New pedals- knee pain

NORTHERNER33
NORTHERNER33 Posts: 41
edited April 2009 in Road beginners
I have just upgraded my clipless pedals to Look Keo Carbon. After the 1st test on a 35 mille ride I had pain in both my knees. I have never experienced this before with my heavier pedals.Is this likely to be due to cleat position or something with the pedals themselves?

Comments

  • lfcquin
    lfcquin Posts: 470
    Couple of questions...

    What pedals did you have before? Are the Look pedals and the cleats new? Both these things need to be considered before knowing if it is cleat position or something else...
  • NORTHERNER33
    NORTHERNER33 Posts: 41
    i had heavier look pedals before. both the pedals and cleats are brand new.
  • lfcquin
    lfcquin Posts: 470
    Ok, so it could be the cleat positioning. Is there an obvious difference between the position of the old cleats and the new ones?

    You should try and make sure the ball of your foot is over the centre of the pedal spindle as a starter. This won't sort out the lateral issues but is a good base to start from.

    I haven't got any technical answers for lateral movement, but I try and make sure I have some float on the pedal moving to the left and right. You should be able to move your foot around a few mm before the cleat releases from the pedal.

    Just googling some options and you might want to check this out. http://www.cyclingshoeguide.com/RotationalMovement.html It suggests on here that the Look Keo pedals have grey and red cleat options and the red have more lateral movement than they grey. It could be worth investing in the red to increase your lateral movement.

    I don't ride look style pedals because I also get kneee problems. The room for error is tiny. My last pair of Look pedals had a couple of mm of wear on the outside of the plastic connection point and I had 6 months of pain and MRI scans before I sussed it out. Now I only ride SPD's or Time because they have a metal connection point and good lateral movement.

    Hope that helps.
  • gtitim
    gtitim Posts: 225
    Also, different pedals and cleat systems will create different distances between the saddle and the contact area. It may seem like a small thing but you will probably have to readjust your seat position to ensure that your leg isnt overstretching or under stretching (if you can under stretch!).

    Hope that helps.

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