Knee Pain

MySweet

I have ridden bikes since I was a child. I did do the London to Brighton Bike Race on a Touring bike many moons ago, but the later years I have geared towards MTB. I was cycling about 23 miles, 6 days a week on my mountain bike.
I have just purchased a used Boardman Team CFI Carbon Fibre. I have taken my time getting to know the riding stance and gears before venturing out properly and have been out twice so far, doing 18.5 miles each time. I seemed to have developed a pain in both knee caps which at times can be excruciating. It would seem that the pedals on the bike are dual and there is something quite frightening about having shoes that clip into the pedals. I haven't looked into the shoes side of it yet, but notice the pedals are a lot smaller than what I am used to and there is a lot of travel in my feet whilst riding. I need to sort out this pain as it is effecting the enjoyment of the rides and is made worse whilst going up hills. Can anyone help?

wongataa

If you are not comfortable with clip in pedals put flat ones on.
As for stopping the pain: Is the saddle in the correct position relative to the bottom bracket? Are the handlebars in the correct position? Is you cadence reasonable (slow cadence affects the knees more)? Are you just not used to a road bike position?

ayjaycee

Do you know what the pedals are? Maybe I'm being thicker than usual but I can't make out from the above whether you are riding clipless pedals or not ('clipless' strangely meaning clipped in!). If the 'flat' side is as small as you indicate, it could well be that they are not actually designed for cycling any distance.

cld531c

ayjaycee wrote:

('clipless' strangely meaning clipped in!).

Sorry but this really bugs me...clipless meaning no toe clips!!!!!!! (showing my age)

MySweet

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ayjaycee wrote:

Do you know what the pedals are? Maybe I'm being thicker than usual but I can't make out from the above whether you are riding clipless pedals or not ('clipless' strangely meaning clipped in!). If the 'flat' side is as small as you indicate, it could well be that they are not actually designed for cycling any distance.

They are designed to wear with shoes that clip in on one side and ordinary on the other. As i said originally, I haven't ventured looking for the shoes yet because the thought scares me. The pedals have no name on them and not quite sure how to send you the photo of them as an attachment?

cld531c

MySweet wrote:

[/img]

ayjaycee wrote:

Do you know what the pedals are? Maybe I'm being thicker than usual but I can't make out from the above whether you are riding clipless pedals or not ('clipless' strangely meaning clipped in!). If the 'flat' side is as small as you indicate, it could well be that they are not actually designed for cycling any distance.

They are designed to wear with shoes that clip in on one side and ordinary on the other. As i said originally, I haven't ventured looking for the shoes yet because the thought scares me. The pedals have no name on them and not quite sure how to send you the photo of them as an attachment?

If you are concerned about being clipped in but think your feet moving may be an issue, decathlon do some toe clips and straps that are about £4-5 and are pretty good (and easy to get out of)

TonyJams

So just to clarify, you're not riding clipped in yet but are getting knee pain?
Sounds like your seat is in the wrong position, you'll need to get it checked by a good shop or a few local old boys for advice on positioning.

sungod

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

svetty

MySweet wrote:

......there is something quite frightening about having shoes that clip into the pedals......

Only if you are of a nervous disposition

Seriously though, once you've used clip-in pedals and are familiar with them you will find riding without them feels wrong.

rieko

I used to get knee pain a long time ago. Partly because of old football injuries, but I found that adjusting my saddle made a difference. In my case I lowered it ever so slightly by (5mm I think, it was a while back) and my knee pain all but disappeared.

Any changes you do make, try and keep them minimal and adjust over a period of time.

If you are struggling to dial in a comfortable position, a bike fit may be worth check out if you have the budget. I've never had one myself, but some say its the best thing they have ever done.

cycleclinic

Knee pain will all be down to seat postioning and or saddle height. This can be corrected.

Clipless pedals are something you get used to very quickly, you just have to give them ago and accept you will fall off when you stop (practice on grass) but after a very short time you will be unclipping with ease and you wont use flats again on a road bike. Think about many of use here use clipless pedals and are fine. We are human being like you so why would it be a problem for you. the answer is it wont think positive.

MySweet

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my post and reply. I have taken on board the comments. I have raised my saddle slightly and although still getting a slight niggle in the knees, they are better. Now I am more at ease with the riding position compared to MTB. I have decided to invest in some shoes and cleats :-)

kingrollo

There are some pedals made by wellgo that are spd on side - but a large platform on the other. These are great if you are a bit nervy. Get some mtb shoes with a recessed cleat - and just pedal normally until you feel like clipping in.

I still use these for commutting. I unclip and pedal normally and complex road junctions - then clip in as I move onto straighter road.

Just put wellgo platform spd into ebay - they cost about £20.

Incidentally just riding without clips could be causing your knee pain as you mash down on the pedals. being clipped in encourages snooth pedalling

William Marshall

thecycleclinic wrote:

Knee pain will all be down to seat postioning and or saddle height.
.

Not necessarily. I had knee pain for ages and tried couple of bike fits with little difference. Third try with really well regarded outfit solved it. My issue was inactive glute letting my knee cave in. I deadlift and squat around double body weight so it isn't 'strength' that's the issue. Isn't solved by saddle position or height and is pretty common by all accounts.

dannbodge

thecycleclinic wrote:

Knee pain will all be down to seat postioning and or saddle height. This can be corrected.....

I'll second that this isn't correct.
I was off my bike for 4 weeks, then came back onto it and did a couple of hard rides. Since which I've had bad knee pain.
Did 1700 miles on the bike (pain free) prior to my holiday, so you can't tell me my bike set-up is wrong.