General Cycling Discussion - please help.. can we fix wife's bad form ?

hi guys my wife and i have recently began riding again . bought properly fitted specialized rockhopper disc from LBS for mixed road and trail riding .. after 2 weeks of riding my wife has bruises on her legs just below the knee on the inside of her leg in the exact same spot on both legs . she is obviously rubbing the bike while pedaling. we would appreciate any input on what may be the cause and any changes we can make in her form .. she is very athletic ,runner , in great shape and we really want to keep riding we enjoy it so much .. thanks for any ideas or help !!

How could she have been properly fitted?

I've never seen anyone that hit their legs consistently on the inside like you've described here. Given that the bike's frame is only a few inches wide, she must be holding her knees too close together for contact to occur.

Is she afraid of falling, perhaps trying to 'hold on' with her knees in some fashion?

Have you ridden behind her and watched her leg movement to see how it is happening? It most likely is on the down/power stroke.

Or, are you riding some rough trails and she's just getting banged around more?

More info is needed to really assess the situation but I bet if you rode behind her and watched her leg movement, you would figure it out.

Good luck.

Saddle too high?
Rocking the bike from side-to-side too much?

You didn't provide us with very much to go on. If she's hitting the frame hard enough to cause bruses she must be feeling it. When does she think that it's happening?

thx for the responses guys .. heres more info for you...we have been riding 15+ miles 3x week thus far have been mostly pavement and light trail riding, nothing to really knock her around much, she says she doesn't notice her knee hitting anything while riding it is more of an accumlative effect if that makes any sense .. she has risen her seat alot since we got the bike so we are going to try to lower the saddle.. i will continue to update on our progress ..thanks for your suggestions and keep them coming if you have any more ideas THANKS

thx for the responses guys .. heres more info for you...we have been riding 15+ miles 3x week thus far have been mostly pavement and light trail riding, nothing to really knock her around much, she says she doesn't notice her knee hitting anything while riding it is more of an accumlative effect if that makes any sense .. she has risen her seat alot since we got the bike so we are going to try to lower the saddle.. i will continue to update on our progress ..thanks for your suggestions and keep them coming if you have any more ideas THANKS

My guess is that the Q-factor of the cranks/pedals is too narrow. A wider bottom bracket spindle would probably help. It might also be correctable with clipless pedals and shoes to get her feet into a better position on the pedals.

My wife needed a wide BB spindle due to a similar problem.

At least the clipless would keep her feet in the same spot, and adjusting the cleats could keep her away from any bars. (unless she's terribly knock kneed...)

I occasionally knock my knees against the frame, resulting in ugly bruises on the insides of my knees. I've gotten better and keeping my knees straight above my feet and not angled in, but it takes concentration. I have very long femurs and that might contribute to the problem.

Are the pedals clipless with misaligned cleats causing her to lightly touch the frame on each revolution (not enough to notice on each revolution but enough to have a cumulative effect)?

It's also possible that as her legs get tired that they "fall" towards the bike on some or each revolution.

Thanks again for the responses , we went riding today Approx. 16 miles on pavement , we lowered saddle about 1.5 inches (she had it real high, where she couldn't touch ground at all). Our pedals have the toe clasp (that wrap around the shoe) which she had real loose and did not have here foot all the way in. So we addressed those 2 things thanks to YOUR advices on this forum . She feels like it helped alot and did not catch herself hitting or rubbing her knees. I guess we will know more tomorrow if the bruises are sore or worse !! We will update you nice folks .. THANKS again for your time and thoughtful advice !!

Just a note... 1.5" is a HUGE change in saddle height. I usually move it in .125" increments and find those changes noticeable. So 1.5" is like maybe 12 steps. She probably should fine tune things a bit yet.

A few things to check.
Read Peter White's thing (www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm)on bike fitting for non-racers.
Check that the points of contact (pedals, saddle, bars) are roughly correct.
Check that the cranks are not overly long for leg-size.
Assuming that the fit is within bounds , the issue is riding style.

You could video your wife Just Riding Along, from the front and the sides (after a few miles warmup) . Mark the knee joint with some coloured tape (crash-test dummy style). Mark the bike up as a reference (eg tape at 5cm intervals. When you play frame by frame you can plot the circularity of her knees from the side and the verticalness from the front.

Check that your wife is well balanced and sitting symetrical as possible.
Lose toe clips are probably a better idea than clipless until you sort this out. Forcing the feet into the "correct" position can lead to joint problems.
Check for bent cranks or pedal spindle which can rock the foot from side to side.
Check hips for any bobbing.

Thats about all I can suggest from interwebland. If this advice doesnt work, an experienced bike fitter (pref with some sports-physio background) may help.