14,000 knees will wear out any slower than Huffy knees?

Outrider1

I'm one of these people.

Lombard

And I'm pretty sure at this point you don't ride SS bikes. Am I right?

wolfchild

Who knows, maybe he would just to prove that it's more about the rider than a bike.

livedarklions

It's a trivially true "fact" you coupled with an anecdote. Knees are joints evolved to handle the rather intense stress placed on them from bipedal locomotion. Any time you walk down a flight of stairs, you put "more stress" on your knees. You drew a connection between that and your friend's knee injuries, and that anecdote appeared to be the focus of your post. If it's not, why did you even mention your friend at all? He wasn't even bicycling, so it obviously had nothing to do with your "fact" about power at low cadence.

I'm obviously aware that I am placing more stress throughout my legs--that's why it's resistance training.

Please don't offer your opinion of what I'm doing if you don't want an argument. I've taken enough hypocritical crap from you about being argumentative to last a lifetime.

livedarklions

As long as neither of us feels a need to convert the other, that difference is fine. Like you said, we're not advocating that anyone do as we do, just objecting to the general "you'll blow your knees out" crap that gets thrown at us.

seypat

• I'm a former basketball player that took up endurance sports because of Plantar Fasciitis. The knees were in OK shape before the switch. Is that important to the discussion of 14k bikes being worth it?

livedarklions

I guess it might be relevant to the discussion of which $14k bike you might buy. Or not.

Lame OP topic leads to terminal thread drift.

Trakhak

I've been riding fixed gear (no SS for me) since I was 13, in 1964, and I only ever had twinges of discomfort in my knees until the last 6 months. Now the pain in both knees is unignorable when I attempt to grind my way up hills. I've been forced to ride only my 21-speed utility bike ever since.

Told myself when I was in my 40s that I should quit fixed gear when I hit 50. Now, 22 years later, I'm sorry I didn't follow through back then. What can I say, though? I'm an addict.

[Edit:] Read a few of the speculative posts concerning knee pain above this post. In my case, the knee pain definitely resulted from fixed-gear riding. Bike riding is my only exercise. No stretching, no weights, no running. Monoathlete.

No walking, either, if I can help it. I ride my bike to pick up Chinese carry-out. The restaurant is one block away.

PeteHski

What you are doing is putting more repetitive cyclic stress on your knees. Let's forget all about anecdotes then if you prefer and stick to simple facts.

wolfchild

How do you explain cyclists who have never even rode a fixed gear or singlespeed bike in their whole life, and who still end up with knee problems and some even need knee replacement ?..

Hermes

Moderation note: The thread topic is about the high cost of bikes and not knees. Please return to topic. Thank you.