Originally Posted by
kahn
Talk to those 70 year olds still riding. And, of course, I will throw anecdotal "evidence" that human tissue: ligaments, tendons, muscle, cartilage and bone only have so much life to them. Same hip replaced twice (no accidents or specific trauma) and lots of friends "running" with new knees and even a few ankles. Yes, legs and cardiovascular systems are not standard but many have a "use by date!"
That's true, joints wear, but that's not the question. The question is whether mashing wears the knee more than spinning. I don't know what your hip has to do with that, and obviously running is harder on the knees than biking.
I think people do a lot more damage to their knees walking around with a lot of extra weight than they do adding a little resistance to their pedal stroke,
I've been a masher all my life, and I'm 60. My knees are fine Another anecdote.