Saddle sore knees

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

Barb Peck bpeck@together.net
From Barb Peck  bpeck@together.net

The longer the stirrup lenghth, usually the better for
long hours in the saddle. A stirrup hanging somewhere
in between the ankle & instep is usually about right.

There are a couple of other reasons for sore knees:

One can be torgue on the ankle-
joint, which stresses the knee joint.  Sometimes this happens
with new endurance-type saddles before the leather breaks-in,
especially the "neck" of the fender.
The neck of the fender is the narrow piece of leather, below the
lower curve of the fender, that the stirrup hangs on.
The neck has to be long enough (usually 3 to 4 inches) so that
it can easily twist, that makes the stirrup hang correctly so you
don't have to be twisting your ankle to keep the stirrup in the
correct position. Synergist saddles have a long enough neck.  Maybe yours just needs to be "twist trained".  You can do this
by twisting the stirrups out, then holding them there with a
broom stick put thru them while your saddle is stored on a saddle
rack.

Another reason for sore knees is that the fender's blevins buckle (or any
other type fender buckle) should *not* come above, at, or just barely below your knee.
When the stirrups are the correct lenghth, this buckle should be
between mid-calf and above the ankle.

If your knees are "sound" then you probably just need some
adjustments.

Of course... just walking for 2 hrs. can make your knees sore..
so go faster!!

Hope this helps!
Barb


Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp
Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-Ý-