New bike and ouch my knees!

[platys]

I road my bike to the train!

Of course, I got caught in a thunderstorm and I ended up completely soaked. So now I'm sitting at work in comfy clothes bought at Walgreens while my work clothes dry out.

So, I need a poncho.

Moving the bike seat up some is helping - I"ll keep working on it. I road it around more last night, and that helped with the whole balance thing.

It is true that you never forget how to ride a bike, but you do forget, like, how to start and stop and get off and not fall down at stop lights...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Good for you Platys!
Don't stress, just take it slowly and it will all come naturally.

[redrhodie]

Good job!

One thing that helped me (I was a too low saddle rider at first) was to watch my BF start and stop on his bike. Once I could analyze the dynamics of stepping on the pedal as I was lifting onto the seat, it made sense.

[rhyme]

This is a great thread. Lately I've started to wonder about my bike .... like the position I was in was just kind of odd - I felt like I needed a longer distance between myself and the handlebars - the natural tendency was to sit further back on the seat to give myself a little extra room to drag out, which just isn't comfortable. I wondered if maybe this is what people meant about bike geometry, and maybe this bike just wasn't right for my ill shapen body. But then I just started wondering if my legs weren't extending enough -- I felt like if I could just extend a bit more, I'd probably have a lot more power.

I mentioned it to a friend of mine who isn't a newbie, and he asked how much more I thought I could extend my legs..... I replied at least three inches to a fully extended leg.. and i could sit on the bike with both feet squarely flat to the ground. He suggested im an idiot.

Fixed it today, looking forward to seeing what its like after this.

[mimitabby]

I mentioned it to a friend of mine who isn't a newbie, and he asked how much more I thought I could extend my legs..... I replied at least three inches to a fully extended leg.. and i could sit on the bike with both feet squarely flat to the ground. He suggested im an idiot.

Fixed it today, looking forward to seeing what its like after this.

OW!! that's really hard on your knees to ride with the seat that low. Do come back and tell us about the improvement.

[KatiePickle]

I think this article and video from Sheldon Brown says it best:

http://sheldonbrown.com/starting.html

[rij73]

He suggested im an idiot.

Well, that was a little harsh, but at least he only suggested it!

Good luck... You really do need to raise the saddle.

[TsPoet]

How long are your crankarms?
Several wonderful suggestions already, but I'd wonder about shorter crank arms as well. I'm 5'7", but I've switched all my bikes to 158-165 crank arms and I ride faster, because I can spin faster, and my knees are very happy for the change.
If you are 4'9", I'd think you could easily go to 150 cm cranks or even shorter.

[KnottedYet]

How long are your crankarms?
Several wonderful suggestions already, but I'd wonder about shorter crank arms as well. I'm 5'7", but I've switched all my bikes to 158-165 crank arms and I ride faster, because I can spin faster, and my knees are very happy for the change.
If you are 4'9", I'd think you could easily go to 150 cm cranks or even shorter.

Hee hee! I'm darn near the same height as you (5 foot 8) and I like my crank arms to be 175mm! (but I'm a masher) Ahhh, the wonderful variety of human mechanical function!

[rhyme]

Well, that was a little harsh, but at least he only suggested it!

Good luck... You really do need to raise the saddle.

We have an interesting friendship that is essentially built on insults... his actual words were more profanity laden and involved comparing me to an "epileptic monkey", but he's a cool guy and we get along, so no worries.

Anyway the seat is high enough now so I can barely touch with the ground with the tip of my toes, which is not yet quite high enough, but I'll ride that for a few miles and then try inching up another inch. Oddly enough, I've been following proper starting and stopping technique without even realizing it, even though with my seat height where it was, I really didn't need to.

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I used to ride with the seat so low when I first started that my knee literally hit my chest because I have a short inseam. When I got my new bike, it has a much lower standover and it took a while, but the seat started going up (you should of seen my face when they set it up for me at the LBS ..my butt is supposed to be up WHERE?). It felt odd when they first did it and I changed it back down. Now I am up where they set it up and wow what a DIFFERENCE!!! I didn't get knee pain but I just felt cramped. The thing for me was getting back on and now when I get on, I get up and then onto the seat, a little pelvis maneuver gets me back in the saddle. Just keep trying!