Knee pain
 

Currently I am in Washington on the Northern Tier. Over the past few days I've found my knees hurting a lot more then they should (preferably, they shouldn't). At 20, I feel like my knees should be able to stand up to some some reiding every day. Are there any suggestions on adjusting my bike to help with this? What about riding style? I've noticed that I ride at about a cadence of 70-75 while climbing.

Your saddle may be high enough, but is it back far enough? Also, try and get your cadence up around 90 or 95, that should help, good luck.

I've been told that if the pain is in the front of your knee (kneecap side) your saddle is too low. If it is the back of your knee (in the bend) your saddle is too low. Of course I was also told that eating carrots would let me see in the dark.

If the knee pain is toward the outside of the knee your illialtibial band may have tightened up from this new repetitive use from cycling.When tight it rubs along a bony protusion on he outside of the knee joint causing inflamation of the band sheath.

The cure is stretching: while on your back with legs extended flat grab your foot and pull your sore leg across and over your other leg toward your chest pulling gently;you should feel the band pull along the outside of your knee up to your buttock. Holding this position and genty increasing your pulling pressure for several minutes has taken care of this problem on many a tour for me. I hope that it works for you if that is the problem.
As noted above seat position up/down front/back are very important; also your foot position on the pedals using cleats or toe clips should be with the ball of your foot over the pedal axle.

sounds like you need to have the fit of your bike checked but as a quick check if you can sit in the saddle and put your heal on the peddles and your knee is basically locked but not hyperextended they your saddle hight should be right if it isn't adjust up or down as needed. then when you put the ball of your feet on the peddles you should have the correct angle in your knees also gear down and get your cadence up i have read that for climbing on tours it should be about 85-90

I'm still a topclip user. Yup - I still have kerosene lamps and a cow out back, too. But I've notice FAR more knee problems among touring cyclists since clipless came into fashion. I'm no sports medicine doctor, but I suspect it has something to do with repetitive motion injury. Even with "floating" pedals it tends to place the stress on the same point. Perhaps for 90% of people, clipless is way better - but for that other 10% it can be a disaster. Toeclips allow you to constantly reposition your foot ever so slightly - the way your foot will automatically recoil from a sharp object, you may not even notice it. Yes, you'll have less "efficiency" but if your knees go you'll have ZERO efficiency.

Two suggestions - are you mashing potatoes - i.e. not riding in a low enough gear? Try riding in a gear one gear lower than previously. Otherwise, if the knees keep hurting, consider switching out to toeclip pedals. You can always keep both for a while and mail back the ones you decide against. Another nice thing about toeclips is that you can ride in your Tevas and your feet stay nice, cool, and dry - and they say "Thank you!"

i have used clipless pedals for years and if the springs are adjusted right you have plent of freedom in your pedals. actually more freedom of movement than when i was in toeclips... or rat traps as i call them...

I am simply making an observation that I have seen more serious problems since clipless started becoming popular. You may be among the 90% that have no problems. It's the other 10% that I am concerned about.

the thing about clipless is they have to be adjusted correctly or you will not only have knee pain but ankle and foot pain as well. the best way i have seen to adjust them is keep the cleat a little loose when you first put them on and then ride a few miles with them and where the dig most into the plastic will be where you want to set them and tighten them up because that is your natural foot position on the pedal

knee pain
 

I agree with George. Also, if you are wearing cleats on your shoes, check that your feet / knees are properly aligned (have someone stand straight in front of you to watch you pedal). I had knee pain once, and proper saddle adjustment did the trick.

And as George says, you might be trying to push too hard. The more revolutions, the less strain on knees, joints and muscles...

One other thing you may try is, if your using clipless pedals slide the clips on your shoes all the way to the rear. If you have to twist them sit on a table with the back of your knees as far as they go and look at your feet. and see how far they point out, then set your clips the same way. Good luck.

With clipless, you are very dependent on exact, proper placement of the cleat, and then when you are riding, you tend much more to just keep pedaling forever with your foot in exactly the same position without any break. With toeclip pedals, unless you actually use and tighten the straps, your foot will tend to find its own place on the pedals. While I've enjoyed some of the advantages of clipless, I sometimes think regular pedals with the appropriate toeclip and loose straps might be better for non-racing.

Lots of good tips above, but which ones apply to you? Is your seat too high or too low? Knees pointing too far out or too far in? ITB or achilles tight? Old football injury playing up? Referred hip pain?

See a sports physio or sports doctor to work out what the problem is. Do stretches and strengthening exercises appropriate to the diagnosis. There is just NO WAY you can get blanket fix-it advice on things like bike fit and knee pain from a forum.

Having said that, do some searches on bike fitting, cadence, stretching and knee pain. These topics have been covered pretty thoroughly, you may find something that applies to you.

I decided after posting that I would try higher RPM's. It felt really awkward at first going at about 85-95, but my knees do feel alot better. I'll try adjusting the saddle a bit too, see if that will make the problem go away entirely.

Thanks for the tips!

Matt

If you have any pain at all, something is wrong.

unless you are like me and it is just simple arthuritis and alieve takes care of that... and a good glucosamine and chondroitin formula works well too