Originally Posted by
illusiumd
Thanks for all the advice folks. I did go and get fitted prior to this knee thing flaring up -- I went through phys rehab so my insurance would pay for it. I feel like things got a little worse after the fitting. He raised my seat up and moved it forward a bit. He wanted to put platform things in my shoes but I didn't like that. I'm going to try clipless and see if he can dial in something good that alleviates - I wouldn't call it pain yet - but it's def my knees saying they don't like what's going on.
Once you get the seat height correct and your foot positioned properly, then it's on to cleat adjustment, float and Q factor (lateral distance foot to centerline of BB).
Getting the foot positioned properly is going to require insoles. The ones that typically come with shoes are basically garbage or worse. You need proper arch support to anchor your foot in the shoe. Otherwise, as you pressure the pedal and your arch collapses, the foot goes sort of loose in the shoe.
SPD style cleats have the least adjustment.
Speedplay does have a new MTB cleat/pedal out that permits significantly more float than most other pedal systems and it's not "return to center" so there is no tension against your leg when your foot position changes. I have them and like them a lot but I don't have a lot of miles on them yet. I have knee issues in both knees (no ACL in one and torn and repaired meniscus in the other) and generally really like the float Speedplay provides.
In general, I'd totally agree with the others. Clipless is a lot more likely to exacerbate your knee issue than it is to help it. This is not where I'd look for this solution. Shimano SPD doesn't provide a whole lot of float.
Finally, the whole thing may be as simple as increasing your cadence to 70-80rpm and keeping the pressure on the pedals down. If you are pedaling at a lower cadence than this, it's very likely you are putting a lot of pressure on the pedals and that alone can cause leg issues.
J.