The Dark Side?

Johnny Napalm

Well, after always owning HT's I have had my first ever ride on a FS today, which I purchased last week.

I had a knee op last year, and the knee has continued to grumble this year about any rough stuff, so I figured I'd try a FS to see what relief it would give my knee. I bought a Teocali Super 2007, which is my first ever FS, and I took it for its first outing today.

When I got the bike I was surprised by how light it was (not the lightest, I know, but stil lighter than I thought), and it does climb really well, so I'm more than satisfied in that area. On the descents it is certainly less impact on the knee, and obviously more accomodating than my HT.

Once I fine tune the suspension (could take me a bloody age :oops: ) I reckon it will be a good addition, and allow me to continue with the rougher stuff without too much stress on the knee. I can obviously tell the difference, but the bike didn't feel too out of place (which was something that I feared) compared to my HT.

However, I will still be riding the HT's, and keep the FS for the higher impact terrain.

Anonymous

id just get ri of the hardtails, infact keep one, just for qualification in ht vs fs "debates"

blister pus

Johnny Napalm wrote:

However, I will still be riding the HT's, and keep the FS for the higher impact terrain.

or push yourself and take your hardtail riding to the next level and get more fun out of it.

Valy

blister pus wrote:

Johnny Napalm wrote:

However, I will still be riding the HT's, and keep the FS for the higher impact terrain.

or push yourself and take your hardtail riding to the next level and get more fun out of it.

His knee hurts?

blister pus

so do mine but i learnt to manage it through changing riding position, technique and cycling / frequency / quantity - and leg / knee after care routine.

if it is cycling related of course

Valy

blister pus wrote:

so do mine but i learnt to manage it through changing riding position, technique and cycling / frequency / quantity - and leg / knee after care routine.

if it is cycling related of course

I see. Sounds like a lot of stuff to do.

blister pus

depends how lazy and lazy minded you are about it all i guess. having a warm down after any vigorous exercise is always advisable even if it's 5 minutes stretching out. and fine tuning riding position and technique is logical painless step as is adjusting your cycling routine.

Johnny Napalm

depends how lazy and lazy minded you are about it all i guess. having a warm down after any vigorous exercise is always advisable even if it's 5 minutes stretching out. and fine tuning riding position and technique is logical painless step as is adjusting your cycling routine.

It's not a case of being lazy, just wise. I always warm up/down and I have altered riding postion etc. to get maximum effect. I've been advised, by the knee surgeon to reduce any impact on my knee or risk permanent damage, so pushing the HT even harder would be fool-hardy...hence the FS.

I've been pushing my HT riding harder than ever this year, and have made the injury worse. I don't see the sense in risking permanent damage just through foolishness, which could then result in zero bike-riding in the future.

blister pus

Johnny Napalm wrote:

depends how lazy and lazy minded you are about it all i guess. having a warm down after any vigorous exercise is always advisable even if it's 5 minutes stretching out. and fine tuning riding position and technique is logical painless step as is adjusting your cycling routine.

It's not a case of being lazy, just wise. I always warm up/down and I have altered riding postion etc. to get maximum effect.

well that wasn't directed at you and may or may not be applicable in your case

Johnny Napalm wrote:

I've been advised, by the knee surgeon to reduce any impact on my knee or risk permanent damage, so pushing the HT even harder would be fool-hardy...hence the FS.

all cycling is going to impact your knees over time no matter what you ride, swimming is about as low impact where your body is supported as you can get

Johnny Napalm wrote:

I've been pushing my HT riding harder than ever this year, and have made the injury worse.

me too, which is why i drastically changed my routines and managed to halt the aches and pains and possible further damage - for the time being (time will tell)

Johnny Napalm wrote:

I don't see the sense in risking permanent damage just through foolishness, which could then result in zero bike-riding in the future.

absolutely not, which is why i would cut down on cycling all together and swim more and see if you can get a buzz out of that.

Johnny Napalm

absolutely not, which is why i would cut down on cycling all together and swim more and see if you can get a buzz out of that.

I agree with what you are saying, and I know that there will always be the impact element, but I can't imagine never cycling. I do like swimming, and it is great exercise, but I still want me bike! :?

I want to see how the FS goes, and I have reduced the rougher stuff - don't do anything too extreme nowadays, which fits nicely with my cowardly crapness too!

Valy

blister pus wrote:

depends how lazy and lazy minded you are about it all i guess. having a warm down after any vigorous exercise is always advisable even if it's 5 minutes stretching out. and fine tuning riding position and technique is logical painless step as is adjusting your cycling routine.

Hay, I'm just putting it out there - the first line sound self-righteous. :P

You did not actually say above what you meant by "after care". Of course a warm up and down is important and advisable. Getting a good riding position is also a beneficial thing to do in any case, it just came across like you had to do a lot of conditioning just so that you can go hardcore on a HT with your knee condition - seemed to me too much for too little, illogical. Unless you value riding a HT over rough stuff a hell of a lot.

You say you swim - how much do you do a week or w/e?

blister pus

Valy wrote:

blister pus wrote:

depends how lazy and lazy minded you are about it all i guess. having a warm down after any vigorous exercise is always advisable even if it's 5 minutes stretching out. and fine tuning riding position and technique is logical painless step as is adjusting your cycling routine.

Hay, I'm just putting it out there - the first line sound self-righteous. :P

and if it's remotely true i couldn't care less

Valy wrote:

You did not actually say above what you meant by "after care".

it's self explanatory, it's used in modern advertising parlance a lot :P

Valy wrote:

Of course a warm up and down is important and advisable. Getting a good riding position is also a beneficial thing to do in any case,

good, but i'd say it's crucial in the long term

Valy wrote:

it just came across like you had to do a lot of conditioning just so that you can go hardcore on a HT with your knee condition - seemed to me too much for too little, illogical. Unless you value riding a HT over rough stuff a hell of a lot.

well that all depends on your age and state of your legs and knees as to how much 'after care' they need

(i pretty much have to do a yoga and stretching routine, including digging my fingers and thumbs into the back of my knees, to get back in shape after, say, a hard Peaks 30 miles)

Valy wrote:

You say you swim - how much do you do a week or w/e?

not much these days as i can't find a pool that doesn't pump a ton of chlorine in at the times i can get there, but a lot in the past

Valy

I see.

I have not come across the term "after care" before. Is it another way of saying conditioning?

And as far as chlorine goes - sometimes I used to get bad reactions, like one day I struggled to keep my eyes open after a session.

blister pus

aftercare (after|care)

Pronunciation:/ˈɑːftəkɛː/
noun
[mass noun]

* care of a patient after a stay in hospital

so think rehabilitation of patient in this sense of 'aftercare' i'm using

Valy

blister pus wrote:

aftercare (after|care)

Pronunciation:/ˈɑːftəkɛː/
noun
[mass noun]

* care of a patient after a stay in hospital

so think rehabilitation of patient in this sense of 'aftercare' i'm using

I see.

Raymondavalon

Johnny Napalm

I recall your knee injury, it was a nasty one too.

The exact reason I bought my FS was due to repair work in my leg stemming from an MTB crash, I was blessed with 4 screws in the Tibia and 7 screws with a plate in the Fibula. When I got riding again the Kona HT just seemed to direct all the back end chatter into the Meccano set.

The FS was a massive change for me but it was without doubt easier on the repair work which had been completed less that 4 months when I bought the FS
I've adapted to the FS fairly well and am now building a long travel HT in order to participate in the endless "FS vs. HT" pîssing matches that pop up so very often.

If an FS works for you, great, the most important thing is you're riding again and that in itself in a moral victory

Johnny Napalm

Wow, mate...my knee injury was only the result of a badly torn cartlidge that was left for too long, nothing like yours, mate (you may have me confused with someone else on here).

That said, my knee is refusing get back to normal even 19 months after the op. I don't want to, but it may need surgey again (old age, I'm afraid).

Good to hear that you've recovered well, Raymond, and I think the FS will also (hopefully) help me too.