Training & Nutrition - Having mild knee pain: recommend a bike fitter?

I've gotten into biking for my commute to and from school (about 4 mi each way, five days a week). I noticed I started to have some pain/discomfort in my right knee (towards the front, just medial to the patella). I'm not sure what in my form is bad, if it's because I had the gears up too high, or need something in the frame/seat adjusted.

I've heard a professional bike fitting can make a big difference. Anyone have any experience with a good, professional bike fitter (especially in the L.A. area)? What do you look for in a bike fitter? Where do you go?

you can go to a bike fitter, sure, but if you are having pain the the front of your knee that is usually a sign that your seat is too low

raise your seat a bit and see if that clears it up. Your thigh should not be perpendicular to the ground at the top of your pedal stroke. The closer you are to that position, the more stress you are putting on the front of your knee.

Of course there is a limit to how high your seat can be. If you are sitting too high you will start to get a pain in the back of your knee or your lower back will get tired from your hips rocking


also, turning a big gear real slow also will give you pain in the patella area, so it doesn't necessarily have to be your saddle height that is the issue. Most people will tell you to shoot for a cadence of around 90rpm, but if your cadence is less than around 70-75rpm I would say try using a higher cadence and lighter gear for a few days before changing anything on your bike setup


good luck and I hope you can figure out what is bothering your knee