Hello fellow fat bikers.
I bought a used fat bike about a month ago and have fallen in love. However, I have also developed a strange ache in my knees.
What i’ve done to try to fix the strange knee pain:
– adjust saddle height.
– adjust saddle position.
A few people have told me it might be Q-factor but I don’t really know much about that if I’m being honest. I’ve compared the lengths of the crank on my gravel bike to that of my fat bike and noticed that the fat bike crank was considerably longer and wider.
If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them. I’m eager to fix this problem and get outside!
Thanks!
by CoastFalse8487
3 Comments
Have had a similar experience and the issue was Q factor. Is your fat bike platform pedals?
If you’re absolutely sure you don’t have some knee damage, then consider this:
If you ride only 1 bike or bikes with very similar Q factor and distance from pedals to seat vertical and horizontal and suddenly go to a different positioning, you’re using similar muscle and tendons, but in a different proportion. Some will be used a bit more. This can cause temporary pain until you’ve accustomed the groups to the new setup. I shifted from low flat bar with extensions forward to high wrap around bar mid summer on a number of my bikes, as I don’t need aggressive positioning for my riding, plus I’m over 70 now and upright feels better on my shoulders. For a few weeks I had pain until I got accustomed to the new setup. I expected this. I have ridden my fat winter bike in the high close setup for years and every spring when going to the more aggressive positioning, it hurt for a while. Had to work into it slowly. Inverse in fall. Started riding winter bike a few times in October and more in November.
Is it a heavier frame than what you are used to?
I switched to Catalyst pedals and that helped a lot.