# Is riding fixed bad for your knees?



## juxtaposition

I’m almost done building my first fixed, and nearly all the people I talk to about it will 

say “kiss your knees goodbye”. I don’t have any knee problems as of now, but I would 

also like to keep it that way. Is riding fixed worse then riding freewheeled for your knees.


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## FixedPip

*Can be, just like riding any bike*

If you ride any bike with poor seat height and other fitting issues, and you ride it aggressvely you can hurt your knees. Fixies just tend to bring these issues to the fore quicker. Nevertheless, a lot of road riders ride fixies in the off season and I doubt they would do any of that if it was flat out bad for their knees.

If you ride a fixie with brakes, then the problems come out because you're making a lot more revolutions than with freewheel so if you have poor seat position you'll notice it quicker. The other issue is that the bigger the gear the more strain you're placing your knees under while starting.

If your position is adjusted correctly and you don't get all macho on the size of your gear combo then you won't have too many issues.

The problems specific to fixies tend to be (little bit of repition here):

1) The super gear combo - sure you can zoom like a bat out of hell, but it takes you 1/2 block to get started and you can forget about any hills. 

2) The aggressive ascent/descent - where you mash up the hill straining away with all your might and then zoom down the other side as fast possible. This is true for road riders as well.

3) The brakeless wonderkid - Skids and bunny hops all the time. This will definitely stress your knees and your components. Have to remember to warm up and know your limits before pulling these off - should try and limit to lower speeds and emergencies only.


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## SSSasky

*That advice ...*

pretty much applies to all biking, even the macho gearing thing to some degree. It's good advice for all, regardless of fix/free, SS/gearie.

Poor technique is the key to problems. If your technique is good, fixie shouldn't be a problem. What I've heard is that the good spin technique induced by fixed gear is actually good for your knees, because of its smooth, repetitive motion, not unlike physiotherapy. This is so much so that a racer I know specifically bought a fixed gear to help him with his knee problems, and to rehabilitate him from knee surgery.

Knee damage from single speeding and fixed gears is, to a large degree, an 'old-wives' tale perpetrated by gearies to scare their friends away from single speed. I had terrible knees for most of my youth (to the point where getting out of bed usually involved me collapsing in a heap on the floor). I run pretty 'macho' gears on my single speeds (38:16 on my mountain, 52:15 on my road (even up steep hills)) and my knees have never felt better.


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## juxtaposition

*I feel better now..*

ok cool, i was starting to get worried


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## Spinfinity

*more reassurrance*

I find fixed riding painless for my knees unless I push back against the pedals as they come up when I'm back-pedaling and do a hell of a lot of it. If I slow down by pulling against the pedals as they come over the top whenever I can my knees are totally pain free. I feel like the fly wheel effect makes it easier for me to remember to pull the pedals up, even when I'm standing in too big a gear to get up a hill or up to speed.


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## girishji

Firstly, having a single gear in itself is not enough to cause knee problem unless you are pushing unusually tall gear. In order to cause knee problems, one has to put 'over the limit' stress on the knee joint. This could occur if you use tall gear routinely in a long uphill type terrain. So you have to pick the right gear!

Secondly, fixed (as opposed to SS) may put extra stress on your knee if you resist in the backpedalling direction. I think this is generally not advaisable, and it it better to use a front brake. 

Finally, a reasonable amount of stress on the knee, followed by rest and good nutrition can actually make your knee stronger!


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