weird tracking of knees

dazzTurning
dazzTurning Posts: 67
edited May 2014 in Training, fitness and health
I have noticed that my left knee tracks in towards the top tube and my right tracks away from the top tube.

When I feel my shorts on the saddle, I can feel that I sit to the left of the saddle. No matter what I try, I can centre myself on the saddle.

I can clearly see that my left hip is forward of the right hip and my hips "looks" to the right.

Things are worse when going slow, I almost think that my left leg is actually trying to support some of my body weight that isn't being supported properly by the saddle.

I have been to a few physio's, chiros, bike fitters and none really have a clue what's going on (they never say that, but thats the impression I get!). They all check me out in certain areas and say things are all nice and symmetrical...

Leg lengths are the same, although my left leg is effectively shorter because I drop my left hip.

I put up with this annoyance, but it is just that... a constant annoyance whilst riding a bike. I have seen a number of other cyclist when following them that also have this trait i.e. sitting to either the left/right of the saddle. I don't think many are aware they do it! Does anyone notice anything similar? If so, how have you dealt with it.

Thanks

Comments

  • johnnymcg259
    johnnymcg259 Posts: 569
    I had a bike fit in 2013 where they noticed similar with me - right knee always dipped in towards the top tube whilst the left stayed true. Weird! They shimmed my shoe up and I gave it 12 months. Not sure it made any difference to be honest. I had 'on/off' back pain as a result of a cycle/van/30mph interface :( 2 years prior to the bike fit. I've now seen a physio who says that my hips are out of alignment + my back is all out of whack too! Doing pilates and physio and it's helping.

    Advice? If you're not getting any pain then just make sure your cleats are set up ok and pedal on........?

    Good luck. Johnny
  • manxshred
    manxshred Posts: 295
    I have a similar problem. I put most of my weight onto my right sit bone. I have noticed that I always tense up my left arm and shoulder while I ride, which seems to push me out of alignment resulting in sitting skew. This then affects my legs and you can see it in my left knee not tracking correctly.

    I rode like this for ages without problems, then over this last winter I started getting left knee pain, with a constant pressure on the top of my right leg where it pushes against the saddle.
    I went for a Retul bike fit. Overall I was close, with just a few small adjustments, but the fitter couldn't figure out why I was not sitting straight. I've changed saddles to a more T shape (Fizik Antares) and this makes me notice the imbalance more, so I then tried different things until I figured out my left arm tensing.
    I still do it, but am getting better.
  • dazzTurning
    dazzTurning Posts: 67
    I don't get injuries from it, its just very annoying really.

    My left leg feels weird... Because my pelvis looks to the right, the left leg effectively "collapses" in to the top tube, feeling like I am somehow loosing power. I am sure its this "right looking pelvis" that causes me to sit askew i.e. I subconsciously move to the left to try and bring my knee within closer alignment to the foot (if that makes sense). If I sit centred, my left knee would be mm from the top tube and inboard of the foot, giving the feeling like my left foot is pronating alot...

    When I ride harder, things feel better, presumably because the extra power is being used to support more of my weight which would normally be supported by the saddle.

    I do tend to ride with a more pressure on my left arm/hand... again, I reckon this is in a bid for my body to try and support some of the weight which isn't being supported by the left side on the saddle.
  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    Functional asymmetry. I have the same thing. My left leg has a longer q-factor than my right an I'm incredibly sensitive to cleat position changes.
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Google some old pics of Sean Yates for some 'proper' functional asymmetry... ;)
  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    Imposter wrote:
    Google some old pics of Sean Yates for some 'proper' functional asymmetry... ;)

    He seemed fairly balanced when I rode with him last week. ;)
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • johnnymcg259
    johnnymcg259 Posts: 569
    dazzTurning wrote:
    I don't get injuries from it, its just very annoying really.

    My left leg feels weird... Because my pelvis looks to the right, the left leg effectively "collapses" in to the top tube, feeling like I am somehow loosing power. I am sure its this "right looking pelvis" that causes me to sit askew i.e. I subconsciously move to the left to try and bring my knee within closer alignment to the foot (if that makes sense). If I sit centred, my left knee would be mm from the top tube and inboard of the foot, giving the feeling like my left foot is pronating alot...

    When I ride harder, things feel better, presumably because the extra power is being used to support more of my weight which would normally be supported by the saddle.

    I do tend to ride with a more pressure on my left arm/hand... again, I reckon this is in a bid for my body to try and support some of the weight which isn't being supported by the left side on the saddle.


    How many years you been riding? If you carry on with the 'problem' it'll bite you back at some point in time. I learnt.....the hard way. :(

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