First two rides on a bike in years - knee and hip in pain :(

dubcat · August 2010

Hi - I had my first two rides on my new Rockhopper over the weekend. On Sunday I did a 19 mile road ride and on Monday I did a 14 mile road ride. Currently my bum is quite sore. However, this is nothing compared to the pain in my right knee. The pain is on the front of my knee where it meets with the shin. It feels like it's right inside like arthritis would be i imagine but it did help a bit when i rub the muscle around it. My right hip is also hurting quite a bit.

Is this just because I have not ridden in many years? I did not push myself too hard although I did find the uphill sections really challenging. I simply dropped gears and peddled at about 1 revolution per second. The 14 mile ride only had a small amount of uphill in it and i took 1.5 hrs to complete the loop - so as you can see it was quite a chilled out pace.

I think it might also be because my seat is not adjusted properly. My bike shop did not spend any time at all setting up my seat... the guy just had me stand next to my bike and took a guess at the right height. I had really baggy jeans on at the time so I am not sure how he measured me up for the seat height. He did not adjust the seat forward and backwards at all. Is this the reason?

I really hope i can solve this as there is no way i can ride a bike regularly if it is going to result in this kind of pain

The thought of that is making me rather sad

Herbie The Dog · August 2010

I'd say it's the bike set up causing the pain. Google some articles on bike set up...probably some here on BR.

And crap service from the LBS!

dubcat · August 2010

Thanks Herbie - found an article which says to sit on the bike and set the seat so that my leg is totally straight when my heel is on the peddle. This should give me a tiny bit of bend when im using the balls of my feet. It also talks about how the seat should be set horizontally forward/backward so that the front of my knee is above the axle of the peddle when the peddles are horizontal. Does that sound about right?

I'm glad you think it is the setup and not some kind of issue in me

Means it can be fixed!

Herbie The Dog · August 2010

Yeah..sounds about right.

But do you know what I'd do? Head straight back to your LBS and get them to fit you properly. It's not as if you've picked up some Apollo from Halfords...you've got a few hundred quids worth of bike and a good, honest Spesh dealer should take the time to get the set up right.

Unless of course it's a PITA to get to your LBS. In that case try the above!

dubcat · August 2010

It's easy to get back - actually i bought a bike for the wife too so spent over a thousand pounds there. The dealer is Evans though - do they have skills to set my bike up? My friend told me (after i had shopped there) that they are pretty ropey...

dubcat · August 2010

It's easy to get back - actually i bought a bike for the wife too so spent over a thousand pounds there. The dealer is Evans though - do they have skills to set my bike up? My friend told me (after i had shopped there) that they are pretty ropey...

mobilekat · August 2010

To be honest if you havent ridden in years you will feel sore after going out for a ride of that length!

A really rough guild to seat height to be easy for uphill/road work on a mountain bike is as high as you can and JUST reach the floor, if when you pedal your knees are bending past 90 degrees your saddle is too low and will hurt your knees.

Best thing to do is take some ibuprofen, rest for a few days then try to get your LBS to set up your bike correctly, and be aware it does take a while to get back to what you have done before and for some annoying reason as you get older it takes longer!

But have fun too!

Shaunw1973 · August 2010

33 miles in two days when you haven't ridden for a while is a long way. Do you do any other sports? If this is the first activity you've done in a while, you may have over done it.

Did you warm up at all? Doing excersize without warming up can strain/damage ligaments and tendons.

robertpb · August 2010

mobilekat wrote:

To be honest if you havent ridden in years you will feel sore after going out for a ride of that length!

A really rough guild to seat height to be easy for uphill/road work on a mountain bike is as high as you can and JUST reach the floor, if when you pedal your knees are bending past 90 degrees your saddle is too low and will hurt your knees.

Best thing to do is take some ibuprofen, rest for a few days then try to get your LBS to set up your bike correctly, and be aware it does take a while to get back to what you have done before and for some annoying reason as you get older it takes longer!

But have fun too!

The FLOOR has nothing to do with correct saddle hight, even if I point my toes right down my feet are still inches off the ground.

Correct saddle hight is to do with your inside leg, the saddle and the pedal, not whether you can touch the floor.

dubcat · September 2010

I'll be honest - I lead a relatively sedentary lifestyle. I did start to gently start running again very recently but that's about it. I know i did overdo it a bit - but i just loved riding so much I just kept going

I felt like Forrest Gump lol.

Ok i'll take some ibuprofen and rest up a few days. Thanks for the advice.

Dub

5pudgun · September 2010

Too much too soon mate, ease into it gently and build up over a few weeks.Check bike set up as well.

kinelljohn · September 2010

The most serious is the knee pain and shouldn't be ignored. Are you using SPD's or similiar without enough side play and/or are the cleats set up properly on the shoe/boot?
Seat height and position (front/rear) not correctly set can also give knees a lot of stress because you dial in effort on the power stroke at a moment when the angle between lower leg and thigh is not optimum for your personal stature.
There are lots of guides and advice around but you have to find what's right for you which can take ages, sorry. Keep a note of what you or the shop adjusts and only adjust one thing at a time. (sticky tape/soft pencil mark on seat/steerer tube/seat rails etc)
I agree with 5pudgun.

dunker · September 2010

covers setup easier than i can type it

http://www.brianmac.co.uk/cycling/bikesetup.htm

knee pain, no riding till it's gone, try an easier gear next ride 1.5-2 revs per second maybe.

njee20 · September 2010

Correct saddle hight is to do with your inside leg, the saddle and the pedal, not whether you can touch the floor.

This. Ignore any advice about saddle height if it's linked to your ability to touch the ground! The heel on the pedal method is much better. I would guess that it's a combination of poor setup with just not being used to it, adjust your bike as folk have said, and start steady, you'll be fine.

mak3m · September 2010

check this out for saddles

reccomend the 109 method

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/fitness/ar ... 4608?img=2

dubcat · September 2010

Thanks for all the advice chaps. I'll read some stuff and make changes. FYI I was using the flat pedals that came with the bike. Have now nought 2009 crank bros candy c pedals. Need to find some shoes now.

Boy Lard · September 2010

Be very careful about taking painkillers to hide pain, pain is normally telling you something useful.

I take Glucosamine and Olive Oil tablets to help with joints.

First two rides on a bike in years - knee and hip in pain :(

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