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Knee Pain

AnonymousAnonymous Posts: 79,667
edited March 2010 in Training, fitness and health
Hi all, Been out on 3 rides with my road bike after moving from an mtb.

My first ride felt perfect in the legs just a bit of a long reach with a 110mm stem that was fitted.

Second ride changed the stem to a 90mm and it felt really comfortable, but after about 20 miles I started to get a niggling pain in my left knee (on the inside of leg just below knee cap) by time I finished my ride (47miles) I could walk no problem, and sit no problem but going from sitting to standing was agony. I used some diclofenac gel and after 2 days my knee felt fine again.

I found that for my 3rd ride my saddle had probably been about a cm too low so put it up and Went out for a ride yesterday and after about 5 miles it started again. I did 40 miles and now it really hurts when walking and sitting.

Question is is there something in my bike set up that has caused this or has likely to have caused this? change cleat position or something? really don't know what to do, will see the Doc tomorrow but that is not going to help with getting me on the roads again :cry:

Posts

  • bristolpetebristolpete Posts: 2,255
    thunderflash55 wrote:
    Hi all, Been out on 3 rides with my road bike after moving from an mtb.

    My first ride felt perfect in the legs just a bit of a long reach with a 110mm stem that was fitted.

    Second ride changed the stem to a 90mm and it felt really comfortable, but after about 20 miles I started to get a niggling pain in my left knee (on the inside of leg just below knee cap) by time I finished my ride (47miles) I could walk no problem, and sit no problem but going from sitting to standing was agony. I used some diclofenac gel and after 2 days my knee felt fine again.

    I found that for my 3rd ride my saddle had probably been about a cm too low so put it up and Went out for a ride yesterday and after about 5 miles it started again. I did 40 miles and now it really hurts when walking and sitting.

    Question is is there something in my bike set up that has caused this or has likely to have caused this? change cleat position or something? really don't know what to do, will see the Doc tomorrow but that is not going to help with getting me on the roads again :cry:

    Hi mate,

    Tricky one here, but to many variables at play. Would suggest a fit at a decent shop. Saddle, stem, handle bar width, cleat position and shoes could all be a factor. Would advise not to ride hard or long til sorted.

    Well documented on here, but my knee went last sept out of the blue really and only just starting to not feel it. Before that I had ridden two years solid. I suspect it was a misaligned cleat and getting back on the bike after a nasty crash.....

    Dont let it get you down, but its likely position as you have moved from MTB to road.

    Pete.
  • AndyD2574AndyD2574 Posts: 1,034
    Have you spent time setting up your cleats and pedals.
    If they are out of line it could play havoc with your knees!
    Specialized S Works Venge
    Argon18 E114
    Specialized Langster Single Speed
    Scott Spark Expert 29'er
    GT Avalanche
    http://www.glasgowgreencycleclub.co.uk
  • scottgeniusltd2005scottgeniusltd2005 Posts: 575
    isn't the q factor different on road and mtb? the q factor is the distance apart the pedals are. easy to check with a tape measure, but i don't have a roadie.
    Cotic Soul rider.
  • AnonymousAnonymous Posts: 79,667
    scottgeniusltd2005 wrote:
    isn't the q factor different on road and mtb? the q factor is the distance apart the pedals are. easy to check with a tape measure, but i don't have a roadie.

    The distance is a cm bigger yes, does this make a differance?
    AndyD2574 wrote:
    Have you spent time setting up your cleats and pedals.
    If they are out of line it could play havoc with your knees!

    I have set them up so my feet feel natural yes, I did move the cleats forward to just behind the ball of the foot, may be worth moving it back again I guess?
  • scottgeniusltd2005scottgeniusltd2005 Posts: 575
    i don't really know. but have you taken that into account when setting cleats. if not you may have your feet either further or closer together. do you use the same shoes on both bikes?
    Cotic Soul rider.
  • AnonymousAnonymous Posts: 79,667
    scottgeniusltd2005 wrote:
    i don't really know. but have you taken that into account when setting cleats. if not you may have your feet either further or closer together. do you use the same shoes on both bikes?

    i cant really take it into account because the cleats have always been hard into the instep of the shoes to keep my feet away from the crank arms, size 13 shoes :oops: i have lots of float so only thing to do with cleats could be the forward and back placement as I have freedom every other direction. Yes same shoes and pedals
  • red dragonred dragon Posts: 263
    I used to have very bad knee pain, I eventually went to a bike shop and had had a bike fit. My then current road bike was set up and from the onset I was getting no knee pain. I was getting much better results, and my enjoyment of cycling really increased. Try it if possible it will be worth it.
  • AnonymousAnonymous Posts: 79,667
    red dragon wrote:
    I used to have very bad knee pain, I eventually went to a bike shop and had had a bike fit. My then current road bike was set up and from the onset I was getting no knee pain. I was getting much better results, and my enjoyment of cycling really increased. Try it if possible it will be worth it.

    Ok thanks, will see if any of my LBS do it, I think I have it pretty close but I am maybe missing something or trying to make myself more comfortable at the expence of something else.
  • stonehousestonehouse Posts: 222
    Go and see the Bike Whisperer, he is great with getting cleats setup and will check your whole riding position properly. Cleats don't have to be far out to cause issues, and your seat may well be still too low.
    www.ciclobyron.com
  • AnonymousAnonymous Posts: 79,667
    stonehouse wrote:
    Go and see the Bike Whisperer, he is great with getting cleats setup and will check your whole riding position properly. Cleats don't have to be far out to cause issues, and your seat may well be still too low.

    The bike whisperer? Where is he?

    I went for a ride this morning, knee pain within 5 minutes.
    I lowered the saddle from the correct height, to 1cm lower, rode for 20 mins = Still pain.
    Put saddle back up to correct height and moved saddle forward 1cm, rode for 10 mins with pain then all of a sudden no pain!
    Did 30 miles after that and no knee pain at all!

    I had set my saddle so the bone below the knee was in a direct line with the pedal spindle as I have seen that mentioned in all the magazines and on here. But with that bone now a centimetre forward of the spindle I have no pain. Will it last? I hope so.
  • keef66keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Bike whisperer is somewhere in London, so factor that in to the cost!

    He posts on here as Scherritt I think
  • kfinlaykfinlay Posts: 763
    thunderflash55 wrote:
    stonehouse wrote:
    I had set my saddle so the bone below the knee was in a direct line with the pedal spindle as I have seen that mentioned in all the magazines and on here. But with that bone now a centimetre forward of the spindle I have no pain. Will it last? I hope so.

    That Knee Over Pedal (KOPs) measurement is commonly used but should just be a starting point as eveyone is different shapes, leg length and foot size. Hope you stay pain free :D I'm not quite there yet for rides over 90mins :cry:
    Kev

    Summer Bike: Colnago C60
    Winter Bike: Vitus Alios
    MTB: 1997 GT Karakorum
  • st199mlst199ml Posts: 63
    Just to throw this in, if you've significantly upped mileage coming from MTBs then this could be causing problems. I had real trouble with knee misalignment after a lay-off and then jumping straight back on the bike and trying to pick up where I left off in speed and distance.

    Turned out it was a weak VMO muscle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vastus_medialis). Few physio sessions and following their exercises sorted the problem and no pain.

    Just one suggestion though.
  • DanEvsDanEvs Posts: 640
    Pain below the patella sounds like tendonitis...
  • paul.kpaul.k Posts: 90
    been having knee trouble since october ,4 month lay off started on mountain bike 4 weeks ago what i descovered was the the seat on the road bike was 10mm too high so i adjusted that and replaced the very poor quality pedals that came with it ,to ultegra pedals and road shoes, insted of trainers been out for the first ride on the road bike on sunday and boy did it feel different to the mtb
    kept stopping and changing cleat position and couldnt get it quite right so i took off ultegra pedals and reduced the size of the rear clip mechanism besically took off the pedals and using a bench grinder took off about 1mm( half a mm either side ) on the rear clip which in turn gave me a greater degree of float ,and reviewed bike set up again and also realised that the seat was 5mm too far forwards (using the plumb bomb method ) so adjusted that aswell ,bike feels right now but it just goes to show that even when you think it is set up right it may not always be the case , just waiting till 12 march now to see the physio to get a diagnosis on my left knee as the gp`s only want to give out tablets the doctor said it was an overuse injury but that wouldnt take 5 months to heal would it? as it is the knee clicks when going up stairs and get a pain on the inside top of the left knee
    riding the mtb is fine with no pains but when i get on the road bike full time again it will be a steady tranformation to get my body used to the different position again.
  • stevesavage71stevesavage71 Posts: 54
    I started using a road bike last year after many years on mountain bikes, and had knee trouble too. I had a proper bike fit done which said my saddle was too low..I had set it up the same height as my mountain bike. We raised the saddle a lot maybe an inche and a half. The other thing I did was fit mountain bike pedals which give you a bit more movement...year later all is well. My knee problem by the way was tendonitis.
  • focus123focus123 Posts: 21
    After years of knee pain (chrondomalacia) i have tried many and varied set ups, knee braces and medication. But the one thing that helps more than any other is lots of float in pedal/cleat. I ride my road bike with shimano 520 mtb pedals, wound out to the loosest setting. I have recently bought shimano r540 road pedals, which would be fine but they dont have enough float.

    Can anyone recommend any road pedals that have as much float as my beloved 520's?
    Focus Cayo 105
    Graham Weigh (631 mirage)
    GT Avalanche gathering dust
  • garetjaxgaretjax Posts: 175
    Can anyone recommend any road pedals that have as much float as my beloved 520's?


    Speedplays !
  • paul.kpaul.k Posts: 90
    modded my ultegra pedals by narrowing the black clamp\ release clip at the back took about half a mm off either side ,so in stead of getting 1mm of play in the cleat this has increased to 2mm and makes quite a differance to how much float angle you get ,fancy attacking £70 ultegra pedals with a bench grinder ,mean but works a treat.
  • paul.kpaul.k Posts: 90
    been to see physio and found out that it is a soft tissue injury been 5 months since i injured it ,i am riding again now but have been told to take it easy ,physio told me to ride bike but only short runs no more than 20 mile rides with little hills , live in west yorkshire little hills? still to go back in 5 weeks and see how riding is going
    has any ony else had soft tissue injury and how long did it take to recover?
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