Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Long Rides : Knee Problems

I need a bit of advice on a few things, namely preventing issues.

My longest ride has been 120 miles and I'm looking to go for 200 by my birthday (February 3rd).

After my last long ride I stuggled with knee pain for the longest time. I actually then picked up a foam roll and a DVD to work on my IT Band and deep tissue work.

The DVD worked like a charm... not sure if anyone else has heard of Magnificent Mobility (www.magnificentmobility.com)

I heard about it from coach Eric Cressey's newsletter (http://www.ericcressey.com/freenewsletter.html)

Eitherway... I've been able to get up to 90 miles without any problems during or after, does anyone else have any good tips they use to keep their knees healthy?

Could this also be a problem with my cleats?

Need more detail on location of pain as well as your current setup. The Cycling News Fitness page (http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/) runs weekly Q&A's discussing all sorts of sources of bike pain. Search their archives.

General advice:
Pain in front of knee == seat too low.

Pain in back of knee == seat too high.

Pain throughout knee, maybe you're pushing too big a gear.

Pain in one side or the other -- maybe cleat adjustment (does it feel like your knee/foot wants to rotate against the pedal but is being held in place by the cleats).

Or maybe you have foot pronation issues and holding foot flat against pedal makes your knee unhappy. Cycling News contributors seem to like the LeMond LeWedge, which can be used to angle your foot relative to the pedal (http://www.lemondfitness.com/products/lewedge/index.html). I tried to use them to solve a foot problem, but they made my knees hurt :-)

Or maybe you have asymmetries or leg-length discrepancies or whatever.

Maybe go get yourself fitted at your local bike store.

Pain is nature's way of saying you're doing something wrong. It took me a year to resolve my foot pain issues (which just require taping some moleskin strategicaly under my insole). I rode the 750 miles of BMB with no pain in joints, muscles, or ligature. My butt was pretty sore for awhile after, though!


I need a bit of advice on a few things, namely preventing issues.

My longest ride has been 120 miles and I'm looking to go for 200 by my birthday (February 3rd).

After my last long ride I stuggled with knee pain for the longest time. I actually then picked up a foam roll and a DVD to work on my IT Band and deep tissue work.

The DVD worked like a charm... not sure if anyone else has heard of Magnificent Mobility (www.magnificentmobility.com)

I heard about it from coach Eric Cressey's newsletter (http://www.ericcressey.com/freenewsletter.html)

Eitherway... I've been able to get up to 90 miles without any problems during or after, does anyone else have any good tips they use to keep their knees healthy?

Could this also be a problem with my cleats?

Awesome advice, I'll probably cough up the $ to get it checked out. :) I'm pretty sure its my foot knocking up against my cleat rotating outwards.

What cadance do you pedal at? Are you a spinner or masher? If you are a masher, I highly recommend becomming a spinner.

Unless you are a masher, it's most likely a fit/alignment issue. Could be cleat position, could be seat height, could be something else.

If your knees hurt for more than a day after 120 miles, you need to get some real attention.

While there are many possible causes of knee problems, one of the most common is simply overuse. It takes time for your joints to adapt to increased demands. Since you are actively increasing your ride distances, it would not be unusual for you to have knee pain.

I find that periodic stretching during rides helps me.

So, are you saying you had ITB problems and using the foam roller helped?