First time on road bike - knee pain.

shaunclaridge

Hi -a quick background .... got into cycling a couple of years back to help with weightloss ... dropped from 20st to 16st on a specialised sirruss elite hybrid. Have upped my milage massively this year to train for a charity lejog next april .... did 500 miles in april, 380 in may and last sunday did my first century. I have been riding with cages on the pedals and been doing regular rides of 30 miles plus.

So on saturday I picked up my new specialised secteur - very happy with the bike and all felt fine when I set off. I have looked at loads of bike fit videos on youtube and tried to apply their advice to get a basic position on the bike to work from. Used a string with weight to line up the knees for saddle fore/aft ect.

So sunday was my first ride on the new road bike, and also my first time on a bike since the century a week before - and also the first time I have ever used cleats - spd touring shoes and pedals. After about an hour of riding I started getting discomfort in my right knee. I have had this pain before when I really upped my milage in april and it was relieved and solved by dropping my saddle by a few mm .... tred this but the discomfort got worse. I did 50 miles which is a distance I have become comfortable with but the last 20 miles were not great - slight pain in the top and middle of the right knee, and that feeling of it almost wanting to click or pop. Today my knee feels stiff and I have a bit of a burning sensation in the knee.

I know this is a vague question and you are not doctors - but did anyone experiance this the first time on clipless pedals? I am going to rest the knee for a few days then try again .... if it is still there then my next move will be to look at a bike fit. I am not sure if this pain is new or if it was still there from previous weeks ride - I felt fine before I got on the bike yesterday. Wondering if it was just the new position and my body might adjust to it? Also - my position looks and feels great on the saddle and bars to my untrained eye ...is there any adjustment I can make to the angle my foot fixes to the pedal? Im wondering if I can change the angle of the cleat slightly and see if this improves things.

Last question - bike fit in oxfordshire?

dwanes

Hi I had similar knee problems when I first started out.
Don't go straight for a bike fit, this is not guaranteed to work anyway. Do a bit of trial and error first.

First - rest for a week, let your current pain go away.
Second - Go back to your previous cages /pedals and go ride.

That will determine whether it is a pedal issue.

If you are still getting pain, again rest for a week, and then try adjusting the saddle fore and aft position / seat height again. like I say it will take trial and error, but whatever you do don't ride on a painfull knee.

What was the saddle position of your previous bike like compared to your new one?

Essex Man

From personal experience, knee pain = saddle too low. But I'm not you, so take with pinch of salt disclaimer.

shaunclaridge

my saddle position does appear to be higher on my old bike - so I guess thats the next thing to adjust .... i have an enforced week off now due to other commitments so that takes care of the rest part.

monkimark

Rememebr that clipless pedals & cleats will raise your feet up so will probably need a higher saddle than for flat pedals

zx6man

how much difference are the frames of a sirrius and sectuer ?

Monty Dog

The use of clipless pedals does impact on pedal stroke and forces on the knees - it could simply be due to the fact that you're putting stresses on ligaments and tendons not previously engaged in pedalling - you may also be forcing too big a gear. SPDs don't provide a huge amount of float either, so by constraining your foot movement you may be stressing your knee. I would take a few days rest and see if the pain subsides before jumping to any conclusions about causes and symptoms. If the knee symptoms get better, try some easier efforts and spinning in a smaller gear.

shaunclaridge

zx6man wrote:

how much difference are the frames of a sirrius and sectuer ?

My secteur is a 58 - think my sirrus was a bit bigger. The handle bars are obviously much higher up on the hybrid.

Thanks for the advice - gonna rest it, then raise the saddle and try an easy spin - will report back!

wishitwasallflat

This is good lots of tips for self adjustment -

http://www.cptips.com/knee.htm

but rest-up first to make sure you don't aggravate the injury.

shaunclaridge

Thanks for the advice ..... Knee felt fine again last night so I went out for a nice flat 25 miles this morning. Raised my saddle and moved it back slightly, felt much better.... After the first 10 miles I felt a slight twinge in my knee so I stopped, moved the saddle a bit higher and that really seemed to help things. Got back with no pain and feels good now ... Still think it could go slightly higher so will give it a tweek and try again Friday

Thanks for the advice - especially the excellent link above