Knee discomfort below knee cap

chrb8

Hi,
This week I have started riding my summer bike again due to the good weather and immediately am suffering from discomfort just below both knee caps. This comes after riding all winter on my other bike with no problems at all. I can find a lot of information on the net about pain behind or above the knee, but not a lot that seems to relate to my specific complaint. This is not really a pain, but more like a feeling that the section below the knee is 'thick' - almost like its got some viscous fluid in (difficult to describe!).

I was never 100% happy with the set-up on this bike last year and have tried a few tweeks to cleat position and also have measured both bike setups to compare and they are very similar - although the frames are the same 'size' I don't think a direct comparison can be made due to different frame geometry and components etc. I am going to try to move the saddle back a fraction because I feel like I need to push myself back on the saddle when riding to get comfortable.

Does anyone else have any experience of similar knee discomfort and/or have any suggestions as to how to combat it?? Another point is that my first rides on this bike this year are also the first that I have done in shorts - could this have any affect, because although the weather has been mild the air has still been reasonably chilly?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

mikenetic

First off, these problems are very hard to discuss remotely, so I think any advice offered needs to be taken with due precaution.

Having said that, one thing to check is the setback of the saddle wrt to the BB axle, and if the crank length on both bikes are the same. It may be that one bike is putting more of an angle on your knee as you go through the power part of the stroke. Pushing yourself backwards can be indicative of that.

Try getting a friend to drop a plumb bob from the base of your kneecap on the forward leg when the crank is level and note the vertical position wrt to the pedal axle. If the knee is ahead of the axle that can cause discomfort. At least it would give you the opportunity to show or discount a difference in setup between both bikes.

Sesquepidilian

I found raising my saddle stopped my knees from cramping-up as they would

moscowflyer

I had something similar once which turned out to be bursitis.

chrb8

mikenetic wrote:

if the crank length on both bikes are the same. It may be that one bike is putting more of an angle on your knee as you go through the power part of the stroke.

The crank lengths are the same on both bikes and I have measured the distance from top of saddle to the pedal axle and they are virtually the same too - perhaps it has something to do with the different geometry of the bikes that, even if the physical measurements are the same, that the resultant position of your legs and knees are different?

I have pushed my saddle back 0.5cm now which is as far as it will go - will have to wait for some decent weather now to try it out.

Btw - Due to worse weather I rode the 'winter' bike today that had felt so comfortable and guess what?... knee discomfort, but different to that I got on the 'summer' bike - I get the feeling that it might be a side-effect of changing between bikes, rather than some inherent problem with my set-ups??