Hi Bill:
 
What's your age ? 
 
I spent 27 years commuting to/from my office in downtown DC from Arlington, VA.  Virtually all of this was on diamond-frame bikes, except for 2 years on a Bike-E with a rear shock.  I'm 65-1/2 now.  At about age 58 or so, I began to develop bi-lateral knee pain, too, and it was really giving me objectionable pain on my daily commute to/from work.  Didn't see a doctor about it, but my fiance (who was in health care) suggested I try glucosamine-chondroitin, so I began taking it.  It's a supplement that's designed to rebuild lost cartilage and replenish the synovial fluid in your joints. 
 
I began with a 'starter dose' of 4 pills a day -- two before bed and two each morning with breakfast.  By the end of the first month, the pain was gone in both knees and I could ride farther without stress.  I cut back the dosage to three pills -- one before bed and two with breakfast.  The pain did not return.  Now I have a 'maintenance dose' of just two pills each day, taken with food at breakfast.  So far...no problems.  I can easily do 20 miles a day now...
 
There are about a half zillion folks out there making this stuff in various formulations.  The brand I use is "Kirkland" (the house brand at Costco).  Their compound is manufactured by the "Inverness Medical Nutritionals Group" and consists of oblong light tan-colored pills that are coated and easy to swallow with liquid.  The normal 'serving size' is two tablets, which together provide 1.5 grams (1,500 milligrams) of Glucosamine HCl and 1.2 grams (1,200 milligrams) of Chondroitin Sulfate.  These two elements are synergistic when formulated together (separately, they don't do much, for some reason).  And these 'per serving' amounts are the very minimum dosage you should look for.  The cost for 170 tablets in a plastic container is about $20.00 at Costco (if you have one of those near you).  Check Wal-Mart or Sam's Club, etc. or other discount outlets, as well.  Some formulas also contain hyuleronic acid (also a synovial fluid regenerator).
 
There are other brands/formulations available at most major drug stores, but the cost may be higher compared to the large discount food and 'general store' type outlets.  Many outlets offer these at sale prices (i.e. 2 for one, or 40% off, etc.) on occasion...so watch for sales.
 
You might try this supplement to see if it will work for you -- but remember it takes a bit of time for it to "kick in" -- at least a month, so don't be in a hurry.  Also remember that as we get older, it's easy to stress the knees by gearing the bike too high, especially if you're going self-contained and hauling camping gear on the rack behind you, or in a trailer.  If you are feeling constant stress, try spinning up a little into a lower gear for awhile, to relieve the stress. That may help, as would efforts to slim down your pack and reduce your all-up weight on the bike.  Chain lube, and checking your wheel bearings for proper cleaning and lubrication also can relieve rolling friction.  And don't forget pedal bearings and the possibility of 'dragging' brake shoes on your rims, either.  Anything to reduce friction.
 
Docs will want you to consider knee replacement surgery to correct this problem.  It's fairly expensive and has a projected life of about 20 years before the procedure has to be done again.  The prosthetics are titanium (inert to the body tissue) and quite strong, but the operation isn't cheap and recovery time for restoration of full mobility varies with folks -- generally about 4-8 weeks.  Using the glucosamine compound may forestall the need for this for quite awhile, if not indefinitely.
 
Blessings,
Geoff Steele
(now in Huntersville, NC and semi-retired)
 


 

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To: ryanownersclub@yahoogroups.com
From: mcaninch@...
Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2008 11:51:46 +0000
Subject: [ryanownersclub] It's not my bike that needs rebuilt :(