Knee Pain
 

okay, so for the 3 past few rides i have been having some knee pain while riding, especially when standing out of the saddle going uphill. I don't know if it has something to do with my saddle position (my knee is slightly forward of my ankle joint) or my seat post position (i have a slight bend, but not full extension) or the float of my clip-ins. Can anyone help to solve this issue or should i just ride with a knee brace?

I would say saddle height.

Could be any number of things - saddle height, cleat position, or just overuse (too much to soon, or mashing big gears going up hills before your legs are ready for it).

Did you have your bike fitted, or are you just doing it on your own? I struggled with similar things until I had a real bike fit done. I never could quite get it right on my own and I kept having little knee and/or ankle issues. You might want to get your fit checked if you haven't done so yet. It might save you some time and a little pain.

A VAST OVERSIMPLIFICATION:

pain in the front of the knee, raise the seat and/ or move it to the rear

pain in the back of the knee, lower the seat and or move it forward.

All adjustments should be in very small increments, and you should measure them so you can reverse the change.

I had knee pain for a long time until I did a few things that made a great difference. Stretching minimally before the ride; much more after. Seat height adjustment, then speedplay pedals with more float. These three things worked for me. I tried them in that order. I would say that my knee pain progressively diminished as I moved through these steps, but the pedals made the greatest diffence for me. But, every "body" is different. I would begin with stretches, then a pro bike fit. Go from there 'til you find the relief you're looking for. Good luck!

Urbanmonk

it could be very frustrating tweaking the position without knowing where it is wrong to start with. Maybe you should start from a neutral position for everything and then see where the pain develops. at least that way you'll know which direction to move things.

Another angle...Go ahead and look at your bike setup, but if all that fails consider this. I got really sore knees when I first got into cycling(over 20 years ago), especially after long rides. To make a long story short, I basically took up weightlifing, including legs. Cycling uses specific muscles in one way and others are not used as much therefore you get an overuse issue in some areas and underuse issue in other areas. Weightlifting allows me to exercise all the muscles, including the legaments/tendons. It would be analogus to only working the bicep muscle and not working the tricep; you'll experience problems eventually with that practice. Weightlifting is also good for other areas that need weight-bearing exercises, such as the lower back and neck...

I know this is a controversial issue in the cycling community and don't wish to argue the point, been there done that...All I'm sayin' is that I don't have knee issues any longer and I'm 46 years old and very active, including being an avid runner and hiker.

P.S. I NEVER take OTC "pain" medications. Evil, evil stuff.

make sure your knee isn't moving laterally when you pedal. i see a lot of people whose knee goes wide when it is coming up and i'm sure they have swollen knees afterwards

I started developing right knee pain out of nowhere a few weeks back. I went into my LBS to get a fit check. They noticed my saddle was slightly off from the original fitting I had when I first got my bike. After the seat post/saddle adjustment... no more pain.

Knee pain while riding is a problem and something is way off. You should find an LBS or local fitter that can see you on the bike and correct the problem.

Alrighty, sounds like i should try messing around with the positions every ride and find the best position to not cause knee pain, stretch more, and also go to the gym and just do some good old working out. And like many of you have said, if all else fails, then go get my fit from my LBS. Thank you so much for helping me with this issue guys, appreciate all the advice.