Wait, you did a century on that bike in your sig?

Track drops, brooks saddle, deep rim and aerospoke?

Hard to tell if that seatpost is setback or not, but usually a Brooks saddle needs a setback seatpost.

Yes but I used bullhorns with Aerobars, not track drops.

Damn, dude. I would not only rest for about two days, and eat a jack load of protein, but I would raise your saddle a tiny bit OR move your saddle back a tiny bit. I would also try to stretch your whole body, and start on some basic compound lifts to strengthen your muscles.

And switch to road drops.

This is completely out of line. Don't scare the kid; there is only a 30% chance this might be bone cancer from the symptoms I'm hearing.

A setback seatpost is useful for those with limited space for adjustment on their saddle rail (like Brooks saddles), people with long femurs, or bikes with unique geometries, like having a very vertical seat tube like so: https://www.classiclightweights.co.uk...-builders8.jpg

How it affects your cycling is a saddle that is further back (provided it improved your position on a bike) will put less strain on the front of your knees and will help you stay comfortable on longer rides. The downside is that it will affect your cadence - you won't be able to mash as efficiently. Sometimes a setback seatpost is essential for a good fit for some people - I have long femurs and they're a must for me. With your Brooks saddle, I would recommend just slamming it back as far as you can then see - after a couple of days of rest - if it feels any different on your legs. This stuff isn't as big a deal for those who ride a couple of miles at a time, but if you're going to be doing centuries, you need to fit well on your bike. Of course, there's always that chance nothing was wrong with your fit but you just overworked your knees. There are so many variables here, can't you see?!

I thought setback seatposts were designed to help with no handed track stands.

Bat, you make me want to sig so much ****.

@Training.Wheels, Thanks for the info brotha! I'll look into slamming my brooksies.

How many no-handed track stands did you do on this century? If it was more than 15, that may be part of your problem right there. That **** is rough on your legs.

I really regret posting anything about no handed track stands.

^sig'd

If plan on doing more long distance rides, give your body some time to rest, stretch a lot, get a front brake or both brakes and get professionally fitted to your bike.
I can ride all day long on my Big Block, with road drops, hoods and both brakes, without any pain, I got fitted to it a year ago and haven't messed with my position ever since, feels great.
Back when I started riding longer distances I would got for a 50km ride and be sore for a whole week, fast forward a few years, I did a 180km SS Mountain Bike ride a few weeks ago and didn't feel a thing the next day.

This reminds me of when I was much younger, just starting out in cycling and tore my knees up on a cycling trip, the first 800 miles was on flat land (up the east coast) and I was feeling it, would of been good to stop then, since that was my first major trip and I hadn't done any cycling to that level to really prepare me. But then we started on the return trip through the mountains, went over 300 miles in very tough stuff and then the rest of the trip was not mountainous, but very hilly. I had very sore knees at the end of the trip and my right knee never completly healed.


If I could go back and do it again I'd prepare myself better and probably would have done a shorter trip with not so many mountains until I built my knees up. But I'm stuck with this bum knee, but luckily I found a way to recuperate it somewhat. My way is to do various exercises, but my base would be weightlifting, because you can work your body in so many ways, unlike running/cycling/hiking, there's not much in the way of changing how you do it.

Today, despite my bum right knee, I'm very active and even run with it and no pain and no medication, no surgery. I think weightlifting is key to building my knee back up, but also not spending too much time doing one activity. Of coures what constitutes "too much time" is relative, all I mean by that is that I don't limit myself to one activity, that's not to say I only spend a very short amount of time doing one activity. I can hike all year and not feel too much pain. I DO bike all year, it is my primary form of transportation.



I can't emphasis enough how important weightlifting is to keeping my aging body healthy. I feel so healthy today, that I can go for a 10-mile run and not even feel anything, even in my bum knee. A century ride is nothing, it's as if I'm getting healthier every year, but at the same time I'm getting closer to senior citizen status.

Thanks John, for the advice and story! Ill have to look into weightlifting. I feel like its mostly in the bone though, how my knee may be running low on that fluid that it uses for lube.

I know of lot of geezers who ride fixed centuries often. All of them use risers or road drops (unless they're on a high wheeler) and a front brake.

Drink water, eat protein and put a brake on it. That or suck it up and learn to live with knee pain; you did it to yourself.

No-handed weightlifting FTW.