I do not know enough about biomechanics to even begin to phrase a qualified answer... buuuut, my personal experience has been that slacker seat angles are generally easier on my knees. i am not sure if it is a relaxation of direct downward load bearing or if it is a result of some lesser degree of acuteness in terms of how my knees bend during pedaling. I have always been sensitive/suspectible to knee pain, so I seem pretty finicky about seat height and pedal cleat position. If I set my seat too high or move my feet too far back on the pedal, my knees let me know immediately. Conversely, too low a seat makes my hips complain, and moving my feet forward on the pedals doesn't do much aside from dramatically reduce my top-end rpm. Standing, something I did a LOT of for a decade during the singlespeed years, doesn't really hurt my knees at all. I think that is because when standing one isn't really causing the knees to bend as much as they may while seated. But again, all of this is just my anecdotal observation...
Oct. 8, 2022, 8:18 a.m. - Mike Ferrentino
I do not know enough about biomechanics to even begin to phrase a qualified answer... buuuut, my personal experience has been that slacker seat angles are generally easier on my knees. i am not sure if it is a relaxation of direct downward load bearing or if it is a result of some lesser degree of acuteness in terms of how my knees bend during pedaling. I have always been sensitive/suspectible to knee pain, so I seem pretty finicky about seat height and pedal cleat position. If I set my seat too high or move my feet too far back on the pedal, my knees let me know immediately. Conversely, too low a seat makes my hips complain, and moving my feet forward on the pedals doesn't do much aside from dramatically reduce my top-end rpm. Standing, something I did a LOT of for a decade during the singlespeed years, doesn't really hurt my knees at all. I think that is because when standing one isn't really causing the knees to bend as much as they may while seated. But again, all of this is just my anecdotal observation...