Oh my Knee(s)

[rowey200]

So, a couple of months ago I stepped into the world of road cycling. I have mountain biked for years, but this is my first road bike. The experience has been liberating, and I have been commuting to work and doing rides in my spare time for fitness / pleasure - really joying the rate at which you can cover ground compared to a MTB.

So, this wk end just gone I decided that I would go for longer ride, just to see how I hold up (longest ride on the new bike up until this was maybe 15/18 miles). Everything felt good until I was about 25 miles into the ride, when my left knee starting to hurt - the best way I can describe the pain is an almost stabbing like sensation right in the center of my knee (just my left, right knee absolutely fine - no previous history of knee trouble). As soon as I stopped pedaling the pain subsided - needless the say I took the remaining part of the ride slowly, and limped home.

....and so onto the point of this post, have people experienced similar issues. Is this something that I need to work through that will get better as my legs get stronger etc. Or do I need to be looking at bike set-up. For reference, the bike is a Trek 1.5. I am currently using SPDs taken off my MTB (so not proper road pedals). When I got the bike the shop did spend some time with me, setting up the bike the best they could to suit my size etc.

Any advice grateful received

[khushy]

proper bike setup is the first step - without seeing you its impossible to comment beyond that!

khushy

[mk1fan]

Set up is primary. It might be worth spending money on getting a proper fitting with your bike.
Next is technique and gearing. Somepeople can 'push' a big gear, ie have a low cadance. Some people need to spin, ie a high cadance.

[NitroNick]

Make sure you have the saddle at the correct height.
Don't push excessively big gears.
Make sure the pedal axels are straight.

Dont use the bike again until you establish what is wrong, you can seriously screw up your knees, so be very very careful.

[Gargamel]

Pedals and shoes !

Probaby pushing with your knees slightly turned in or out

[shouldbworking]

Just like any form of exercise thats new to you, build slowly. no more than 10% increase in distance at a time say.

Bike fits still useful but it could be simply overdoing it.

[IroningMan]

Get your ITBs massaged/stretched and see if that makes a difference.

[Fartomatic5000]

You don't need proper road SPD SLs, your SPDs will do just fine on a road bike.
Your knee pain may be due to your saddle being too low. I had a burning sensation in my knees the morning after a 20mile rides before I raised my saddle, now I can do 50-80 miles with no such pains.

[rowey200]

Loads of info here, thanks people

When I got the bike the fitting was quite comprehensive (by my standards at least). The bike was put on to one of those indoor training devices and I performed various runs where the seat height was adjusted, then the stem height etc. They even hung a plump line from my knee and adjusted the cleats in my shoes slightly.

I think perhaps I may have just pushed it a bit too far on the last ride, trying to keep it in the 'big' ring for too long. Perhaps on my next ride I will try the spin a bit faster and take it a bit easier. I will report back

[rowey200]

Fartomatic5000 said:

Your knee pain may be due to your saddle being too low.

Any advice on how to get saddle height just right - technical protocol I need to follow etc?

[TonyHetherington]

Do you have a cadence meter?

One thing that surprised me when I first started road biking was how high the cadence needed to be - at first it felt unnatural, but now i don't even consider it. Approximately 90rpm is about right

[Fartomatic5000]

rowey200 said:

Any advice on how to get saddle height just right - technical protocol I need to follow etc?

There are plenty of "starting points" you'll find on the web and youtube videos etc, but they are only starting points and won't suit everyone.
Raise it by no more than 1cm at a time, then move it by 0.5cm at a time when you feel you are near to the perfect height for you.

[Comfortably Dumb]

IroningMan said:

Get your ITBs massaged/stretched and see if that makes a difference.

that'll certainly make the op forget about any knee pain in the short term.

[S10GTA]

Here's his summary of Knee Pain causes and resolutions, taken from another site

Location: Front of knee (Anterior)

Seat too low ------------ Raise seat
Seat too forward -------- Move seat back
Climbing too much ------- Reduce climbing
Big gears, low rpm ------ Spin more
Cranks are too long ----- Shorten cranks

Location: Inside of knee (Medial)

Cleats - toes point out --------------- Modify cleat position - toe in - Consider floating pedals
Floating pedals ----------------------- Limit float to 5 degrees
Exiting clipless pedals --------------- Lower tension
Feet too far apart -------------------- Modify clean position - closer

Consider also: Shorten bottom bracket axle and/or use cranks with less offset

Location: Outside of knee (Lateral)

toes point in -------------------- Modify cleat - toe out - Consider floating pedals
Floating pedals ------------------ Limit float to 5 degrees
Feet too close ------------------- Modify cleat position - apart

Consider also: Longer bottom bracket axle/Use cranks with more offset/Shim pedal on crank 2mm

Location: Back of knee (Posterior)

Saddle too high ------------------- Lower saddle
Saddle too far back --------------- Move saddle forward
Floating pedals ------------------- Limit float to 5 degrees

Edited by S10GTA on Wednesday 5th September 20:51

[GBDG]

shouldbworking said:

Just like any form of exercise thats new to you, build slowly. no more than 10% increase in distance at a time say.

Bike fits still useful but it could be simply overdoing it.

I think this is seriously over cautious. Running and other high impact thigs, require your body to adjust and strengthen. Cycling is low impact, so once you've got your position right, it's only muscle strength. As long as you warm up, muscles will just get a bit sore, which isn't the end of the world.

[rowey200]

...and so, I got out on the bike again yesterday. The only adjustment I made following on from my last ride was was a very slight increase in saddle height (not even 1 cm, probs about 7/8mm). This time at about 20 miles in I experienced an almost identical pain in my right Knee (the opposite knee compared with my last ride) - my left knee that was giving me jip last time was 100% fine. This has left me totally confused

I guess I may still need to nail the saddle height, but weird that a very slight change in height has moved the pain from one knee to the other. I might keep the saddle where it is on the next ride, but make a slight cleat adjustment....ho hum, the joys Any further advice gratefully received

[racerbob]

Not trying to be funny but are both your legs the same length ? you may have adjusted to get the one leg just right but maybe now the other leg is over-stretching ?

there are so many things that can cause knee pain (as you are now aware) I even find that temperatures below about 8°c bring on pain in one knee, but usually it's cleat position, saddle height, saddle set back and axle length that I concentrate on when setting up a new bike. Just keep investigating and don't do any megga rides till you have sorted it, good luck.