So I got my first road bike in August (2009 Specialized Allez Triple) and I've been riding it since. I'm no marathon rider, my max distance is like 8 milesish, but yeah I ride pretty often.

Anywhere, here's my problem. When I shift into a very low gear when going uphill, (thus I am pedaling quite fast) my knee joints start to HURT. Really badly. Just a weird ache inside the joint. It's not the bike, my last bike (Giant Cypress ST) gave me the same problems. When I pedal fast, my knees really ache.

If it counts for anything, I've always had issues with my knees making weird cracking/popping noises when I get up from crouching? No idea if it's related.

What's going on here!