Kubotafan

I haven't biked for 40 years and recently bought my wife a bike she wanted to try to get some needed exercise. It is a German made Pegasus low entry 3 speed bike. I rode it for a little over 3 km, felt winded by the time I reached home, but wasn't totally surprised as I knew I was more overweight than fit. I didn't think I had really overdone it, but the next day had pain in my left knee. Dr. Google says I have patellar tendinitis, and I thick he is right. I am wondering what kind of a brace I should wear that might help to prevent this problem. Has anyone else had this problem, and what have you done to prevent pain.

canklecat

Knee braces are of limited use on bikes. I got better results doing physical therapy for the knee off the bike to strengthen it for bike rides.

And be sure the bike fit is set up appropriately. If the saddle is too high or low, too far forward or back, it can cause knee strain.

Also, some muscle soreness is normal when first exercising, or trying any new exercise. It can be difficult to tell the difference between muscle soreness and inflammation of joint connective tissues without a medical exam.

In November 2020 I resumed running for the first time in 40 years. I've encountered the same issues. While cycling fitness helped aerobically, cycling fitness, walking fitness and running fitness are all different and work the legs differently. I often have sore muscles from running farther or more aggressively. It's not a joint, tendon or ligament problem. Braces or supports for my knees and legs won't help. I have to do appropriate physical therapy in addition to running. Same with aches and pains from cycling.

Jumpski

Welcome back to cycling! Your body (knee) is sending you a message. After all, you haven’t cycled in forty years. Take things slowly, and rest your knee- take care.

Kubotafan

My knee was very sore going up and down stairs, and touching the lower half of my kneecap and just under my knee was sore. I did my ride on my wife's bike and the seat was low for me but her seat isn't easily adjusted so I used it as it was. Sunday night I had enough pain that I took an extra strength and a regular strength ibuprofen and still couldn't sleep so after about two hours of turning in bed uncomfortable I took an extra strength Tylenol and got some sleep. Yesterday I spent a lot of time in my La-Z-Boy with a bag of frozen vegetables on my knee and also took an regular strength ibuprofen in the morning. I could see improvement during the day, and by night time not much pain, but still feeling a little stressed going up and down stairs. I took one regular strength ibuprofen and slept no problem. This morning it is still week feeling on stairs, but I will take it easy. I am picking up an Electra Townie tomorrow and will have that seat properly adjusted before riding it. I would get an elastic support if I thought there was something that would help and not pinch the back of my knee when cycling. My first rides won't be very long but hopefully after a month or two I will have distance increased and weight decreased.

BCAC

I live in a 55+ and is great to see so many folks who haven’t exercised much in years, take up bicycling. The two main things most folks do incorrectly when getting started, are having the seat way too low and riding in the wrong gear, at a much too slow cadence.

I think older folks getting back into bicycling, often don’t like the seat properly adjusted because it feels too high from a balancing perspective. When the pedal is all the way down, the knee should be close to fully extended (but definitely not fully extended).

Keep your cadence up. Presuming the bicycle has gears, use a low enough gear so you can spin easily, rather than using strength and stressing the knee to propel the bike in a higher gear. Personally, I keep my cadence at 80 rpm or higher.

If you bought your upcoming new bicycle from a local bicycle shop, they will help you with fitting the bike properly. In fact, even if you didn’t buy from a lbs, think of taking it there and asking for their help.

Bicycling is great fun and exercise. I started doing it as part of a physical therapy program and now I do it for fitness, group rides and a sense of accomplishment, tackling new challenges.

Good luck.

FBOATSB

Don't do this. You now know why.
And welcome to Bike Forums!

Kubotafan

The bike I am getting is a step through frame and a flat foot design so I should be able to get proper seat height and have proper leg extension and still good balance when stopping. It has seven gears and where I live it is relatively flat so I should likely have all the gearing I need. I know I could have handled it easily when I was in my teens and had a 3 speed.

stevel610 

Great job getting back on the bike! See a doctor or PT if needed.

NSAID cream has helped me with the discomfort. Using low (easy to pedal) gears and proper seat height should reduce the soreness in the future.

roadsnakes

Make sure your seat is high enough.

Too low of seat bothers my knees.

OldTryGuy

Knee braces that work while walking often become uncomfortable shortly after beginning to pedal. The following brace could be a solution if indeed you have self diagnosed properly >>>

https://www.donjoyperformance.com/webtech-knee-strap

Carbonfiberboy 

A knee brace won't be helpful. You irritated/injured a tendon or tendon sheath. What you want to do now is take ibuprofen, 600mg every 6 hours, and keep it up for 3 days or so. If the pain goes away, it's an irritated tendon sheath, which heals relatively quickly. If it doesn't, it's the tendon, which is a more serious problem. Whichever it is, it needs to be rehabbed. What works is stretching, every morning before breakfast, these stretches:
https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...l#post15372967
It takes a few months of this to limber up adequately. Keep at it.

The other thing to do is to do deep squats, no weight. Search for "deep unweighted squats" on youtube. Only go down to the point of discomfort, no pain! The idea is to stop the aging process before it gets worse. It takes time to turn it around. An electric bike is not the solution, BTW. Electric bikes encourage one to turn the pedals too slowly. Once your knees heal up and you can do the above exercises and stretches without pain, you can try riding again. This time, put a computer on the bike, one with cadence. Here's one:
ttps://www.amazon.com/Meilan-Computer-Wireless-Waterproof-Speedometer/dp/B07BLTFG2T/

You want to eventually ride at a cadence of 90 on the flat, ~80 climbing. It will take time to accustom your legs to moving that quickly. Use low gears! Using a high cadence keeps the leg effort low. A high cadence increases breathing rate, but that's OK. Aerobic conditioning is a good thing.

woofy

I's like to add my vote that if this is going to be a regular thing, you get a proper bike fit. It will optimize your knee position and may eliminate pain altogether. At the very least you will be in the right position and any pain can then be addressed through strengthening. Kind regards.

Kubotafan

I have driven my new to me bike, an Electra Townie 7D on several trips of 3 to 5 km and don't seem to be having a problem now. I try to keep cadence up and use lower gears if I feel too much pressure on my knees. Down hill is still the easiest! Hopefully I will be able to increase distance gradually and get to the point where I don't have to ashamed at a 5 km "long" trip.