ratufa

I bought a Dahon Mariner over the summer. Everytime I ride it I end up with a painful right knee. It's not just painful, it's also weak, and makes popping noises now. I rode it four times, but I had to stop, because every single time, I'd have the same problem. When I ride my regular bike, I have no problems. It's only with the Dahon. Does anyone know what would cause this? I tried adjusting my seat so that it's high enough. My leg is not too straight when I ride, nor is it coming up to high. I tend to ride it for as long as 8 miles in a single ride.

I'm an experienced hiker and cyclist, and I never had knee problems until after my first ride on the Mariner. It's not severe pain, no noticeable inflammation or anything, just a mild nuisance, that seems to fade with exercise. But when I ride the Mariner, it becomes more serious.

I don't want to get rid of the bike, but I don't want to see an orthopedist either.
Anyone know what I could try that I haven't already tried?

bargainguy

Higher cadence and/or lower gearing come to mind. If you're right-handed, you're also probably right-legged, meaning you push more with your right leg than your left, so that would explain why one knee is taking the brunt of pedaling work more than the other.

Don

graywolf

Actually, I would think knee problems would be coming from lower cadences, and probably riding in too high a gear. Also the seat being too low, but the OP says that is not the case.

Those things put pressure on the knee joint.

My, admittedly limited, experience with small wheel bikes is that they feel so zippy that you tend to go up a gear or two from where you ought to be. One of the reasons I bought a folder is that I have knee problems (arthritis) , and the shorter cranks and lower gears helps ease the pain. But I have noticed some temptation to push that button into a higher gear, that I have to watch out for. Of course for me high cadence is in 60-70 rpm range. I would think spinning 90-100 would cause sore muscles rather than sore joints. But if the condition persists the OP should see his/her (gender is not clear from the post) doctor.

Solis91

This is what helped me -

Pedaling on a lower gear ratio helped greatly.

As you said good seat adjustments. Keep raising/lowering until you find your sweet spot. I actually had to raise my seat alot higher than i had thought originally. Also remember that you can adjust your seat forwards and backwards as well. Good rule of thumb: when pedals are parallel to the ground, your knee should be directly above the center of your pedal, on your axle
One major thing that I never thought, make sure youre tires are properly inflated. Get a good pump so youre good to go! Its much harder to push with low inflated tires.
If none of this helps then hopefully someone else will have your answers

bargainguy

I think you misread my answer. Last line of OP said "anyone know what could I try?" Higher cadence and/or lower gearing.

Don

Foldable Two

1) In general, Don't push too high a gear.

...and, If you are tall (I'm 6'3" with size 13-14 shoes)

2) Get seat to right height. (Hard on one-size-fits-all folders)

3) Consider Knee Savers if you have BIG Feet. They move the pedals out 20 or 30mm so you can put your foot squarely on the pedals. (I feel like a Gorilla gripping the outside edge of the pedals without them)
https://www.kneesaver.net/

Lou

arctos

Look at the front to rear position of the saddle along with height and cadence.

Sangetsu

Saddle height is usually quite easy to set right. Pain in the front of the knee usually occurs when the seat is too low, pain in the rear of the knee can occur when the seat is too high. Fore-aft position can be more difficult to get right, I set mine by lining up my knee with the pedal spindle when the pedal is at the 10 o'clock position, and then fine-tune it from there. I ride a Birdy folder, which has a fairly large "cockpit", and which allows me to set my riding position similar to that I use on my regular road bikes.

Stretching before and after your ride can also help. I start by sitting in the "seizan" position for a minute, and then switch to a long-sit for another minute, and then a calf stretch. I do this at least three times, maybe more if I am stiff from a race or long ride from the day before, or if the weather is cold.

I also never "grind" in the big gears. I shift through the gears on my bike as I would when riding a motorcycle or driving a car. "Lugging" an engine in a motor vehicle by driving in too high a gear can cause expensive damage, doing so with your legs is certainly not very good for them.

fietsbob

saddle height may be too low, & the post slips in the frame clamp,
and so even raising it does not last long, before you are back to too low again.

of course a blind guess ,
maybe folks at the nearest Bike Shop, can see your position, and offer
Bene Suggs.

Training.Wheels

Fore/aft positioning (moving your saddle back of forward on the rails) will help you greatly. Generally, you will get pain on the front of the knee if your seat is too low and/or too forward, and you'll get pain in the back of the knee if your saddle is too high and/or too far back. Use the "KOPS" technique (link below) to figure out a starting point for adjustment and go from there.

https://hypercatcycling.wordpress.com...pedal-spindle/

bhkyte

Probably the different geometry on the Dahon is altering the hip knee ankle compired to your requaler bike.

This suggests a latent knee or hip issue, maybe tight lateral thigh muscles, as your left side is sympton free, so it can not just be the bike unless something is asymmetrical.

Pops tend to indicate joint issues like osteoarthritis or mistracking patella. I would see a physio and get an expert opinion from a physical diagnosis.
It is likely to show up sometime otherwise, unless its a temporary trauma.

NeoteriX

Interested in other opinions here on this; I get knee pain from my Tern Verge x10 for distances over 15-20 miles, though I don't have another bike for comparison. I do have weird knees though.

Doohickie

Play around with seat position. I have a full-size bike that I've had knee issues on. Everyone says that the seat is usually too low, but in my case, lowering it further seemed to help the issue.

Diode100

See a doctor !!!

bhkyte

No, see a physio

invisiblehand

There are tons and tons of articles on knee pain in cyclists. A folding bike, per se, is not what is causing knee pain. Given that you don't experience any pain on the other bike but do on the folding bike, then it's something about bike fit. While you've adjusted your saddle height, it's also the case that fore/aft movements can also affect knee angle during a pedal stroke. So first thing is to go read a dozen articles on bike fit and knee pain to get a better idea of what you're trying to achieve and how it might relate to your knee pain.

(1) I would not do a ride that is uncomfortable.

(2) In a perfect world, I'd film myself on my regular bike while riding on a trainer to see what my mechanics were on that bike. Then do something similar for the folding bike. Comparing the two will let you know what you're doing differently. However, given that you can get the Mariner into the right ballpark fit-wise, I think you'll find its adaptability more limited than a typical bike.

(3) If you don't want to put a lot of effort into this, I'd start by adjusting the saddle to make sure it's level. If that doesn't help, try moving it back a little to see if that helps. Continue to adjust the height too. Most people tend to make drastic changes. If this describes you, do everything in small increments and be sure to keep records/precise measurements of what you tried and your experiences.

(4) If this sounds like too much work, get rid of the bike. It sucks to have an uncomfortable bike. Or alternatively, go to a fit specialist. But that might cost more than the orthopedist who will probably tell you, don't ride the folding bike.

Good luck.

EDIT: You should be aware that if your upper body is in a different position then the position of the saddle relative to the cranks will often be different. So if you're comparing your saddle position to the cranks across the folding and regular bikes, but one is more upright than the other, then copying the saddle position from the regular bike might be a bad strategy. Long story short, I think systematically experimenting with the saddle is your best cheap bet.

bhkyte

I see alot of this idea that knee pain is caused almost exclusively by bike set up in the road racing forum.

Muscle/skeletal problems are symptoms. Usually we don't notice small problems in our body untill it becomes a problem ie a symptom. Adjusting the ergonomics of our environment might be an one ASPECT in treatment.

One aspect.
Specific Exercise , passive treatment by a qualified person , footwear, diet, disease, technical, rest, sitting posture, walking gate and clothing all have a possible roles amought many others

invisiblehand

I guess a lot of things are possible. But that doesn't seem to explain the pain difference between riding the two bikes.

bhkyte

Nor does bike set up explain why its just one knee , and not both equally.

phillybill

sounds like a bike setup issue, can you get the cockpit measurements close to your normal ride? and is the bb the right distance? I had to use some 20mm pedal spacers on my brompton to get rid of the knee pain I was experiencing.

invisiblehand

Actually, it can.

bhkyte

Nor does bike set up explain why its just one knee , and not both equally. Both knees should expereience the same problems with set up. (If the bike is symmetrical), But only one knee is symptomatic.

I liken some of this thinking around bike set up to suggesting a Javelin throwers knee problem is always due to his choice of Javelin !

Joint and muscle symptoms are not always caused by one single factor.

If the symptoms happened when the OP walked rather than cycled I doubt cyclists on forums be thinking of suggesting his bike set up needs correcting ?

The folding bike set up is an known "aggravating factor"................it is likely there other aggravating factors could be identified in a physical examination or with a greater history.

I would be interested to know if the OP experience any discomfort walking down slopes or down steps. This is an aggrevating factor indicating a patella cartilage or mistracking problem.

Just because the symptoms occur on the bike does not mean the damage is occurring due to the bike set up.

Bike set up is not the only possible cause.