Bent@59: July 2011

Tapping foot, checking date, researching accessories, and reading about the pros and cons of short cranks and smaller sprockets.

I have bad knees, so relieving that is my main focus. Three things can help or likewise not help; crank arm length, sprocket diameter, and pedals. There are others but not for the Rover. Also, strengthening your calves and quads with leg exercises generally reduce the stress on your knee (think of it as stronger support muscles around the knee joint).

And that brings us to the subject of this fill-in blog, short crank sets. Imagine the crank arm as fulcrum. The longer, the more capability for powerful action. Therefore you always want a longer crank arm, Yes? No. Because how your body deals with that longer crank is also a factor. Shorter or less flexible legs will NOT be able the take advantage of longer length. Knees will hurt more because you have to push harder and excessive knee flex. You may be more efficient with less length. Besides efficiency, there's is just plain old comfort. Sure shorter cranks means more RPM's, which means more aerobic exercise, and that may be just what you want and/or need.

So question to self, what can I do, harder pump with less RPM's or less pump with more RPM's? The answer is totally subjective and a product of your strength, leg length and knee pain or lack thereof. Also keep in mind that the above question becomes pertinent when you consider hills. If you have bad knees, obviously hills are going to kill you, if you don't choose wisely. If you don't have bad knees, hills will just hurt, so again,choose wisely.

The impact of shorter cranks is much bigger for recumbent riders than for diamond frame riders. Recumbent trike riders need that lower stress spin a lot more because their bikes are usually heavier and they don’t have the leverage advantage that getting out of the seat provides.

Now the second part of this equation is the size of the sprocket. By the way, the cranks and sprockets are called crank sets. Since the Rover uses an internal hub on the rear wheel for gear shifts, we'll only work with the front gear, of one.

Which do you think is easiest to pedal? The smaller diameter one (22T) sprocket. Mind you, there is a LOT more to all of this, but what's here are the high points. So far, we will get shorter cranks and smaller sprockets.

Last but not least are pedals. Clipless pedals help knees in several ways; they help you keep your feet an knees in the correct alignment, they keep your feet in the position for maximum force, the ball of your foot.Toes should point relatively straight ahead to equalize the forces generated on knees when pedaling. For trike, your foot slipping off the pedal ("leg suck"), can cause very serious injury.

IT Bands and tendinitis bands help with pain by preventing the offending tendon from snapping back and forth across the bone.

Make An Orthopedic Wedge

Using rubber, make wedges which fit into your shoes and raise the outer front portion of your foot, correcting pronation and causing you to ride somewhat knock-kneed (but not too much; experiment with the height of the wedge). For a while I tried riding knock-kneed without the wedges, but actually putting them in resulted in a surprising increase in power (more than 1 mph average speed) not to mention reduced IT band pain.

Summary:

Lasco 152mm Short Triple Crank Set
   Shorter cranks - 152mm
   Smaller sprocket - 22T

Clipless pedals, cleats and shoes
    Shimano PD-M520L MTB Sport Pedals
    Shimano SH56 SPD Cleat Set
    Nashbar Ragster II Cycling Sandals

IT Bands and tendinitis bands - Pro-Tec Athletics Knee Patellar Tendon Strap and IT Band Compression Wrap
   2 on right
   1 on left

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Purchase of Trikes and Accessories

Thursday, July 14, 2011

While I wait..