are my legs too bent? (for commuting)
This seems awfully straight and I feel out of control… :\
And, When I ride, my legs+knees like to point inwards.
It looks awkward and my leg often rubs against the frame; is this natural…?
My knees feel a little pain when riding, maybe just because I am riding more than I can handle at once…?(everyday few miles since its summer)
thanks for any advice!
Looks like your saddle is too high. This means that you are having to roll your body sideways as your pedal reaches six o’ clock,because the pedal is so far away.Rolling sideways is causing your upper knee to drift inwards. Over extending your legs may be the cause of your knee pain.So lower your saddle by at least one inch/2.5 cm or more until your knees feel comfortable.
Hope this helps.
Let us know if things improve.
I tend to disagree.
What saddle heights have you tried so far and how far did you ride?
How does your commute look like? (commute only means riding to work/school, this can be a highway, up and down stariways through a city or up/downhill through the woods)
Imho your saddle can be somewhat higher, maybe not as high as in the wikihow picture, but for “normal” riding i feel better when the leg is only slightly bent when the pedal is in its lowest position.
Also, depending on your type of riding, maybe shorter cranks could help somewhat.
Greetings
Byc
The leg on the picture is correctly straight for a bike as it shall be almost straight when you put the heel on the pedal. Then, when you move to ball of feet, it will be a bit bent. On uni it also works, but I tend to have my legs more bent on uni than on a bike.
Try putting your seat several mm up or down and seeing how the riding goes.
You should be able to sort that out by experimenting with seat height. Try raising and lowering it a few inches and see what happens. I like my seat height where I can stand up on the pedals and have several inches between the saddle and my crotch, but everybody probably likes it a little different. If that doesn’t work, maybe some cranks with a bit of q-factor would help you. Or maybe you could try putting your feet farther out on the pedals. This problem is also likely to go away if you just ignore it. When I first got my muni my legs would hit the frame a lot, but I got used to it and now they don’t hit the frame at all. Hopefully you can figure something out!
My 20 and 26 were fine, but when I got my 36 I noticed I was riding all knees in like your video. I think it was nerves or mental. Trying to get a better grip or something. Anyway it went away with riding. I think I just relaxed with time. I don’t think there is a “correct” seat height, It’s just what works best for you.
Based on the video, your seat appears to be clearly too high for normal cruising. For offroading, Street, Trials and some other activities the rules are different, but for normal cruising the height rule is basically the same as for bikes. Ball of foot on pedal, knee most of the way straight with pedal on the bottom. Your seat is NOT too high.
Knees inward is less of a problem than knees pointing out. With knees in you are much less likely to clip your ankles on the crank as the pedals go around. I think I ride slightly knees-in also.
Knee pain: too early to judge. Can you tell the difference between muscle or joint pain? Each would indicate a different thing. I had lots of sore knee muscles (quads) in my early days of learning. If you have pain in the joint it could be something more serious.
glad to hear knee-inward is not a big issue 
I don’t know the difference between joint/muscle pain
It hurts/pains on the downstroke (only my right)
If I pedal with mostly my left foot and my right foot is only turning lightly and moving along with the pedal, it doesnt hurt(unless i actually push with my right leg)
JF you contradicted yourself 
“Based on the video, your seat appears to be clearly too high for normal cruising. For offroading, Street, Trials and some other activities the rules are different [usually lower], but for normal cruising the height rule is basically the same as for bikes. Ball of foot on pedal, knee most of the way straight with pedal on the bottom. Your seat is NOT too high.”
IMO occasional sore knees in is fine but regular no. When I Muni and hit a hard bit my knees instinctively go in, I can’t seem to be able to keep it from happening (I also did it soon after learning which I could consciously correct) too much knees in would make my knees sore.
If you can’t tell the diff between joint/muscle pain, you should avoid it IMO.
At diff times I’ve preferred balls or arches on the pedals. Balls of feet requires ~ 1 inch higher seat for me.
I can’t see your vid on my phone but knee joint pain can come from: knees not in line w/ pedals, wrong seat hight (usually too low), too long of cranks for you (not likely unless you’re running 175’s+ or you are really short), not used to new crank length.
If it’s the last ride fewer hills and less long but more often (stop before u get sore)
D’oh! I meant to say his seat was TOO LOW.
I hate when that happens…
Here’s a suggestion regarding knee pain when riding.
I like to protect my knees from falls, but I don’t care for the strap-on knee/leg armor most guys wear. So I got a pair of knee pads normally worn by wrestlers. These are worn under my trousers, and are made of (apparently) neoprene rubber. They’re like part of a wet suit, with extra padding at the knees. This works fine for my fall protection needs, although they do make my legs sweat under them (the material doesn’t “breathe”).
The bonus is that the rubber fits snugly around my knees, and they act somewhat like knee braces. My old creaky knees that bothered me from time to time feel much better after riding with these knee pads.
I don’t know if anyone else will experience the same benefit, but it works for me.
True, also the snug neoprene insulates the knee increasing blood flow through the joint, effectively lubricating it. Prob too much heat for hot days, but u cold wear shorts & be comfy on cold days where you’d normally would wear pants and maybe even thermals. (I noticed this in JV football)
[QUOTE=unicycleharry;1590220]
This seems awfully straight and I feel out of control… :\
A bicycle set up is different than a unicycle. The saddle on a bicycle sits behind the crank hub,at an angle,not directly over it. The angle of attack on a bicycle is a lot different than on a unicycle.
On my bicycle,my saddle distance measures 35". On my unicycle ,my saddle distance is 34"
So my saddle distance on my unicycle is one inch shorter than on my bicycle.
Ultimatly it’s about how it feels for you the rider and your statement above says ‘THIS SEEMS AWFULLY STRAIGHT AND I FEEL OUT OF CONTROL’
Have you tried adjusting your saddle height yet???
P.S. If your knee pain is a sharp pain,then it is more likely to be joint pain than muscular. Muscular pain is usually a more dull pain. If the pain persists,stop cycling and have it checked by your doctor.