Originally Posted by
bulgie
What's the reasoning for going to s smaller frame? I thought the shortening from age was mostly in the spine, which doesn't care what your framesize is. The legs don't get much shorter do they? (I'm really asking, I don't know). I'm only 65, so not much height lost yet if at all.
Well, since you asked.........
I can only speak for myself but I'm almost 66 and I was once 6' 2-1/2", I'm down to 6' 1",
maybe. I have a condition called Chondromalacia which basically means the cartilage in my knees is gone plus my lower legs have have always bowed slightly just below the knees and over the past few years the bowing has become quite considerable and I have lost most of my height in my legs. I've gone from a 34" inseam to 32" and I'm probably not far from a double knee replacement as the only time they don't hurt now is when I'm riding a bike. As my condition progressed I had to give up SPD pedals because even the slight twisting to unclip became a concern. My left knee has come "unhinged" a few times when I turned it wrong and trust me that's no fun, the worst part is when it snaps back together. On really bad days I actually have to wear a knee brace to bed to hold it together in case I turn wrong in my sleep. I've switched back to platforms and I even have to use knee saver pedal extensions with some of them depending on the bike and crankset. I also feel more comfortable on a slightly smaller frame now that I'm not as flexible as I once was. I'm putting off the replacements as long as possible for various reasons I won't get into here so in the meantime I adapt and do the best I can until I get the new ones but the replacements won't give me back my lost height or straighten my lower legs so the shift in frame sizes will still be needed.