NYCpistarider

I started riding fixed a couple of weeks ago, and I am so addicted I have put a couple hundred miles on my new bike already. But my knees are killing me! Is this normal? I have a break, so I am not doing a lot of resisting, but still, I am worried. Maybe my gearing is too hard (48/16)? Has anyone else experienced this? What should I do?

bikeman

I used to ride a fixie to work a lot and noticed that my knees ached occasionally too. I changed my rear cog to a 17 from a 16 and that seemed to help. You don't have as much top speed and you spin faster on the flats, but you are putting less strain on the old knees. It is also easier to get moving from a standing start. Don't forget that even if you do have a front brake you are using your muscles/tendons/ligaments differently by using your legs to put back- pressure on the pedals to slow down.

commander_taco

Knee pain has to be taken seriously. I think you should take a break from cycling until all of the pain disappears. Your kees will grow stronger during the rest period. Having said that, your gearing is very high for a beginner. Choose a gear that is close to 70 gear inches according to sheldon's gear calculator (48/18 will work). When you get used to that gear (in couple of weeks or even few months) then increase the gear ratio. Fixie riding is very much like resistance training. You have to start low and progressively increase as you get comfortable at a level. Don't get scard by the knee pain and give up though. I had similar experience. You have to do things according to what your body tells you. In the end it is well worth it.

skitbraviking

I have creaky knees, too. When they bother me, I ice them and take some ibuprofin. This always works. You may also stretch your legs more and work out your upper leg muscles. They are basic things. You may also want to talk with your doctor and have them take xrays. THe main thing I have noticed is that the more routinely I ride, the less they I feel achey.

interpol

what kind of riding and how hard were you riding before the fixed? it could just be the couple of hundred miles in the short time frame. if you don't have big hills and aren't backpedalling, 48/16 seems reasonable. i haven't experienced any knee discomfort yet from riding fixed (knock on wood) and i grew up with osgood-schlatter disease so i know what knee pain is like. take every precaution to protect your knees. maybe running lower gear inches would help. good luck.

Jose Cuervo

I have pretty bad knees as well and they started really aching recently when I started riding fixed. I've been taking glucosamine sulphate and it's really helped my knees. It is used for strengthening your joints and it helps rebuild cartilage. You can buy it at most drug stores.

kurremkarm

Riding fixed made my knees stop hurting. Let me explain. I have a 17" mountain bike converted to ss and my knees always hurt. I got this fixed gear road bike and it was my proper size. As a result, my knees stopped hurting. Recently went back to the mountain bike and my knees started hurting again.

The reason I believe is that it is extremely crucial to have the proper fit to a bike, if your knees hurt check that first off at at good LBS. Also something i am wondering is if my fixed has 165mm cranks and my legs pedal in smaller circles if this might not reduce the knee pain. As well as the fact that riding fixed helps share the load between the two legs. Anyways, the point of this long post is:

1. Have a pro look at your bike fit. Sometimes the bike is just too damned small.
2. Get a bigger cog in back.
3. Get smaller cranks, dubious, wondering on this one but it seems logical to me.
4. As for glucosamine, asprin, ibuprofin, etc, etc, i have tried them and honestly i think they don't do much. The problem is why does ur knee hurt not to mask it. In my case it was because i have a curved spine and one leg is an inch longer than the other, the left leg, making it hurt because it does more of the work. The solution was keeping that in mind when fitting the bike properly.

Don't know if any of this rambling helps but i know how bad it sucks to want to ride but to have knees that hurt.

absntr

What form is that in? Do you drink it? Judging from the "gluco" part I'm assuming it's some sort of sugar based thing.

cyclorat

fixed gear HELPED my knees. went from 85 ish gear inches single speed to 72 ish fixed (i started somewhere in the 60 gi actually) so i learned how to spin insted of crank.

like my friend who went from 52x12 free to 48x16 fixed. but thats another story of really shot knees.

late

Glucosamine suphate is great stuff. But it's for the middle aged, when your body's production of glucosamine slows down. If you take it,and you're not middle aged, your body may slow production of glucosamine prematurely.
I would explore lower gears, or using a regular bike for a while.

skitbraviking

The gluco stuff seemed to work for me, too.

Weird coincidence, though: I just happened to go to 48x16 today after picking up a new chainring last week. My knees started up again on this new gearing. I am going to give it a little bit of time to see if my muscles, cartilage, tendons, etc. adjust or not. It may be a good idea for us to give it time and compare notes...?

NYCpistarider

Thanks a lot for the advice. I swapped my 48 chain ring for a 44, which seems to have helped, but I am going to check with my doctor too just to be sure.

Moonshot

Sounds like you may have caused an injury. See the Dr.

After you have recovered consider going back to your geared bike. Ride hills in a gear that works for you, slowly increasing until you have a good base of distance and speed. Then go fixed again. Unless you want, you may never have to go back to the geared bike again.

I have a history of knee problems, but have none this year because I built a good base. I ride a fixed 42X15.

goatmeal

You might wanna check your seat height as well, either over extension or under extension could cause problems with your knees.

Phil

crustedfish

don't forget...after only two weeks, your legs are still getting acquainted to a fixed drivetrain.

Take it easy, use the R.I.C.E. program, lower your gear by at least 8 gear inches, take it easy.

Then, if after a month you still have knee pain, see a doc.

What pedal system are you using? you mentioned nothing of it..or , at least, I didnt recall reading about it.

commander_taco

Also, do you pull up on the pedals as well? I highly recommend pulling up during upstroke. This spreads the power stroke so that you do not need to push down hard. There are occasions where you can just pull up and not push down at all, thereby relaxing one set of leg muscles. Pulling up also keeps your pedal stroke smooth throughout the rotation, which incidentally puts less strain on the knees.

skitbraviking

I was thinking of this, too. Let us know how it works out in the long run.

HereNT

I found that pushing off of the ground from stops helped a lot too. I had some knee pain for awhile, and I think it was coming from pushing down on one pedal from a stop, instead of using the foot that's on the ground to start the bike rolling. The foot that's on the pedal just follows it through the first pedal stroke, and reduces the stress on the joint.

And 48x16 is pretty high to start out with. It's even a lot if you're moving from a smaller ratio - I went from I think 42x20 to 48x14 in one day - it was way faster, but did hurt a bit. It's good you're trying the lower gearing, wust work your way up... You'll get there eventually.

NYCpistarider

I use clips and straps. I am going to give it a rest for a few days (I rode 212 miles in NYC last week, most in city traffic, on my geared bike I averaged half that or less a week) so I'll ease up a bit. I sold my geared bike, so there is no going back now.

peligro

If you are routinely going over the bridges in a 48/16, its obvious to me why your knees hurt, you're overgeared. When I commuted over the Bklyn bridge I used a 45/16. Williamsburg bridge needs a 42/16. No need to kill yourself with a macho gear.

NYCpistarider

So will a 44/16 be ok? I commute over the Manhattan Bridge, other than that I mostly ride flat.

Jose Cuervo

It comes in pill form. Someone metioned that it's more for middle aged people. I'm suprised the pharmacist that I talked to did not mention this to me, considering i'm 25 but look even younger. Has anyone else heard this?

cyclorat

gumby. learn to go gumby, thats also important. once youve got a bit of a spin on let your legs go slack and get used to the smoothness of the pedal stroke. try not to strain yer knees when ya dont need to. (going gumby when yer going really fast the first time can be a bit scary tho, careful)

JWalton215

I started riding fixed on a 50-18 setup. My knees are currently destroyed - and I am waiting for them to get fixed again.

2Rodies

I'm a newbie fixie also, I'm taking delivery of my Bianchi Pista in about 4-5 days. I've been a very serious roadie for over 17 years and I do about 175-250 mi a week depending on time. I bought the Pista to haul my girls around in the Burley, I will be adding a front brake to the bike right off the bat. The bike comes with 48x16 gearing, should I go for a 17 or 18? Thanks for the help!