scale

i have been riding about 4 to 5 times per week. 24+ miles per ride.....

my knees have been slightly sore here and there.....

I havent rode in 4 or 5 days now and my knees are starting to bother me....from not riding. Is this possible?

the weather is getting colder this past week....maybe im just getting old. At 32 i find that hard to believe.

I have about a 30in inseam or so...and im running Sungino Mighty Comp cranks that are 171mm. I love the cranks but im wondering if i should try to go shorter.

Maybe some 165s if i can find them somewhere.......

why would my knee pain get worse after not riding for a few days. I hope it isnt old age

kendall

I'm in about the same position, ride a bit farther though.

My knees stiffen up if I don't get out and ride often enough, and when I do get back to riding they slow me down for the first ten miles or so but loosen up and work right after that. For me It's a combination of getting older and long forgotten injuries.

One of my bikes has 165's on it, and I really haven't noticed any difference between that one and the 170's on my other bikes. The difference is only about 1/5th of an inch, which doesn't really make a difference in knee flex or pedal effort (leverage)
When I first got it I thought there was a big difference, but tried the rear tire/rim from my other bike on it to equalize the gearing and determined that if there -was- a difference, it was too small to notice without instruments

Ken.

Bikewer

Here's the old standard "wisdom" regarding knee pain, unless you have arthritis or something..

If the pain is in the front of the knee, the kneecap or patella, this is an indication that your knee is "hyperflexing", that is bending too much. Your saddle height is too low, or too far forward.

If the pain is in the rear, then you're overextending, which is a sign that saddle height is too high, or the saddle too far back.
There are other possibilities, of course, but at your age incipient arthritis seems unlikely.

Brian T.

Motrin. My doctor prescribes 800mg. And I do have arthritis in my knees, at 34, have had it for awhile. Oddly enough, they don't hurt on the bike.

Panthers007

I have a similar condition. First noted when I was 25. And while it hurts sometimes while walking, it doesn't while cycling. I discussed the option of replacing my legs with wheels. But she didn't like it...

HenryL

Motrin only treats the pain, not the source of the pain. Some things to consider. 1. Is your bike fit properly, seat too low? 2. Are you pushing too big a gear? Less resistance and higher spin rate takes the pressure off of your knees. 3. Climbing lots of hills? Mashing up hills in too big a gear will kill your knees in short order. 4. What else to you do besides cycling? Basketball, football etc. All that contributes to stress on the knees.

Get thee to a bike shop, get your fit checked and give some thought to your cycling "style". The motrin won't hurt but it won't solve the problem.

scale

thanks for the great input.

I really cant tell if it is a pain or more of a weak feeling. It almost feels like it could be an injury or slight ripping of somthing in both knees equally. I ride platforms and no toe clips and run a 48/17 gear setup i believe.

I dont know if it is tightness or a weakening but dont want to push it. IM going to see how long it takes to heal. I was suppose to attend my first "SPIN" class tonight but backed out for fear of making it worse.

I do believe the seat is about the right height......as my toes are pointed and i have a slight bent knee. I have played with this quite often. My hips are not rocking. I naturally ride on my toes or with a pointed foot. I wonder if that is part of the deal?

Anyway..ive tried moving the seat front to back and it feels weird (cockpit wise). I moved it back ever so slightly and thought i was going to die. I had some man pain down there pretty bad afterward. Nausa feeling etc.....and that was just a small amount. I guess i was leaning a bit too far forward at that point puting more weight on the goods.

The pain does feel like it is in front. I have no pain or anyhting in the rear which is why i have played with the seat so much....thinking i needed to keep going up.

JanMM

48/17? You always in that gear? Singlespeed? Fixed?
Whatever, just back off on your miles and intensity for a while and see if you feel better.
Not actually having pain? That's good.

scale

SS.....and this ratio seems pretty good. Im running about 75 - 100 cadence. It is pretty flat around here. i push pretty hard and average 16mph or better.

Dahon.Steve

We had someone last year damage his knees on a single speed. The poor kid was not even 32 but man he was off the bike for a long time. I think you need a bike with gears since fixed gears add more stess on the knee cap. By the way, 32 is just about the age I started to have problems with my feet and they are still in pain today.

Totaled108

I had similar problems before getting fitted to my bike. One thing that helped was, after I mentioned the knee pain and the fitter (if that what the person fitting you is called) looked at my pedaling. She suggested I pedal with a flat foot. It might be hard to do with platform pedals. Just imagine scrapping dog doodoo off the middle of your shoe, thats the motion at the bottom of the stroke. Also, leveling out the seat seemed to help.