Optimal bend in leg -- others experience -- for best climbing and riding

[Elaine]

Help - input please!!

I have a Silvio and it has taken me some time to become adept on it. I recently transferred back to clip in pedals (a huge accomplishment).

Originally I had my leg reach to the pedals the same (bend in my knee) as I had on my road bike. That didn't seem the best ergonomically when I changed to clip ins.

I talked to other recumbent (non-cruzbike) riders who said that they need a fair amount more bend in the knee than they did on a road bike, to ride their best, climb etc.

I shortened the length, was too short and hurts my knees more. I know that is telltale and I need to lengthen the reach again -- and I know it is a personal thing -- but I was wondering from others experience -- what worked best for people in terms of how much bent in their knee for climbing and overall riding - with clip ins. More bend? The same? I also have longer crank (175mm) for my height/leg length -- so my knees already bent a bit more. Perhaps a mistake on the latter but don't want to order new one.

ANy input would be very much appreciated!
THANKS!
Elaine

 

[defjack]

  Just keep adjusting a

Just keep adjusting a little bit at a time untill its right. You can tell when you dont get any butt or knee pain its right on. Jack

 

[Elaine]

Optimal bend in knee to climb...and ride.

Your knees look quite bent actually. That is what worked for you?

Also wondering if more bend in the knee helps or hinders climbing.

 

[defjack]

  That picture is not with

That picture is not with the crank in the right place. I start with my knees bent just a little and start adjusting the boom from there for the fine adjustments to get rid of knee pain and butt pain. It takes time but worth it. Jack

 

[Mark B]

For me, my knee angle is

For me, my knee angle is about the same as a road bike. Maybe just ever so slightly shorter.

Mark

 

[fthills]

Hi Elaine ,  I agree with

Hi Elaine , I agree with defjack. When I first started riding recumbents it was hard to get a feel of many of the variables that make you perform at your best ,in comfort. So things like, how far up should my handlebars be, how reclined should the seat be and so forth., were hard to work out.

Over time I found that if my knees hurt at the front ,the pedals are too close . If the back of the knee hurts , they are too far.

One thing that makes life more interesting is that on moving bottom bracket bikes every pedal stroke will have a slightly different length (and so a slightly different amount of knee bend) because of the changing position of the BB.

If things are hurting you won't be able to tolerate it for long and I found it worthwile to take my allen keys on my rides so that I could make changes on the ride. If you get knee pain on a ride for example and you change your boom length ,the effect will be apparent straight away, good or bad.

As a general rule if it doesn't feel right , change it and see what happens.

If you look at Maria Parkers videos of her riding the Silvio and Vendetta, her knee bend is minimal and ankle plantar flexion is almost maximum, when the pedal is at its farthest from the hip. ,Almost like a horizontal ballerina on her toes. I tried that position too and for whatever reason I can't maintain reasonable power like that for more than 30 minutes.. Maria Parker on the other hand breaks world records.

 

[NeilJ]

Hi Elain

For me the standard 170's cranks always felt too long on my Silvio although I never had a problem on my upright bikes in the past. I noticed that things were not well with unusual knee pains, despite heeding advice to spin more up the hills, rather than use a high gear and mash, I went for 160mm cranks. Click on link for crank length calculator http://www.recumbents.com/wisil/misc/crank_angle.asp
By far the cheapest was from Spa Cycles, and the only people that I could find in the UK that keep them in that size. http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s109p2002
Despite smaller crank circles with potentially less torque, I actually found that I could apply more efficient power to the cranks with my legs less bent. The whole experience felt much more relaxed and 'RIGHT'. Maybe taller people might not find such a problem with larger crank lengths, but at 5' 6" I have found this an excellent conversion.
Hope you find this useful
Neil

 

[Elaine]

Thanks everyone.  Just

Thanks everyone. Just lengthened, knee pain went away but now my sit bones hurt -- and that never happened on this bike, or my road bike. Feel like it's a wack-a-mole game. Fix one issue, and another pops up.

 

[ak-tux]

Leg adjustments need to be

Leg adjustments need to be done in small amounts and one needs to allow a few days of adaptation before trying another change. So if @Elaine lengthened the boom and knee pain went away, shoul ride that for a week and see if the body adapts and possibly the sit bones stop hurting.

However, I find itstrange though that your sit bones should hurt considering the nature of a cruzbike sit, it's wide and spreads over a much larger area than an upright bike. So probably look at extra Lumbar support after allowing your adaptation time.

Hope this helps.