Standing on pedals when climbing - more or less stress on knees?

freefall_junkie

I am recovering from patella tendonitis in both knees, but worse in my left knee. It has been a long haul but it is slowly getting better with lots of exercise (decline squats especially). I have had conflicting advice from 2 different physios about the effect of standing on the pedals while climbing, one telling me to always sit and spin, another saying standing actually puts less stress on the knees because your hips can move freely and the angle of the knee at the top of the stroke is much less. Standing while climbing has always felt more natural to me, something I put down to years of hill running before I got into road biking, but obviously I would want to avoid it if it could put more strain on the patella tendon.

So any informed opinions welcome. My bike fit and cleat alignment has been professionally checked and I think is good. Standing on the pedals - good or bad for your knees?

Thanks,
Mark

bendertherobot

Dunno. But, I think much depends on cadence. So easier gear and spin more. Less power required or something. So, unless it's a short sharp hill, sit down, gear down, sit and spin it out.

Someone sciency will be along in a moment.

I reserve the right to ignore the advice I gave above as I keep climbing stuff in the big ring when I really shouldn't

fenix

I'd think that if you're in the same gear and same incline - theres less strain on the knees out of the saddle.

I'm looking at it like this - if you don't change up the gear when you get out of the saddle - you're in too easy a gear.

singleton

Climbing while out of the saddle for me feels very close to walking up stairs.
This can certainly be less stress on the knees than sitting and pushing a big gear, but honestly I don't know what it's like compared to spinning a low gear.

If I'm on a big climb, I usually alternate as it uses slightly different muscles and so gives a bit of a chance to recover.

drlodge

Singleton wrote:

Climbing while out of the saddle for me feels very close to walking up stairs.
This can certainly be less stress on the knees than sitting and pushing a big gear, but honestly I don't know what it's like compared to spinning a low gear.

If I'm on a big climb, I usually alternate as it uses slightly different muscles and so gives a bit of a chance to recover.

Pretty much this.

Standing is like walking - knees are not that bent so not too much strain on them.

Spinning while seated is fine.

Grinding while seated puts more strain on the knees due to added pressure and bent knee position. I might suggest you're OK if hands are on the tops of the bars, but if you need to move hands to the hoods in order to "pull up" on the front of the bike, your knees are starting to take some real strain.