Knee pain

FatTaco

FatTaco

Well-Known Member
Been riding for 25 years. All sorts of mountain bikes and so many fatbikes over the last few years. Never any knee pain at all. Had Surly ice cream truck last year. No issues. Recently got a Surly Wednesday and my knees are killing me. I'm at a loss as to why. Doubt its q factor as I've had wider fat frames with no issues. The only thing I see different is seat tube angle at 73.5. It's .5 more than the ICT and a degree and change steeper than my Farley's I think. I've had the seat way back and forward on the Wednesday and still pain. It's kinda the front on knee but also seem to just ache all around the knee. Any thoughts? Suggestions?
 
FatTaco said:
Been riding for 25 years. All sorts of mountain bikes and so many fatbikes over the last few years. Never any knee pain at all. Had Surly ice cream truck last year. No issues. Recently got a Surly Wednesday and my knees are killing me. I'm at a loss as to why. Doubt its q factor as I've had wider fat frames with no issues. The only thing I see different is seat tube angle at 73.5. It's .5 more than the ICT and a degree and change steeper than my Farley's I think. I've had the seat way back and forward on the Wednesday and still pain. It's kinda the front on knee but also seem to just ache all around the knee. Any thoughts? Suggestions?
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What's your seat and cockpit setup? How does it compare to the ICT?
 
FatTaco said:
Been riding for 25 years. All sorts of mountain bikes and so many fatbikes over the last few years. Never any knee pain at all. Had Surly ice cream truck last year. No issues. Recently got a Surly Wednesday and my knees are killing me. I'm at a loss as to why. Doubt its q factor as I've had wider fat frames with no issues. The only thing I see different is seat tube angle at 73.5. It's .5 more than the ICT and a degree and change steeper than my Farley's I think. I've had the seat way back and forward on the Wednesday and still pain. It's kinda the front on knee but also seem to just ache all around the knee. Any thoughts? Suggestions?
Click to expand...
Scott: If you happen to use clipped pedals, you might experiment with your foot alignment when clipped-in. Most persons are comfortable when slightly toed-out. Also, could the seat be too low?
 
Hey guys. I'm on flats so no clipless. My seat set up and height is pretty much the same from the ICT. I've tried the seat far forward and back and still knees hurt. Just really weird. @Fitman I was actually going to message you cause I think you're RSD has a steeper Seat tube angle and was curious if you had any issues at all
 
FatTaco said:
Hey guys. I'm on flats so no clipless. My seat set up and height is pretty much the same from the ICT. I've tried the seat far forward and back and still knees hurt. Just really weird. @Fitman I was actually going to message you cause I think you're RSD has a steeper Seat tube angle and was curious if you had any issues at all
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I don't know if the steeper seat tube angle has anything to do with it, but my knees have been fine. I had some knee pain when exclusively on a road bike years ago, but I identified my pedal/cleat direction as the culprit.
 
I have knee pain problems, finally broke down and saw a specialist this year. Arthritis (have it in my back too, yay!) is the culprit, strengthening muscles is the best cure. Did 30 visits of physical therapy for my back and knees, game changer for sure. I learned a lot. The blood flow restriction therapy they used worked awesome for my knees, I could feel noticeable improvement after each session. Back on my bike again now, I was off of it because of the knee pain. Q factor only bothers me if it’s too narrow, fat bikes actually feel more comfortable.
 
I'm starting to suspect my flat pedals. New pedals with ridiculously evil pins on them and my really sticky five ten shoes. Going to put some other pedals on and try that.
 
OddTrickStar said:
I have knee pain problems, finally broke down and saw a specialist this year. Arthritis (have it in my back too, yay!) is the culprit, strengthening muscles is the best cure. Did 30 visits of physical therapy for my back and knees, game changer for sure. I learned a lot. The blood flow restriction therapy they used worked awesome for my knees, I could feel noticeable improvement after each session. Back on my bike again now, I was off of it because of the knee pain. Q factor only bothers me if it’s too narrow, fat bikes actually feel more comfortable.
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Can you explain the blood flow restriction therapy? Sounds interesting
 
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qclabrat said:
Can you explain the blood flow restriction therapy? Sounds interesting
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Think of a blood pressure cuff being used to restrict the blood flow while exercising. They calibrate it to the person by taking it to the blood flow cut off, then they set it to hold a percentage of the cutoff pressure. In my case it was 80% of the cutoff, the cuffs were placed at the top of my quads. The cuffs auto adjust as you flex the quad, but maintain the 80% while going between flexing and relaxing the muscle through the exercise.

It worked my muscles to absolute fatigue with zero impact/ joint pain. Very similar to how they would feel after a very long ride with lots of climbing but it was 10-20 minutes of basic exercises including rest. The rest periods between reps is the worst part because the cuff is just squeezing and you feel your blood pulsing past it. Works by holding the lactic acid in your muscles for faster and more muscle development is my understanding. I could easily feel the before and after difference.
 
They use it to quickly bring muscles back up to strength after an extended injury. In my case it was to increase the muscles surrounding my arthritic knees.
 
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