knee pain

Sprool

About 3 weeks ago i bought my first road bike. Having been a casual, unfit and overweight MTB rider before (a jaunt out every fortnight) I've now used the road bike heavily 5 times a week over the past 3 weeks, having the opportunity due to recent redundancy. I've been doing about 60 - 70 miles a week, probably not heavy for some of you fitter and more experienced guys, but a massive improvement for me after years in a static desk job.
Now recently I've noticed a growing pain around my right kneecap. It seems to surround the kneecap region and grows more when I'm coasting at a lower cadence. I'm very unused to doing this much regular exercise though I feel really great from doing it and have already lost about 8lb in weight.
Could this knee pain be linked with bad pedalling technique, incorrect bike or cleat setting, just my body getting used to a regular exercise regime? I'd hate for it to interfere now I'm just getting my teeth into regular cycling again.

Calpol

I am afraid nobody on here can honestly help you. It could be so many things. Before someone comes and says "see your GP" - which will generally be a waste of time and NHS resources unless you have a chronic condition

I would suggest ensuring you have the best fit for your bike. It can be done at a local bike shop for around £50. Alternatively check out some bike fitting advice on You Tube

Ride one day rest one day

Stretch post ride

Endure sports massage

Don't push to hard a gear or do hill sessions. Cadence should be 80 rpm or above.

YOu are new to riding so it will take time for your body to adjust. Don't do too much too soon.

Mikey41

^^ what he said basically.

It could be too low a cadence and too high a gear, you may just be overdoing it a bit and need a couple of rest days.

Could be position, saddle too low? Saddle too far back? Those two are easy to measure, but I'm sure you know that. I suspect the low cadence and doing a lot of miles without letting the body adjust. I'd be out every day if I could, but if I have ridden for a few days in a row, I have to have a rest day as the muscles get sore. After that they come back stronger.

EclypseDesigns

It 'sounds' like Patella Tendonitis which is why i'm currently off my bike. It might be you've just overdone it a touch

dween

I have general knee pains without cycling and found simply using a gear lower than you'd usually want reduces my pain.

haf1zur

As dween says above ^^

Had this problem for the first 2 months of cycling, only been 3 since i started after a very long break

Thought it was seat height at first, corrected that but still got the pain

For me it turned out i was using too high a gear and my cadence was too low, changed to the smaller chain and started from the lowest gear and working my way up now, so far no more knee pain

Sprool

i dont get the pain when out ofn a ride, its just after 30 mins on the rollers, it starts to ache a bit when i start pushing hard, but then seems to be worse when i cool off, pedalling slower in a bigger cog.

unixnerd

It could be that your saddle is too low or your cadence is too low or both! If at all possible get a bike fitting, it's worth the money. Your local bike shop will know someone, might even give basic advice for free if you know them.

If you have clip in pedals and the cleats are at the wrong angle you're twisting your knee joint every revolution, not good.

CiB

Try lining the cleats up properly. Like unixnerd says if your knee's twisting that will hurt after years of riding in a particular way.

Sit on a table and let your feet dangle free. Note the angle that they naturally hang at and aim to replicate that with cleat positioning when clipped in.

wastegate86

If you're using spd's then try not to pull on the upstroke
Plus you could try lowering your seat slightly to limit stretch on the down stoke

siamon

Could be that suddenly smashing a load of exercise has tightened your quads, which puts strain on the tendons. Knee pain is not normally a cause for concern, but any swelling around the knee joint warrants attention. The problem is, swelling can be quite difficult to spot, because knees are lumpy things anyway.

Sprool

I suspect I may need to tweak my cleat alignment, but not sure which way to go with them. I also suspect much of it coul dbe as Siamon suggested, I've been pretty sedentry for a number of years until about 5 weeks ago, now i'm out cycling at least once a day and up to about 25 miles now. I also suspect I may be pulling up a bit on the upstroke - right leg is more powerful than the left. Thanks for the ideas on this, will explore further.