Exercise bike

[Noggin]

Apparently it's a decent exercise bike.

Not sure the position is great for my knee as it is Very upright so my legs are very beneath me, if that makes sense?

I think the one in rehab had legs a bit further forward, not a lot, but enough not to compress my knee like this one at the top of the pedal/flex. I did 5 mins to test this evening and yes, the flex is a smidge too flexed at the top of the turn, but I will try again tomorrow and see if it's foot position? (I know sod all about setting up cycles cos, you know, not something I do!!)

I've looked online but can't see a way to alter that, so I might not be able to do quite as much as planned for a bit, just have to build up very slowly and see how it goes

Hopefully I can move the "bar" back towards me a bit - at the mo I have to lean far too far forward for my back and one arm I can lean on!!! (I think it's just a couple of allen key bolts to move that!!

Anyway, if anyone knows more and can help on the pedalling position that'd be awesome!

[crust]

Loosen the knob on the seatpost that should allow you to raise the seat so your knee isn't so bent at the top of the stroke.

Ideally, your leg should be slightly bent when the pedal is at the bottom and the arch of your foot is on the pedal,

[Noggin]

Loosen the knob on the seatpost that should allow you to raise the seat so your knee isn't so bent at the top of the stroke.

Ideally, your leg should be slightly bent when the pedal is at the bottom and the arch of your foot is on the pedal,

That's the problem - it's adjusted so not quite straight at the bottom but still too tight a bend at the top

BUT, tbf, I had done a LOT in the apartment yesterday when I tried cycling, so there's a good chance the knee was already puffed up before I tried, so making it worse. In rehab, almost anytime I wasn't in physio I had an ice pack on the knee - which I haven't done here (no ice pack, just a pack of peas, and it goes against for me to defrost and refrost food!!! - need to sort something out for this!)

Will have another go later as not planning to do too much today (after phsyio) so it might not be so bad.

Need to dig out the allen keys to adjust the hand rest LOL

[Noggin]

Ok, so just before I went to physio I tried again.

Downside of not being a cyclist and not having anyone here to assist is not really being sure how straight a not totally straight leg should be!

Anyway - I upped the seat and tried, better but still too flexed at the top but it really did feel straight at the bottom

Anyway, another notch up - perfect. Leg very nearly straight but not locked straight at the bottom and the flex at the top isn't too tight and so is comfortable

So, @crust - you were totally right it was just my lack of cycle knowledge that confused me

More "cycling" later (when the knee recovers from the physio!!)

[crust]

Happy to help, plenty have helped me along the way, just passing it on.

The idea is that with the arch of your foot on the pedal at the bottom of the stroke the leg is slightly bent, this is so your hips don't rock as you pedal.

You should be able to have a still, shoulders relaxed posture as you with only your legs moving, hips and upper body relaxed and still, no rocking.

To help my dodgy knees I sat on the floor, put a bag with some weight in it across my ankle and lifted the leg off the floor and held it for a while, after a while I increased the weight and length of time I held it up for.

Good luck with the recovery.

[Noggin]

Thanx loads.

Not sure the knee is quite ready for that exercise yet !! But will see how physio goes!!

I last cycled in 2018 and ended up with a head injury (and that was just coasting down the road at 5:45 ! ) !! And I wasn't keen on cycles before then But that's partly why it took so long to find the right amount of "straight"

Downside is that it's excellent for knee rehab and for leg strength for skiing So I'm going to try and do a bit more each day (Not sure I'll ever go on the road and need a cycle rack before I consider heading to the cycle track!!)

[Saga Lout]

A good way to get close to the correct seat height is to adjust the seat so your leg is straight with your heel on the pedal at the bottom of its stroke. Make fine adjustments from there: half an inch at a time (or 1 cm if you're doing it in foreign.)

Or scroll down to "Adjustment" on this page: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html

[the_priest]

I have one from the same Decathlon range. You can get an addon that allows you to move the seat backwards or forwards quite a bit and that changes the orientation of the knee bend. It is an L shaped bar thingy whasit....

like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/298095501457

[Noggin]

A good way to get close to the correct seat height is to adjust the seat so your leg is straight with your heel on the pedal at the bottom of its stroke. Make fine adjustments from there: half an inch at a time (or 1 cm if you're doing it in foreign.)

Or scroll down to "Adjustment" on this page: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html

Cheers. It's just a smidge more of a challenge with one arm not fully functioning and one leg not fully functioning and on my own !!

But I'm getting there

I have one from the same Decathlon range. You can get an addon that allows you to move the seat backwards or forwards quite a bit and that changes the orientation of the knee bend. It is an L shaped bar thingy whasit....

like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/298095501457

That sounds interesting! I am considering asking her if she'd like to sell it - I don't do walks as such here because walking downhill causes my shoulder/arm to hurt so, as most walks involve going downhill, I tend to try to avoid it!!

Sooo, if I can get on with this, having it set up for use in winter on breaks from work, I might try to keep it (buy it) and set it up for me properly

[Mr Moofo]

Flatten the seat angle - and push the saddle back. That will have you slightly further behind the pedals for a better seating position