knees started to hurt
 

I went to NOW bike shop and got fitted, but now after short power rides of 12-15 miles my knees are hurting.
Up or down on the seat height?
Seems that a fitting would NOT cause this, prior knee probs have not been the issue,

jlj

Power rides? pushing too high a gear ? try keeping a lighter pedal pressure and an easier gear ratio.

:50: let your speed not be that important.

What part of the knees are hurting? Generally if the "back of the knee" is hurting it can be from too hard a gear and/or the saddle too high. If the front of the knee is where the pain is then the saddle might be too low.

If you were otherwise satisfied with the fitting I'd discuss with those folks. Your description does lead one to believe that you might be pushing too high a gear.

Seat down 1/4"




(totally uninformed guess)

Ha , you're a lot of help. I'd have said up but I have the same qualifications.

Hehe.


I say down because I had a bike that I thought fit me pretty well. I started having knee pain and lowered the seat just a smidge and it made a huge difference for the better. It still feels a bit low, but my knees still don't hurt when I ride it.

I would talk to the people at the bike shop but you might try to watch your knees to see if they are stacking straight up and down or do they tend to fall inward toward the top tube. You may need to move the cleats a bit.

I'm not sure how to thank all the repliers for the tips. But thanks. What I did was 'not let my speed be that important. I was conscious of cadence, or rhythm, since I'm a musician, breathing and keeping the shifting more in the middle, that may not make sense even to me as i re read it. I have not lowered my seat yet, just did 20miles, little wind but several 20-45 degree hills, took me 1.30hrs. but as I sit here writing, my knees did not, are not hurting. Save'd a trip to the shop and a fit fix charge. Thanks again and if every I can help, i will.

jlj

Glad you found a solution. If it's a solution by slowing down.

I changed my position a bit in the Spring and it took my legs/knees a couple of weeks to feel right in the new position.
Point pain is something you should deal with quickly, soreness after a power ride may have many causes to evaluate.

20-45 degree hills?
That makes my kneecaps hurt too. Anything where my cadence drops below 40 trying to get the pedals to move.
What's the equivalent in %grade?
Have somebody tell you if your knees are bowing out or if they track straight through your pedal stroke.
Moving the saddle forward also changes which muscles are used. My knees prefered having the saddle scootched back.
It does take a while to get used to a new bike fit. Your body will adapt to accommodate a certain bike fit and won't like changing.

45 degrees would be a 100% grade.

I guess he didn't mention that he was a sherpa in his spare time...

Backing off on the effort is a good idea, especially since it is working. Long ago I began playing tennis for the first time at about age 55 and began having slight knee pain. With time and exercise, that pain went away as knees got stronger. I also mostly played on clay courts which are kinder to knees. You may find that over time, your knees will get stronger and you'll be able to maintain a higher effort.

You adjusted by moving to the middle of the gear range? Does that mean before you were riding in the toughest gears? Bah! Beginner's mistake!

Go easy on your legs. Keep in the low gears and work on getting the cadence up. You shouldn't use those small cogs except for down steep hills and monster sprints (probably down modest grades).

Okay, cadence, got it, ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [rhythm or metrical beat] Got that angel number from a road worker, maybe he was mistaken, I often get information from the wrong sorces, BUT NOT THE BIKE FORUM lol. So, I have had good/better luck with biking and less knee pain and have watched my knees, lowered my seat, been concious of the beginners mistake, although I been doing this for 4 years I am still a beginner, we all are at some point and this is digressing.
Thanks for the help, closed and wish you all no wind, flat paths, no dog walkers and good cadence.
jlj