Knee pain and cleat setup

phreak
phreak Posts: 2,951
edited March 2011 in Workshop
I got some new shoes recently and set both shoes up the same. My right leg is fine but my left knee gets sore (on the outside of the knee) on long rides.

Any ideas on what needs to be done?

Comments

  • Smokin Joe
    Smokin Joe Posts: 2,706
    You need to set both cleats up individually as your legs will not be exactly the same. Is the position of the left cleat stopping your foot moving to it's natural position, not just normal riding but out of the saddle?
  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,951
    Obviously this isn't scientific, and it is hard to observe yourself, but it doesn't hurt when standing, only in the saddle. I'm fairly sure that the vertical alignment is ok, but it would appear the horizontal alignment is not. No idea how to go about getting it right though other than through trial and error.
  • brin
    brin Posts: 1,122
    Sit on a table or something which allows your feet to hang normally in a relaxed position, look at the alignment of each foot and make a mental note of which way they are pointing, position the cleat on one shoe so that it is pointing forward, then do the same with the other shoe,it will take a few goes to get it perfect, but you should only need to make small adjustments, when you need to change the cleats, mark round the used ones with a pencil before removal to ensure you have the correct position for the new ones.
  • Twostage
    Twostage Posts: 987
    Have a look here :- http://www.cptips.com/knee2.htm
  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,951
    Twostage wrote:
    Have a look here :- http://www.cptips.com/knee2.htm

    Thanks. It only seems to kick in after a couple of hours and has only really happened this year. I don't think it can be the cleats themselves (ie the float) as I had the same ones on my old shoes, and have had the bike fitted so the saddle height etc. is fine, and has been ridden at such for a couple of years without problem. All of which leaves the cleat position.

    I'm pretty confident of the vertical position of the cleat as this was noted during my bike fit. I can't see any reference to horizontal position though, so when I set it up initially I place the cleat in the middle horizontally.

    The article you linked to mentions internal and external rotation, as in the cleat can be too internally or externally rotated. My cleats are squarely in so I have no idea what that means. If all else fails I will adopt trial and error moving them along the horizontal access and trying things out.
  • forward_loop
    forward_loop Posts: 314
    Any probs like this are such a pain in the arse and individual to sort out - but heres my two peneth.
    1) - have you cycling much this year ? stretched before a ride - could be that your position was fine last year but things change. i tend to put the saddle up very slightly as the season progresses (I am old) people understimate this side of things
    2) the shoes/innersoles themselves could be effectively changing the seat height

    if neither of the above trial and error, maybe start with the cleat 8mm behind the ball of the foot.

    internal rotation and external rotation without reading the article I think will mean wether the toes are angled in or out when the cleat is in the pedal (ie if you are duck footed etc)

    I doubt it will be an issue with the horizontal axes.
  • Twostage
    Twostage Posts: 987
    The way I've interpreted it in the past (might have been a different site I was looking at) is :-
    pain at the front of the knee = seat too low
    Pain at the back of the knee = seat too high
    Pain on the inside of the knee = foot rotated too far out
    Pain on the outside of the knee = foot rotated too far in

    (inside means adjacent to the other knee not inside your body)

    I once went to a physio because of pain on the inside of the knee and it was caused by the ilio tibial band being too tight. A bit of painful physio ( made me scream like a stuck pig) and a bit of stretching sorted it out.

    I've started to get pain behind my knee on one of my bikes. Tried lowering the saddle to no avail. I'm wondering if I'm tightening my shoes too much which is stopping my foot flexing.
  • d87heaven
    d87heaven Posts: 348
    Twostage - Pain behind the knee can be tight calves (moooo) or tight hamstrings. Do both types of calf stretch (heel drops and wall push), chronic pain could be hammy related.Have a poke about behind the knee. If you can feel a localised pain it could be tendinosis.
    Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals! Except the weasel
  • sphall
    sphall Posts: 14
    Twostage,
    Twostage wrote:
    The way I've interpreted it in the past (might have been a different site I was looking at) is :-
    pain at the front of the knee = seat too low
    Pain at the back of the knee = seat too high
    Pain on the inside of the knee = foot rotated too far out
    Pain on the outside of the knee = foot rotated too far in

    Does 'foot rotated too far out' refer to the heel being out away from the bike or the toe?

    S
  • Twostage
    Twostage Posts: 987
    sphall wrote:
    Twostage,
    Twostage wrote:
    The way I've interpreted it in the past (might have been a different site I was looking at) is :-
    pain at the front of the knee = seat too low
    Pain at the back of the knee = seat too high
    Pain on the inside of the knee = foot rotated too far out
    Pain on the outside of the knee = foot rotated too far in

    Does 'foot rotated too far out' refer to the heel being out away from the bike or the toe?

    S
    Good question. foot too far out means toe too far out.
  • Twostage
    Twostage Posts: 987
    Found the original web page :- http://www.cptips.com/knee.htm

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