<p>I’m a long time distance runner but age, mileage and probably the abuse of my employment are catching up with me. All the miles are taking a toll on one of my knees in particular, so my running days are probably over. 
</p>
<p>I’ve tried mountain biking, but not extensively. How hard is it on one’s knees?</p>
<p>Thanks for any advice.</p>
<p>parent2noles I’m sending you a PM concerning this</p>
<p>I seem to remember reading on a cycling forum that some ‘mature’ adults with delicate knees find that ‘compact cranks’ provide a more comfortable pedling motion and ride. I’d find a competent mechanic at your local bike shop and ask him/her.</p>
<p>Also, my new bike’s crank arms are 170mm. I thought my knees were going to burst (an exaggeration, of course, LOL) during my initial ride. I should have replaced my crankset with 175mm crank arms, but raising the saddle height helped tremendously.</p>
<p>LW, how expensive are the bikes? A friend of mine spent thousands on his…and let me borrow it. ;)</p>
<p>Any particular brands better than another?</p>
<p>There are several types of mountain biking–the downhill racing type (not for you I might guess), the technical course type (depends on your level of daring) and the casual type. </p>
<p>I recommend Kona bikes because a friend of mine was a founder 
but remember that mountain bikes are much much heavier than road bikes and therefore harder on the knees. Most ex-runners take up road biking–not mountain biking.</p>
<p>Go to the best bike shop in your town and let them sort you out. they generally carry boht types. To get a good bike with a comfy seat and some shock absorbers you will spend about $1000 to $2000–or look on craigslist because cyclkists are always upgrading.</p>
<p>Thanks. Not too chipper here as the MD today left little room to be optimistic, and the x-rays confirmed the suspicion. I actually road biked in high school, but with the roadways as crowded as they are the linear paths left over from railroads look more appealing. The couple of times I tried to ride a technical trail were both exhausting and fun.</p>
<p>Parent2noles, my sympathy on your knee.</p>
<p>You don’t need to spend $2,000 to get a good bike. You can even find one for a lot less than a thousand. For your first bike, I’d look for a hardtail (no rear shock) with a front shock. I’d seriously consider a used bike until you know you like it. Bicycles depreciate even more than cars as you ride (drive) away from the dealer.</p>
<p>If you find you are riding your mountain bike on trails more than rough single-track, get some slick, or “city” tires for it. It will be a lot easier to pedal than full off-road knobbies, which feel exactly like pedaling a motorcycle when you are on a hard surface. If the tires have a solid ridge around the circumference, you are good to go for better conditions. Off-road on nasty single-track calls for knobby tires.</p>
<p>The problem with mountain biking is that it calls for a lot off out-of-saddle pumping, frequently in higher gears. If you pump hard over a root in a lower gear, it’s really easy to spin your tire, landing you on the ground. The best riding for a questionable knee is in a low gear turning lots of RPM. This gets you the exercise you want without straining your knee. This is easier to achieve on pavement or a nice, flat dirt road. Spinning is good. Standing up and hammering a big gear is bad. </p>
<p>I have a questionable left knee and it always enjoyed cycling, which is what I used to do until moving to the land of persistent rain and roads with no shoulders.</p>
<p>parent2noles, I’ll just tell you this (true) story about my brother (who is now 60). He had run in a bunch of marathons, but was having trouble with his knees about, maybe 10 years ago. He went to the doctor and the doctor told him that his knees were full of arthritis and he had to stop running, and should take up biking instead. So he did that, both indoor cycling and road biking (involving lots of long hills, etc.) At some point along the way he flipped off his bike and broke his pelvis but that is another story.</p>
<p>Anyway, after about 6 months or so of biking, he bought two of those drugstore knee braces with the patella hole thingy, and started to run again because he missed it. He also started taking glucosamine. With the knee braces he could run without much pain. After several months, one day he forgot to wear his brace and suddenly noticed that he was running without pain. He has been running ever since and has done a few marathons as well.</p>
<p>I’m not predicting the same outcome for you, but just to say that knee braces and glucosamine MIGHT help if it is aging knees and not an injury. I had an ACL replacement 12 years ago and I still run 3 times a week and have done a half-marathon. I remember the doctor told me I had little or no cartilage in my knee and should probably do more biking, but I just keep running and so far, so good…</p>
<p>I had my bike stolen last year and although I do really like biking, I just haven’t had the time to buy a new one! Anyway, best of luck. And swimming is good too by the way :)</p>
<p>The MD I saw told me about glucosamine, too. I asked about placebo effect as I figured that had to play a role in many such remedies. He told me that the beneficial effects were first seen on dogs with hip problems that were not subject to psychological persuasion. Thus, he said, it can help.</p>
<p>I’ll try it. Sure can’t hurt.</p>
<p>My brother still takes it, by the way. And, my vet also gave it to me for my sweet old 14 year old cat who seemed to be having some mild hip or back leg problems too. It does seem to have alleviated them a bit. The only cautionary note (which I learned from other ccers when I asked about it myself a few months ago) is that if you have high cholesterol, you should monitor that to make sure the glucosamine doesn’t raise it. </p>
<p>I started taking it a few months ago when one of my knees seemed to be giving me problems, but the pain went away after about a week and I stopped taking it. Best wishes–where there’s a will, there’s a way!</p>
<p>WashDad and Cheers gave good advice. As you know, I’m a novice but I did quite a bit of research prior to getting a mountain bike.</p>
<p>Rather than invest a princely sum from the git-go, take a look at high quality entry level bikes from manufacturers like Iron Horse, Jamis and Gary Fisher. I’ve seen ads for these brands where the prices begin at $400. Local bike shops carry these brands. If you go online, try peformancebike.com or blueskycylcing.com. for example. Both organizations sell online and by catalog. I had good luck with both stores when I purchased components recently. I belive that Performancebike is selling [a close-out item] an Iron Horse 2005 Maverick (a so-called hybrid) for less than $300. Naturally, any bike shop, online or local, carry more expensive bikes that are made for bouncing off boulders and such.</p>
<p>As for the Department stores, in my experience the clerks really don’t know much about the bikes they sell. Diamondback seems to be a sturdy brand that can be found at Sports Authority and Dick’s Sports for $500 and up.</p>
<p>Sizing is important for comfort, so I if decide to order online, make sure you know the bike stamding measurement. My bike’s tube measurement is 19 inches, which is a bit tall for me (I’m 5’8"). Many adult-size mountain bikes measure as follows…16," 17," 17.5," 18," 18.5," 19." A local bike shop will help you with this.</p>
<p>Finally, I agree with WashDad; go with a hardtail (i.e. front suspension only). They are easier to service. Plus, they almost always will fit a standard rear-mount car bike rack. And get a helmet!!! And if your rear end is…er…sensitive (or wide), get a plush saddle. I changed my saddle from the very hard model that came with the bike. What a relief!!!</p>
<p>To those recommending glucosamine, what is the usual dose and does it have any side effects? I know a lot of supplements on the bottle recommend a doseage that is too low. What doseage is everyone using?</p>
<p>I’m with LakeWashington – if you buy a new bike, get one from a bike shop, not a sporting goods store. Don’t even think about getting a bike from a discount or department store, unless you know exactly what you want. The only exception I can think of around here is the bike department at REI, where they are knowledgeable and will take the time to fit you and let you ride some bikes (both of which a good bike shop will do, too).</p>
<p>When I started riding road bikes, I bought an inexpensive bike and then learned within six weeks that I was going to ride a lot and that I could use a nicer bike. The bike shop agreed to sell my used bike for me (10% consignment fee), and then set me up with the Cannondale SR500 I still have. A good bike shop will do a lot for you. Look for one that has a lot of notices of local club rides and races, and --even better – where bikies hang around even if they aren’t buying anything.</p>
<p>H and I decided we wanted to do some biking but felt mountain biking was more rigorous than what we were looking for. We found out about the Rails to Trails paths and have enjoyed them very much. We bought bikes from a local bike store. We got Treks with the comfy seats for around $400 each.</p>
<p>Ugh, my spelling errors are just attrocious at times. Is there a ‘spell check’ feature on this board? LOL.</p>
<p>While my bike has mountain bike features, I use it as a road bike, as I do not intend to stray far from pavement and packed trails/paths. As an aside, while window shopping at a local bike shop, Lake Jr. and I watched a video playing on the shop’s monitor. The kids in the video were riding up one side of huge boulders and bouncing down the other side. That’s when I felt weak in the knees as well as faint-hearted. Gulp!</p>
<p>LW, download and use Firefox 2.0+. It has a built-in spell check feature. :)</p>
<p>OK, borrowed a Cannondale bike, bought a helmet and gloves and will improvise the rest for now.</p>
<p>Where’s the best place to buy bikes and associated stuff? I like supporting local business as long as their profit is reasonable…meaning I’ll jump to the web for a deal or local businesses seem to be too greedy.</p>
<p>Reread the thread - I’ll check those places out.</p>
<p>Here’s a very helpful link…<a href=“http://www.mtbr.com%5B/url%5D”>www.mtbr.com</a></p>
<p>click “bike shop reviews.” It has reviews for over 2 dozen shops in Florida. Hopefully one of the highly rated shops is near you. If you get a poor attitude [dismissive or impatient] from a bike mechanic or shop owner, head out the door and find another shop.</p>