gdalivestock

I am female with knees that turn in on a bike anyway, and am starting to get mile inside knee pain. I think I have been told to adjust the clips in or out to rectify this, but dont know which way to go! Do I move the clips on the shoes to the inside or outsdie? Presently they are set in the middle.

TIA!

AEO

before adjusting cleat position, is your saddle position correct?

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html#height
https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

start from there.


then when that's all good, for cleat alignment, as a general guideline:
the center of the pedal spindle should be on the ball of your foot and you position your cleats so that your feet will be parallel to each other. from there you do minor adjustments

knees that bow inwards, knock knees, would mean your cleats are too far inward, or your saddle is too low, or both. generally your feet will be closer at the toes than the heels so you will have to move your cleats inwards so that your feet get a wider stance.

https://www.caree.org/bike101cliplesspedals.htm
https://www.cptips.com/knee.htm

jtarver

I have a very knees in pedal stroke, which works well except for long descents on a FG(supposedly the true way to find the flaws in your technique). I would think you should move your cleats to the inside to splay your knees out a bit. I just try to adjust my pedal stroke to a more knees out position. I also take some Aleve prior to any substantial ride, as well as after.

SoreFeet

Try a conventional pedal and toe strap shoe. You might like the natural motion better. Clipless pedals can be hard on the knees if they aren't set right. I really see no big gain running a clipless pedal. They are simply another race oriented product being pushed on recreational riders.

You might be surprised at the increase in comfort riding a stiff soled conventional shoe with straps/platform pedal. If you are going to keep the modern pedal then adjust them till it feels right.

Others mention saddle position. Is it too high? Is it too low? Are you rocking your hips frequently and extended your leg too much. Are your legs curled up tightly because the saddle is too low.

Lastly, are you trying to push too high of a gear? Lugging around in too big of gear for long can bring about knee pains. There are lots of variables to consider. Too low of a saddle can bring about some pain where you describe.

Please make adjustments and give a follow up post describing your situation. Even though it might be a repeat theme, there will be somebody who can gain insight from your experience.

DannoXYZ 

I'd recommend using platform pedals with NO clips or straps to start with. This gives you the most amount of foot freedom without constricting its movement.

Get yourself fitted to the bike, most common issue with beginners and knee pain is too low a saddle.

4zn_balla

If the pain is on the inside of the knee then just adjust them so your feet are wider out during pedal stroke. Try and get the Q factor measurement and compare it to your natural standing feet width then adjust accordingly. if the knee pain shifts to the outside, you've went too far

skinnyone

All I would say is do not mess with it yourself, go to a bike shop/an ortho.

AEO

pedaling is not quite the same as standing or walking so these two can be very different measurements.

PhatRoadie

I suggest buying speedplay pedals. They solved my knee pain by allowing my feet and knees to find their natural alignment.

4zn_balla

Good point man. I think it was good "rule of thumb" advice compared to getting platform pedals

love2pedal.com

What PhatRoadie said.

I use the Speedplay Frog and love them

bubbagrannygear

I don't think it is recommended to take a pain reliever before activity since you can mask pain which is your body's way of telling you something is wrong. You might do real damage by continuing when you should have stopped.

rodrigaj

Be very skeptical of forum members that advocate buying a pedal (speedplay or otherwise) as a way to cure knee problems.

AEO

yeah, it's not addressing the problem for one and we haven't had any feedback from the OP yet, so it's like giving advil to a person who is suffering from gangrene.

garysol1 

First thing to do if your knees are inside of your hip and ankle line is to try and narrow your stance. Easiest way is to adjust your cleats OUT so that your shoes are closer to you cranks. I would recommend to have a good fitter look at you regardless and maybe he can also recommend some footbeds and or wedges that will alleviate your issues.

PhatRoadie

Yes, because I get 5 bucks every time someone buys a pair of speedplays.

nitropowered

There is no real way for us on the internet to properly fix you. You really need to see someone in person that can do good fits. ask around your community to see if there is any recommendations

daxr

You'll have a check coming Friday - that's when I'm picking up a new set of Speedplays at my lbs.

And I am getting them specifically because I have had knee issues in the past, and they have enough float in the pedal and q-factor adjustment in the clip to allow a comfortable fit. Not a sales pitch, as there are a couple of others that would do also, but they are a good pedal for someone with fit issues.

Tapeworm21

Raise your saddle, try some insoles. Save yourself a headache and go to a LBS.

brians647

Holy crap! With the variety (and occasional contradiction) of answers you just got, aren't you glad you asked?

dar83

lol wow telling her to go back to platforms was awesome guys.... why not just tell her to go get a huffy because really road bikes is something for more serious racers and its really not something a rec. rider should ever worry with.
on a more serious note I think you would have best luck going to a good bike shop and talking to the people there. Allow them to help you get the correct fit for the bike.
good luck

nitropowered

How do you know that her saddle is too low? It could be too high.

Vinci

I was getting some pain at the front of my knees a while back that I corrected by raising my saddle a little. The previous height looked and felt right, but the new one feels even better and my knee pain has gone away.

You didn't mention what kind of pedals/cleats you are using, but I would assume they are fixed or have a very limited-float (meaning that your foot can't pivot on the pedal or has a very limited range of pivot). With that, you'll have to figure out how your foot sits most comfortably and tweak the cleats to try to mimic it. I wanted to avoid that setup and went with SpeedPlay Light Action pedals, as they allow quite a bit of float, and my feet and sit at their natural angle without making any changes to the cleats.

Replacing your pedals/cleats could be an expensive fix ($115 retail for mine), but it's something to consider if you can't get the angle set comfortably on what you have.

Busta Quad

Do you have pics/video of you on the bike? That would help.

roadiejorge 

I would recommend going to your LBS so they can put you on a trainer to see how you're pedaling and then help you.