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Kneesavers

03.18.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 11 Comments

It’s fascinating what you can learn from the cycling community.

Last week, I was battling a painful bout of gout in my left knee. I couldn’t bend the knee without it hurting, and I walked with a pronounced limp.

That’s all in the past now. A steroid injection into the knee and some time on the bike has done wonders. I’m walking normally again. The more time I ride, the better the knee feels.

But while I was laid up, I got lots of interesting advice. One item didn’t apply to my gout, but it’s interesting enough that I’m going to look into it anyway. It’s called the Kneesaver.

The idea behind the Kneesaver is simple. It’s an extension to the pedal axle, just 20, 25 or 30 mm long. The company says that added width to the pedal (what it calls the “Q factor”) can reduce or eliminate pain in the hip, knee, ankle or foot.

The Kneesavers web site (www.kneesaver.net) has testimonials from satisfied users, but I put more stock in the unsolicited testimonials from riders in my club whose experience I respect.

One said he bought them to help alleviate pain in his hip that came on after a crash.  Not only did the pain go away, he said, but his knees felt younger, too (he’s in his upper 50s). When he started riding his “rain bike” during colder winter weather, the hip pain came back. He moved the Kneesavers over to his rain bike, and the pain went away. “A wider stance on the pedals will more closely approximate your ‘at rest’ standing position and that’s where you will have the most comfortable knee rotation,” he said.  “It’s an old guy thing.” He was so happy with his experience that he’s buying another set for his wife.

Lending even more credibility to the worth of Kneesavers is a comment from another club member, who happens to be a physician. He also complained of hip pain after long bike rides. “What put me onto it was I noticed that long rides on our tandem didn’t give me this problem,” he said, “so when I checked I discovered that the Q on the tandem was an estimated 30% wider–because they use a MTB crankset (MTB cranksets have a significantly wider Q). When I measured my ‘standing Q’ it was 10cm wider than my road bike, so I increased it the minimum.”

One thing to watch for if using pedal extenders is the increased possibility of “pedal strike” in corners. You can’t lean the bike as far without the pedal hitting the ground. But since we’re supposed to corner with the inside pedal up, that shouldn’t be a problem.

This post is not to be considered an endorsement for Kneesavers. I haven’t tried them yet.  But I’m not getting any younger, and anything that keeps me going in comfort is worth a look.

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Categories // Accessories, Injury Tags // Accessories, Injury, knee, pain

Bike Lane Cleanup

03.16.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

A Bike Noob reader who prefers to remain anonymous emailed me with a gripe the other day:

“As a daily bicycle commuter, I don’t ride on weekends. On Saturday and Sunday morning I decided to do some trail maintenance. I spent about an hour cleaning two of the bike lanes I ride in north Austin. Attached are the images of what I picked up. About 10 pounds of nails, screws, bolts, wood, chain, car parts and many pieces of lane reflectors. Any one of these items could cause a crash.”

My correspondent encourages us all to spend some time cleaning the bike lanes or roads that we ride. In addition to the trash pickup, he also cuts tree limbs that hang into the bike lane and sweeps up loose gravel.  Best time to do this kind of work: early on Sunday morning, he says, because traffic is light.

Wow. I must say, bike lane cleanup is not something I’ve ever done. Occasionally, I’ll stop to pick up a piece of metal and toss it off the road, but nothing organized like our friend. And yet, I think we can all say that this kind of cleanup is something that needs to be done. If we wait for the city street sweepers to do it, we’ll be waiting for months.

Do you, or your bike club, or just a group of like-minded bikers do any organized cleanup of bike lanes in your area? Share your stories.

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Categories // Community, Safety Tags // road cleanup

Camelbak Podium Water Bottle – Review

03.14.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

Guest poster Jeff Hemmel says if you’re looking for a good water bottle, this is the one to try.

Ray’s recent post on water bottles exposed something interesting. Namely, there are quite a few fans of Camelbak’s Podium water bottle. The proof is that, in a world where cycling enthusiasts often get bottles for free or pick them up dirt cheap, people will actually pay a premium to trade up to a Camelbak.

I’m one of those people. In fact, I’ve paid for two, and may even grab another insulated model before the height of summer. Here’s why.

Like a lot of people, I viewed the Podium with a little skepticism the first time I laid eyes on it. It was probably the whole “reinventing the wheel” thing. After all, a water bottle’s a pretty simple thing. Why throw a lot of tech at it? Even when I ultimately bought one, it was because I liked the bottle’s looks more than I bought into its hype. But after using it for a while I suddenly noticed my other bottles remained in the cupboard, while the Camelbak was on constant rotation.

One reason is the Jet Valve. Rather than a conventional bottle’s pull-up nozzle, the Podium features a medical-grade silicone “valve” that doesn’t drip or leak. Squeeze the bottle and the valve opens up. Stop squeezing and it clamps shut. No grabbing the nozzle with your teeth to pull it open while riding, pushing it against your chin or hip to close, and no sticky sports drink drips on your clothes or bike unexpectedly. Just grab, squeeze, and stick it back in your bottle cage. Should you want to more permanently close the bottle, like if you throw it in a gym bag, you can turn a rotary valve at the base 90 degrees to stop any flow.

Another reason is the 100% BPA-free, polypropylene bottle material. Camelbak calls it TruTaste, and claims it lets you taste your drink, not plastic. I’d say that’s true. You don’t get the nasty taste you get from cheap bottles. Podiums are also lined with HydroGuard, an antimicrobial embedded into the bottle walls that inhibits bacteria growth that could result in odors, discoloration, and deterioration. I’ll take them on their word on that one, as I’m pretty good about washing my bottles after every use.

That polypropylene material is also, however, exceptionally soft, even in the insulated version I picked up as my second Podium. I received another “name brand” insulated bottle as a gift, and it’s ridiculously hard to squeeze. That may seem like a silly thing to gripe about (what am I, some kind of wimp!), but when you’re looking to grab a quick gulp on the fly, it’s nice to be able to squirt your bottle without a second thought, rather than actually squeeze with concerted effort just to get a decent flow.

So what’s not to like? Some would say the price, although I’d argue an MSRP of $8 ($12 for the insulated Chill Jacket version) shouldn’t be enough to sway anyone from avoiding a Podium. I’d also note the Jet Valve design makes a Podium a little harder to clean. The top of the valve forms almost a small, tight cup, which is hard to get into with a sponge or bottlebrush. Camelbak says throw the cap in the dishwasher. The bottle itself, however, should be hand washed.

But that’s really the only bad thing I can say about it. Others agree. Loren Mooney, the editor of Bicycling, noted last year in an Editor’s Letter that she also thought the Podium was a gimmick, but quickly became a convert.

So yes, apparently you can build a better mousetrap…or at least, a better water bottle.

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Categories // Accessories, guest post Tags // Accessories, guest post, Hemmel

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