cklaxton

Hi everyone,

I bought a Trek 1500 and love riding it; however, after about 30 to 45 minutes in, my left knee really starts to hurt. It got so bad one ride, I had to clip out and struggle back home using only my right leg. I had the cleats adjusted in my left shoe because I thought that was the cause but it hasn't solved the problem.

Has anyone else experienced this? I read the left knee related to the clutch thread and that seems like the same injury. I believe it is that certain angle when your depressing the clutch and riding a bike that does it to me but I have no idea how to fix the problem.

I really want to be able to ride longer, but in the situation I'm in now, my knee forces me to quit. I can barely walk the rest of the day!

think I'm going to try taking the left pedal off and getting an old traditional un-clipless pedal on there and see if that helps. Then at least I know its the cleat position and not over extension or wrong pedaling position. I can ride my old MTB for longer than an hour w/ no problem and it doesn't fit at all (16" girls bike). I'm 5'10", 160lbs, 20 yr old male.

Just wondering if anyone has had this problem too. I think it's gotta be something to do w/ cleat position... but maybe I'm just not suited to riding even though I love it.

Thanks for any suggestions!

cyclinfool

I responded to this on the other thread - try a neoprene knee brace until you strengthen the muscles in that leg. You will need to stay off of it until it heals though. The tendons in the knees get so little blood flow they take a long time to heal. I believe teh brace improves the circulation while riding and gives just enough added support.

Campag4life

I believe you somewhat answered your own question. In any event, don't ride the bike with your current set up. Remove the pedal as you say and ride without clipping in for a while and see if this relieved your pain. Some cleats are more forgiving then others depending on amount of float. Cleat adjustment is pretty important for one's knees as most will attest. There are many factors however....how big a gear you push....try spinning more....seat adjustment is big...set back and height. If you are naturally slew footed as I am a bit, consider mounting your cleats that way...toes out a bit with rear of shoe close to the chainstay. My toes rotate a bit outward when I stand as well...so your cleats have to accomodate sitting and standing...I stand a fair amount to climb, sprint etc.
The one thing you don't want to do it continue what you are doing. You have a good idea to try a platform pedal on the side that hurts...I would mount platforms on both and ride in tennis shoes for a few rides and watch naturally what your foot position is on the pedals and then attach the cleats accordingly.
Good Luck.

colorado dale

pay for a professional bike fit

any $ you spend will be worth the knee pain relief

kensuf

https://www.cptips.com/knee.htm

Identify where the pain is then make the appropriate adjustment.

FIVE ONE SIX

i've been struggling with left knee pain since the beginning of the year, and it's been extremely frustrating. it's only my left knee, it never happened before, and i didn't change a single thing on the bike to cause it...

mine isn't nearly as bad as yours though. for me, it takes about 10 miles or so before i start to feel it, and it doesn't continue the entire ride. it usually only happens for a minutes or two at a time, and once i feel it a few times it usually goes away, and i won't feel it again for the rest of the ride. also, it doesn't bother me once i get off the bike...

i say go to an orthopedic specialist about, and have him take some x-rays to see if there's anything wrong, because anything major will show up on an x-ray. i did that for my left knee, and they didn't find a single wrong, other than the fact that i have a bit of arthritis in my left knee. he didn't think that had anything to do with it though, because he said if that was the problem, i'd feel it all of the time...

cklaxton

hey thanks for the advice guys. ill try to figure out the platform pedal thing and the brace thing first. if that doesnt work then maybe ill check out a doctor or a pro bike fitter. i really want to be able to test my endurance and i cant the way my knee forces me to quit. thanks again.

Prince9931

https://www.prowriststraps.com/inc/sdetail/36845


Nice knee sleeves , not to intrusive.......Etc........
I am not affiliated with this company etc..........