one_beatnik

My wife started riding just last year with a decent, but entry level hybrid style bike. We added bar ends to give her some versatility of movement. At first she was having pain in her lower back when she rode. In watching her pedal stroke, I determined the seat was a bit low. We adjusted and the back pain went away.

Then it was right knee pain behind and to the right of the joint...that ligament. She felt like the seat needed to go back. We did that and volia! the pain went away. Now it's the left knee in the same ligament behind the knee joint, the one on the outside of the leg. She feels the seat needs to be tilted up in the front. Her seat post doesn't allow for that. Before we invest in "maybe's" is that what could cause this?

Open for suggestions. With that ligament hurting, I'm wondering if the seat is marginally too high now and she's over-extending. It doesn't seem to matter if it's flat, bike-trail type of riding or hills. Usually it takes about 15 or more miles before it bothers.

The first thing I told her is to stay off the bike for a few days so everything is healed before we randomly adjust and ride. When healed we can randomly adjust!

Again, open for suggestions.

bikepro

After years if riding, I finally had a professional bike fitting. My sugestion would be to find a bike shop that does fitting. Expect to pay around $250. but it's well worth it and the best upgrade you'll get. The problem with your piecemeal approach is you tend to make an adjustment here to compensate for a bad adjustment there. The one I had was a Specialized BG fit and took over three hours, but there are other methods.

NOS88

Can you do fore and aft adjustments to the seat. Often if the seat is too far forward (tip of the nose closer to the handlebars) the ligament pain you describe can occur. Think about it. Sit in a chair with both legs positioned so that the lower leg runs straight up and down with both feel flat on the floor. Now, slide the left foot out four or five inches. Now imagine pushing forward with that foot. You should feel the hamstrings tighten and very little pressure around the knee. Now do just the opposite; slide the left foot behind by for or five inches and imagine pushing. Now you'll feel more tightening of the quads and more strain around the knee area. This is pretty much the same thing that happens if the seat is positioned too far forward.

one_beatnik

NOS88.... Scan my post again. That's one of the adjustments we already did. Moving the seat back solved the issue on the right knee. I think we're very close to arriving at the right adjustments, but finding that last tweek is the problem.

David Bierbaum

Good luck! May you find the sweet-spot of seat height/distance, and avoid finding the spot that gives her pain in both knees and her back!

If all else fails, you may end up having to spring for such things as an adjustable stem, so that you can reposition the handlebars once the seat is... er... well seated...

NOS88

Sorry, missed that. I think you're in the "tiny, tiny adjustments, one at a time" territory. Another thing to consider is differences in the physical structure of her legs and fee.t For example, I have a small shim under the cleat on my right foot, because that foot and leg don't track the same way as the left foot when pedaling. I can't tell you how much of a positive difference this has made to my riding. It was a pro fit with the Retul system that brought this difference to light.

BikeWNC

She might be twisting her foot on the left pedal causing the irritation behind the knee. As NOS88 mentioned, we often have slight length differences caused by any number of things. Sometimes these issues are actual bone length asymmetries but often they are from muscle imbalances that cause functional differences.

bikeme

I stopped trying to guess/fit my bike and coughed up the money to do it. I got a Specialized BG fit for $150 (took about 2.5 hours) and follow-ups were free. The follow-ups were not because of the initial fit being off--it felt great. I got new shoes and crankset so things got thrown off. It's back to feeling perfect again. Go get a fit for her.

bikepro

I had the same type fitting, except mine was $250. -- still worth the money.

one_beatnik

I've thought about the pro bike-fit, but I'm such a tightwad that it's hard justifying that on a $400 bike! Good bike, just not top end. I have a couple little things to try before we spring for that.

Bill Kapaun

What's the length of the crank vs her height?

Sometimes the factory cranks are just a bit too long for someone that's been around for " a few years".
Should be listed inside the arm.

one_beatnik

I hadn't even thought about the cranks! They are the 175's so that could be part of it. She's 5'10". Tilting the seat nose up a bit and lowering it by 1/2" got rid of the knee pain entirely! Now her back hurts again. She left the tilt alone and adjusted the seat up 1/4" mid ride and it changed the position of the back pain. It may be time for a bike fit! I'm also thinking handle bar width.

bikepro

The prolem with trying to correct fit problems yourself is that so many things are interrelated -- if one adjustment if off, another may be improperly adjusted to compensate for it. That's why I think a proper fitting is a good idea. Also, the 175 mm cranks seem a little long -- 172 is what you typically see. Also, the handle bar width should be about shoulder width. If you get the BG Fit, it takes around 3 hours, but is very through. Mine took over three hours and cost $250. Expect to pay more if you have to replace anything -- bars, saddle, etc. I was close to $400. poorer by the time they were done, but its the best upgrade you'll buy.

FrenchFit 

175s are very likely to be part of her problem. Even 1-1/4 inch / 2.5 mm crank length steps affect my pedal stroke, and she's dealing with a stroke diameter that's probably something like 6-7 inches larger than it should be. If you get a pro fit, I'll bet it's recommended she be on 165s or 170s.

Hence, you can move the saddle wherever, there simply won't be a sweet spot for her. You cruel dude you!

one_beatnik

All the little fine tuning stuff seems to have paid off. We road 44 miles today in all hills and she had no pain. And that in HOT weather.

Road Fan

One_beatnik, consider that rotating saddle left or right of center slightly is one of the degrees of freedom available. Up, down, twist left right, rotate nose up/down, fore/aft.