Oooof! My knee hurts, why?

[Danimal]

I did a lot of riding last night and now the inside of my knee cap is hurting. Anyone know what is causing this phenomenon? I use clipless pedals with high end Specialized Mtn Biking shoes. What gives?

[Tex]

It could be a lot of different things. But you may want to make sure your seat is at the correct height. If your seat is too high or too low it will cause knee pains on longer rides.

[tns1972]

This is borrowed from the Twin Cities Bike Club website.
http://www.mtn.org/tcbc/bt-101-8-Proper%20Bike%20Fit.htm

Seat height: A longstanding formula is to measure the distance from the floor to your crotch and take that measurement times .883 to determine the distance between your pedal and the top of the saddle – but you should only use that as a starting point. The rule of thumb is that there should be a slight bend in your leg when your foot is at the bottom of the pedal stroke. If your hips are rocking back and forth on the saddle as you pedal, your seat is too high. Another general rule of thumb is that if you are experiencing pain in the front of your knee, your seat is probably too low; if you are experiencing pain behind the knee, your seat is too high.

I lowered my seat about 5mm and it made a huge difference. You also need to consider the type of pedal you are using, the amount of "float" a pedal has can be a factor.

[SprocketHead]

... You also need to consider the type of pedal you are using, the amount of "float" a pedal has can be a factor. [/QUOTE]


What is "Float" on a pedal.. I've been riding SPD's for 10 years. I use Shimano M520's on three bikes and M515's on another. I've never understood the specs.

Is it the amount of movement your foot has before un-cliping? If so, what are the advantages of more or less float?

[Danimal]

Float, as I see it is the amount of "play" the pedal has while your clipped in. And now that you mentioned seat height, I think that may have been the case.

[homebrewbiker]

I have been fighting knee pain in a different area, caused by a long single speed ride on a badly fit bike (didn't check all of the measurements before riding it).

Based on my experience I have learned some things:
1. If you have health insurance see an orthopedist to get a definitve idea of what is going on
2. Mountain Pedals do not generally have as many adjustments as road pedals, supposedly Shimano pedals were a better choice for me than Crank bros, but apparently my body is making my pedals work OK
3. Either get fit on your bike or make sure they are all very close to the same (as close as you can get). I discovere after the fact that my geared MTB was a good 2 inches lower than my road bike!
4. Flax Seed oil is a natural anti-inflammatary you can take to help heal the ligaments.

I got re-fit by Chris Balser who works out of Eriks in SLP (I think he is independent and fitting is all that he does ) and he did an awesome job and gave me a lot info. He found a lot of knee movement on my road bike and with new pedals and stiffer shoes was able to reduce it quite a bit. He also said that if the knee still bothers me to make sure to give him a call and he will try something else.

Until the knee stops bothering you, ride a geared bike in low gears and definitely check your geometries, and look into getting re-fit.

Good Luck!

[homebrewbiker]

Apparently most biking related knee problems have their root cause at the interface between pedal and shoe. Seat height is also important.

[stoneage]

This is borrowed from the Twin Cities Bike Club website.
http://www.mtn.org/tcbc/bt-101-8-Proper%20Bike%20Fit.htm

Seat height: A longstanding formula is to measure the distance from the floor to your crotch and take that measurement times .883 to determine the distance between your pedal and the top of the saddle – but you should only use that as a starting point. The rule of thumb is that there should be a slight bend in your leg when your foot is at the bottom of the pedal stroke. If your hips are rocking back and forth on the saddle as you pedal, your seat is too high. Another general rule of thumb is that if you are experiencing pain in the front of your knee, your seat is probably too low; if you are experiencing pain behind the knee, your seat is too high.

I lowered my seat about 5mm and it made a huge difference. You also need to consider the type of pedal you are using, the amount of "float" a pedal has can be a factor.

STOP!!!! Pull a 1" thick book up with about 25 lbs of pressure, while standing back to a wall, feet eight inches apart. The book should remain square with the wall. Have someone measure from the floor to the top of the book. Do this three times for accuracy. Multiply that number by .883. That is the measurement from the CENTER OF THE BOTTOM BRACKET to the top of the seat directly through the center of the seat tube. This is a good road number. I lower the seat about 1/4 of an inch for a MTB. Like Will said, get a reliable fitting done. There is much more to do; stem length, saddle fore/aft, etc., but that is the most accurate way to adjust seat height. ?'s, e me.

[bolmsted]

...But my knee only hurts when I'm riding out of the saddle? What to do? :p ;)

[homebrewbiker]

...But my knee only hurts when I'm riding out of the saddle? What to do? :p ;)
Don't ride out of the saddle?? :crazy:

[stoneage]

...But my knee only hurts when I'm riding out of the saddle? What to do? :p ;)
That's possible. If that is true, be careful, and don't over tax it. Ice and more ice.

[Ish]

...But my knee only hurts when I'm riding out of the saddle? What to do? :p ;)

Use a longer stem :etard:

[homebrewbiker]

OK, a more serious answer. According to what I have read, one of the cheif causes of knee problems in biking (other than incorrect sizing/fit/alignment) is riding in too high of a gear. If this is a single speed, you may want to run in an easier gear for awhile, and avoid a lot of climbing, if possible. If it is a geared bike, stay out of the big chain ring in front. That, and make sure that all of your alignmentes are correct for your body and match between all of your bikes (if you are riding more than one).

Also, if if persists, go see a good sports orthopedist. He may have some ideas and can give a better idea of what is going on.

I know I started a thread on knee problems, and now this one, maybe we should start a new forum dedicated to medical/injury issues?

[Danimal]

No high gears I'm a cruiser and a goofoff'er, not a speedster unless going downhill. I think it was the saddle height.

[homebrewbiker]

In any case, you may want to take it easy for awhile until you are sure it is OK. You may have already done some damage and continuing to aggravate it will not help (even if you think that the root cause has been corrected). It is also a good idea to do easy riding for a little while after making adjustments to your bike to allow your body to adjust to the new settings.