paw888

OK, I know that my knees are now 50 year old, but I am fortunate to never of had any knee issues in my life (excluding some years ago my half-assed belly flop attempt of a head first slide into home plate that I hit knees first).

I push hard 2000-2500 miles outside each summer, and never have any knee issues. So I figure bike fitting and cleat position must be ok, right? In December, I turned up the trainer workouts several notches to have a stronger start to outside riding and to hopefully get back into racing. Now I am really starting to feel it in the knees.

What do you think? Is it because the bike is stationary, with no side to side play? My workouts are typically 45 minutes to an hour on the trainer four days a week compared to several hours when I am on the road. I think I am doing all of the right things - cross training with eliptical, some running, core exercises, stretching etc.

Anybody have any experiences with this?

RJBTrek

Yes, I'm experiencing the same thing and are about the same age. I have been playing indoor soccer twice a week and on the trainer 3 days per week for 1 to 1.5 hours each session.

I switched seats on my bike for winter training. This raised the seat just a bit and I adjusted it a tad lower but had knee pain. I lowered it again and my knee pain is no longer a regular occurance. I still get some pain near the end of a long session and I too think it is from the bike being locked in the trainer.

I was considering rollers just fot this reason.

Psimet2001 

Indoor training on a trainer will intensify any poor alignment with regards to your position. Position problems are the cause of your knee issue (is about 99% of the time).

My experience over the last 20 years is that you can usually solve people's knee problems by adjusting - 1-saddle height, 2-cleat....position, canting, rotation, etc.

Don't be afraid to make changes, and make small changes at a time. Think hard about where the pain occurs on the knee....outside, inside, below the kneecap, above, etc. That will give you an indication of what you should move.

Odds are you most likely need to shim your cleats. Take a well worn pair of sneakers. Place them on flat ground and look at how the shoe tops pronate to the outside. Riding "perfectly aligned" cleats forces your foot to go flat. That increases stresses in the knee along the outside (IT band). You can begin to rememdy that by using shims....

.....there's a lot to it. Many people have built their careers around making people more comfortable on the bike. Don't expect a quick fix...

cyclpsycho

I would check your saddle height: Too low front of knee pain, while too high hurts in back. Your stroke should be nice and smooth through the bottom.

Also, riding the trainer, you don't stand as often as you do outside. Could be why the issue only shows up on the trainer.

I would think since you started this in December, that it wouldn't be from ramping up too quickly. Going too hard too soon could cause you knee problems too.

paw888

Thanks for the advice. PSI you are a freakin bike-god!

The pain is located in the back of my knees - mostly the right knee. Thinking back, I did raise my saddle hight by maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch late last riding season (don't remember the exact measurement anymore) on the advice of an experienced riding buddy. I had actually thought for quite some time that my saddle was a bit low as well.

I am guessing that my saddle hight is too high now because of location of the knee pain (the back-outside of the knees) so I am going to back off the height 1/4 inch+ to start with.

Counting the outdoor riding after the hight change, and time on the trainer, I have over 600 miles, so I don't think that the issue is just getting used to the changed height. Does this sound logical?

Psimet2001 

Try just moving the saddle forward slightly first. See if that helps.