Actually, Charles, that's part of my point -- The things that have been mentioned about tendinitis and what not are mor e related to seat height, fore & aft position of the seat (both relating to leg extension which is directly related to knee pains & injury).
You and others are correct that one must shift position - but the fundame ntal bike fit - to each individual - is critical to getting the best out of the rider without stress injury. Take a look at the preface of Dr. And y Pruitt's book -- he talks about meeting both Eddy and Axel Merckx. Both have one leg slightly longer than the other. It is why Eddy was constant ly fiddling with his seat height, even in the middle of races. Pruitt sug gested that a slight shim on one cleat would solve it -- and Merckx remar ked, "Where were you when I was racing?"
But that was not the point -- it started with perfect circles give you mo re power. That is simply not true.
But, to save Dale the trouble, the thread should end here. While it may b e peripherally related to our collective (and collecting) passions becaus e 'vintage' understanding of exercise physiology was more restricted than what we have since learned, it's not really on topic .
I have, however learned a valuable lesson about how and why the myth pers ists.
Cheers,
Bob Hillery
(like Charlie Brown, head down & dragging my baseball mitt as I leave the
mound ...)
Stratham, NH
USA