Newbie, knee pain, need a bike fit?

VincenzoNibbly

So I've been commuting on a boardman hybrid for 18 months, only 6 miles a day but I have cycled rain or shine. I eventually noticed a big difference to my fitness levels ( after years of train commuting to work).
3 months ago I decided to upgrade to a proper bike, I got a Spec. Diverge CEN.
It's a nice bike, pretty average spec, but it got me biking at the weekends also, something I'd never done before. I've done quite a few 30 mile rides and always felt good. I have even started doing 10 miles in my lunch breaks as well.

The problem started on Saturday when I tried to achieve the Strava Gran Fondo challenge. After 50 miles I started to get severe knee pain. I managed another 10 miles to get myself home and the knee has slowly started to return to normal after a Sunday limping and vegging on the sofa.

So where do I begin with fixing the problem? I cycle in very good quality trainers, perhaps I should try shoes and cleats?
Should I spend the £120+ for a proper bike fit?

kajjal

Start with the saddle. If it is too high you will be stretching to reach the pedals at the bottom which causes various injuries including in the knees. Symptoms of this are your hips rocking on the saddle, feet pointing downwards etc. as you over stretch.

Next look up KOPS and use it to set your saddles fore / aft position. It is a rough guide and may need slight tweaking afterwards. The key thing is the saddle fore / aft position is all about getting your legs in the right position and not to adjust reach to the bars.

Finally make sure the saddle is flat. Make sure you do this on a flat surface.

I would leave being clipped in for the moment as it introduces another factor that can cause knee and other injuries.

Also make sure you have rest days to let your body recover and grow stronger.

Ste_S

The knee pain could be just because your upping your mileage, especially if you haven't attempted a long ride before your Gran Fondo badge attempt. Have rest days and build up your mileage slowly.

paul2718

I'd definitely investigate 'proper' cycling shoes, the rigid soles may reduce the strain on muscles that work your feet and ankles but don't contribute to propulsion. Who knows if this follows through to the knee...

Secondly your feet may not be on the ends of your legs at the right angle (a right angle?), the consequence is that your knee may be suffering twisting or bending on every pedal stroke. So when you rode nearly twice as far something gave.

It's possible to get cleat wedges and shoe inserts to help support your feet in their natural position on the pedals, whether this is a sensible path to self-diagnose you will have to judge. The first time I rode 30 miles I hurt my right knee and couldn't ride again for a fortnight. I tend to wear shoes out around the outside edge so I sourced some bits from http://www.bikefit.com (search for a dealer) and loaded up my cleats and shoes until my foot seemed to be at its natural angle when on the pedal. This solved my problem.

Over time the muscles that hold your knee together will adapt and strengthen and it will all become easier, I use much less packing now and don't suffer knee trouble.

Good luck anyway.

Paul

Rollett

I recently went though a bout of knee pain under the knee cap on my right leg. I feel it was a combination of mistakes I had made, I was cycling in too high of gears and not using my gearing correctly putting undo stress on my legs. My seat also seemed to be just a tiny bit too low. Between adjusting these two things and adding a daily stepping exercise on the stairs out front of my house. (standing sideways with one leg on lower stair one on higher and lifting the lower leg up and down in sets of 10 repetitions to start then switching). My knee pain is almost 100% gone now, will continue doing the exercise and will look for more options in that area.