Painful knees

tomo20

Hi,

I'm 19 and have been casually riding all my life and i seem to always experience a pain in my knees. Its more of an aching pain at the point where your quads attach to the top of your knees. it tends to kick in as im straining up a hill, it seems to make riding hard to get up the hills considering i have quite good fitness level.

im at the point now that i want to buy a decent road bike and join a club riding and i am worried that the pain will always be there.

My current bike is a specialized hard tail and is 17in frame which i guess is too small? i know its not a great bike for riding distances and any advice on what set up i should have on a road bike would be appreciated.

Anyone have any ideas why im getting the aching pain in my knees?

thanks

will3

Common causes:
Saddle set too low
Grinding in high gears.

keef66

usual advice is to spin the pedals faster in a lower gear to reduce knee problems. 80-90 rpm is the cadence to aim for.

Time yourself; how many times do you push down on the right pedal in 30 seconds?

Chaz.Harding

Yup, just spin the pedals faster, should help. Knees is an UBER common problem with cyclists tho!

doyler78

Well if it is your quad that is actually hurting it suggests to me that your seat is too far forward so either try moving the seat back or adjusting the cleats forward. Which is the most appropriate to try first is down to which is the most likely cause. If your knee is quite far in front on the of pedal axle when your foot is at the bottom of the stroke then seat is probably best to start with first. Small changes are best so that you don't introduce other issues. Each foot is different and therefore if you are riding clipless then don't assume that both feet need the same position for the cleats. I for instance have one foot about 1/2 a size bigger than the other therefore my cleats are in completely different positions on both feet.

Dunkeldog

I'm slightly older than you (40!) and have managed to take care of my knees - touch wood - by recognising when I've done too much and being prepared to take a few days off to properly recover. Riding through the pain isn't a good idea. Wiith me it's mainly the fact I prefer to grind a bigger gear than spin up hill. Only myself to blame really.

brushed

You could try doing some stretching exercises. As the muscles become stronger they get tighter and shorten in length.

Stretching will bring them back to their normal length.

Pain at the quad just before the kneecap insertion sounds like your quads are tight and need stretching out.

Try this after light exercise ie on the trainer or on flat roads as the muscles will be warm and will stretch further.

You could also go and see a sports physio for a more thorough diagnosis.

Also as the others have said get your bike position checked out.

rjh299

i had ache in same area and went to physio after rest did little to help.i suggest you do the same. It could be tight muscles or a muscle inbalance. I have weak gluteals so need to strengthen them, could be tight IT band also.

sicknote

You can also look at this write up about knees, plus here for part two.