Originally Posted by
Flechensabre
1) Standing on the pedals feels about the same, maybe alittle less burning and little more pain in knee cap after a sustained effort.
2) It's at its worst from 3min-40min into a ride and then gradually fades away from that point on unless I hit an incline where it's at its worst.
3) I do change position in the saddle regularly and it doesn't seem to have an effect.
It was a cm off so I adjusted it and it does feel markedly better but it's still persistent (which could be irritation from it being set wrong in the first place and might vanish.)
During yesterday's group ride it was pointed out to me that I have a tendency to go above 120rpm frequently and that I need to work on soft pedalling as I tend to accelerate rather than maintain my cadence. On the hand pushing a large gear at 80rpm is definitely irritating my knees when trying to keep up with the group :/ So I guess I have some more base building to do and checking the leg extension definitely helped today's ride.
Would you say the knee irritation is in the front of your knee? If so, it often means you would benefit from raising your saddle a few mm at a time. I also find my spin becomes smoother as my saddle approaches the right height.
For me the upper limit in raising the saddle is that I can't keep my foot in contact with the pedal full-stroke without excessive hip-rocking, and the painful abrasion that causes.
I think HTFU is just an invitation to excessive pain and possibly injury. Get your fit fixed.