Will knees always hurt a little after a hard ride?

skyric

I'm still pretty new to cycling but have started racing on Zwift. This means I'm moving from training and going on casual rides to pushing myself as hard as I can. I've found that doing longer races, say over an hour, are causing me to have soreness in my knees afterwards.

I've had some problems here in the past but I've largely addressed them over time by adjusting my bike fit. I guess to sum up I'm wondering:
- if this is normal to have some soreness
- if the increased force I'm putting out over a long duration is the cause. If so will my knees get stronger/used to this?
- if it really is still bike fit and it is just more evident because I'm going harder over long periods

I suppose it could be anything but curious if folks have any advice. I don't want to hurt myself over the long run.

Thanks!

fenix

Hmmmm. Not normally - but maybe you're getting used to it.

What cadence are you pushing ?

skyric

I keep things around 95 usually but it's not perfect, I'd say a range of 80 to 100 depending on what's going on. I think that is high enough it shouldn't lead to knee trouble? Is there a getting used to it period? While I'd expect my muscles to get stronger and stop hurting I'm not so sure about knees...but I don't feel anything obviously wrong with my fit. I used to feel my knees hurting if I put my seat too low for example.

imposter2.0

Assuming you have no pre-existing or functional issues, your knees should not routinely hurt after a long or hard ride. Your fit may or may not be optimal - it's impossible to say without seeing it, or knowing more about your riding history.

daniel_b

As above.

My knees only ache for a but, if I end up grinding at 60 cadence or thereabouts.

StillGoing

Did you have your fit done properly or just by the guy in the shop? There's a world of difference.

sandyballs

philthy3 wrote:

Did you have your fit done properly or just by the guy in the shop? There's a world of difference.

There’s a big assumption there about ‘the guy in the shop’ my LBS used to be owned and run by Adrian Timmis, google him.

pilot_pete

Yes, but the vast majority of newbies to cycling don’t buy bikes from the likes of Cadence Sport and Adrian. Most go to Halfords, Evans, Cycle Republic etc where you will be lucky to find an ‘Adrian’.

PP

sandyballs

But we still should not be so presumptuous about any of the guys in any of those shops.

itboffin

If you're getting regular knee pain i'd say there's a cleat alignment problem, assuming you're riding clipless pedals

N0bodyOfTheGoat

I've been struggling with some on-off knee pain for the last ~2.5 weeks, having swapped from Time ATAC 2-bolt to Time Xpro 3-bolt at the end of May, but not doing many 2+ hour outdoor rides since the changeover.

Left knee became really sore in the days after a ~2.5 hour ride, despite feeling fine during, on the outside.

I didn't ride the Cube for a week and when I did, I reversed the cleats ("left" cleat on right shoe and vice versa) to see if the increased q-factor helped.

Things started flaring up again early on Thurs' ~2 hour ride, after I'd been out for ~4.5 hours on Weds, feeling a bit sore still on the outside of my left knee and more sore behind it. Later in the ride, a tiny bit of soreness behind my right knee too.

After watching the video on https://cyclinguphill.com/correct-saddl ... knee-pain/ * early on today's TDF stage, I faffed after the stage finish with my saddle height (dropped it ~5mm) to get a very rough ~30 degree knee bend; moved the saddle aft ~10mm to get patella over the crank end when crank parallel to level ground and in forward position; tweaked the cleat positions (more adjustment needed on left shoe) to point cleat towards my big toes {I am bow-legged}.

Now trying to convince myself to head out for ~2 hours to see how things feel on a gentle ride...

* Curious claim in video that says a 10mm saddle height changes the knee bend 10 degrees, didn't think such a small height change would do so much, but my rough estimate with a protractor changed from 25 degrees to 30 degrees with a 5mm drop.

The only other time I've had bad knee pain was when I discovered Dell Rd just around the corner from me in Autumn 2017, which hits ~20% https://www.strava.com/segments/19974352 , when I was running my Voodoo with a 34T narrow/wide chainring and 11-30 cassette... 34/30 on a relatively heavy fatbike gives you sore knees after a few reps!
Replaced the n/w with 38T so I could use the 24T granny ring again, problem solved.

StillGoing

Sandyballs wrote:

But we still should not be so presumptuous about any of the guys in any of those shops.

Seriously, read the post for what it is rather than an assumption. :roll:

darkhairedlord

I had similar, tweeking cleet position, saddle position etc got it reasonably dialled in with the aid of some wedges under the cleats. Ultimately I ended up in physio as I could not walk down a staircase. Specific strengthening exercises cleared it all up and now ride pain free.

step83

itboffin wrote:

If you're getting regular knee pain i'd say there's a cleat alignment problem, assuming you're riding clipless pedals

I'd agree with that too, you tend to get pain if your knee twists when riding. I would look at a bike fit, while not cheap they work wonders.

pilot_pete

Sandyballs wrote:

But we still should not be so presumptuous about any of the guys in any of those shops.

As Philthy3 says if the bloke in the shop merely set the saddle somewhere near the right height, that is a whole world away from paying for a proper bike fit such as one that Adrian Timmis would offer (at a price). Unless ‘those shops’ offer such a service (and I’m not aware they do) then even if the guy is a qualified Level 3 BC coach like Adrian, an ex-pro like Adrian, and with years of experience fitting current pros (like Adrian), then it matters not because they have just set the saddle at ‘about waist height’ and sent the newbie on their way. That is what most of those shops do; they’re not going to change stem lengths, change bars, reposition hoods etc etc. There is no presumption on my part about the individuals who work in any of those shops.

PP

the_cyclist_of_catan

Ada Timmos did my bike fit about 7 years ago, at the shop.

My knees started hurting a couple of years back. Ruined out that my seatpost had dropped by an inch! Put it back to where it should be and the knees stopped hurting staring away.

If you’re working your ur legs hard, your muscles might hurt. But your joints should not. Any sort of pain in the joints is a bike fit issue.

kingrollo

I stopped using turbos due to aches and pains. I found being locked in one position not good for me.
Shift the saddle upwards slightly, and/or have rest days between sessions.

Adrian timmis bike fits are just over £100 now - money well spent imo.