recumbent fit?
 

Hi all,
Have recently changed from an upright bike to a recumbent - what is the rule
of thumb (rule of thigh?) for setting the seat-to-pedal distance?
Thanks,
Kerry

recumbent fit?
 

On 5/10/2011 6:53 PM, Kerry Montgomery wrote:
Hi all,
Have recently changed from an upright bike to a recumbent - what is the rule
of thumb (rule of thigh?) for setting the seat-to-pedal distance?
Thanks,
Kerry

Heels flat on the pedals with your legs fully extended, or about a 20°
minimum knee bend when pedaling. Make sure you are fully back in the
seat when doing so.

You may also want to consider shorter than normal cranks and lower
gearing than you used on an upright. Doing "leg presses" uphill will
quickly tire out your muscles, and may lead to joint problems.

--
Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

recumbent fit?
 

"Tºm ShermªnT °_°" " wrote in
message ...
On 5/10/2011 6:53 PM, Kerry Montgomery wrote:
Hi all,
Have recently changed from an upright bike to a recumbent - what is the
rule
of thumb (rule of thigh?) for setting the seat-to-pedal distance?
Thanks,
Kerry

Heels flat on the pedals with your legs fully extended, or about a 20°
minimum knee bend when pedaling. Make sure you are fully back in the seat
when doing so.

You may also want to consider shorter than normal cranks and lower gearing
than you used on an upright. Doing "leg presses" uphill will quickly tire
out your muscles, and may lead to joint problems.

--
Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

Tom,
Thanks for the advice. Am sure I don't want to do "leg presses", as that
sounds like a recipe for joint problems.
I interpret "20° minimum knee bend when pedaling" to mean that my knee
should never come within 20° of becoming straight, yes?
Have been playing with the seat adjustment, and think I was at less than 20°
yesterday, but more than that today.
Thanks again,
Kerry

recumbent fit?
 

On 11/05/11 03:03, Tºm Shermªn™ °_° wrote:
On 5/10/2011 6:53 PM, Kerry Montgomery wrote:
Hi all,
Have recently changed from an upright bike to a recumbent - what is
the rule
of thumb (rule of thigh?) for setting the seat-to-pedal distance?

Heels flat on the pedals with your legs fully extended, or about a 20°
minimum knee bend when pedaling. Make sure you are fully back in the
seat when doing so.

The fist bit of that is what I use as a rule of thumb, but note that
rules of thumb are where to /start/, not where to finish. Fettle
empirically fore and aft from that and test it to see it's right for you.

I find on the 'bent I'm less sensitive to the exact distance than I am
to saddle height on a wedgie. Others seem to find differently so you
can't assume "set it /here/" advice will necessarily apply to you.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

recumbent fit?
 

On May 10, 11:38*pm, "Kerry Montgomery" wrote:
snip
Tom,
Thanks for the advice. Am sure I don't want to do "leg presses", as that
sounds like a recipe for joint problems.
I interpret "20° minimum knee bend when pedaling" to mean that my knee
should never come within 20° of becoming straight, yes?
Have been playing with the seat adjustment, and think I was at less than 20°
yesterday, but more than that today.
Thanks again,
Kerry

No, that's not what it means. I find that I have huge knee problems
when I can't get my leg almost straight when I pedal, but for many
people having a few degrees of bend when the leg is extended more or
less will not hurt. As always YMMV. Humans, deviating from the
specification for 13 million years.