Exercise Bike Seat Position / Knee Problems

[77685940]

Hey, I'm new here so apologies if this is in the wrong section or place, first of all.

Anyway, I have an exercise bike because I want to lose weight and have a bit of a problem.

I'll show the pic firstly.. There is a mark on the seat pole if you can't see the difference in height in each picture.

http://i46.tinypic.com/5vq5mp.jpg

So I have had the bike for maybe 2 months and the first months, the seat position was on the highest it would go on the pole that came with the bike. This position was actually the lowest position you see on that picture (I put on a longer pole to move my position higher - I'll get on to that in a sec)
These first months were going well with no problems, but all of a sudden a couple of weeks ago, I got off and inside of my knee would hurt if I stood or bent on it in a certain way. I figured this could be down the seat maybe being too low for me, so I decided to put a longer pole on.

Now, on the picture I've attached, am I right in assuming the highest position is the more "correct" height for me, than the others, with my leg almost straight at the bottom?

Well now, when I ride on the bike with this "correct" position (or the next one down, NOT the lowest) I get this horrible grinding feeling in my knee around my kneecap. Almost like there is gas in there and I need to click it. It is really uncomfortable and I've tried to ride on, but I just can't. I can't go any more than a minute without the grinding feeling too gross and having to stop.

This grinding doesnt happen when I'm on the lower position though.

Does anyone know what is going on with my knees? Or is that position wrong too?


Any help is much appreciated, because I'm really quite dumbfounded and just want to carry on riding and losing weight!

Thanks!

 

[Jrahien]

Bike seats should be level with your hips when you stand up straight beside it. When sitting in it, there should be a slight bend to your knee at the lowest point on the pedal.

If you're having knee problems like that, there's likely another underlying cause or you had a disposition already that became aggravated with an increase in activity. I would go get it checked out. Grinding is not a good thing.

 

[andie7]

It looks like you are doing it the right way however,did you not forget to stretch before starting the activity? That is crucial. Also try to ease into the program allowing your body to strengthen before pushing it to the limit.
It would also be best to have it checked to be on the safe side.

 

[Albert Smith]

I want to suggest you that this problem would go worse and it would negatively affect your knee in future if you continue. There is no problem in your method. You are operating it correctly.

I would like to suggest you that you may use a extra pad on that particular portion of your leg if possible. If you do then it would generate less pressure on that particular portion and you would not feel the same problem again.

 

[Da Troof]

It’s called a saddle.

Generally, if the front of your knee is experiencing pain that could mean the saddle is too low. In contrast, if you are experiencing pain at the back of the knee, it could mean the saddle is too high.

There are also the for-aft positions to take into account however. It’s very hard to judge from pics but just know that if you are in the saddle with your knee bent at a 90 degree angle and the ball of your foot on the pedal, then a plumb line dropped from the front of your knee on down should cross the ball of the foot. Note that the for-aft saddle position should not be adjusted in order to accommodate your reach to the bars (that is what the stem is for). Again, it’s hard to judge but it seems that if you were to rotate the crank a bit to get your knee at 90 degrees, a plumb line may hang too far out in front, indicating that a backward adjustment to the saddle may help. But I really can’t tell from just those pics (or most any pics), I’d have to measure that up in person.
It may help you to do some research on fitting a bike. And if you do, don’t focus so much on the numbers in fit calculators. Although they can be useful, I think that amateurs have better results and are less intimidated by the old school methods of plumb lines, levels, and tape measures.

Best of luck.