I went and got fitted twice by different shops and my knee still has a nagging pain in it. Not a lot, but annoying. I tried putting the saddle up and down forward and back and twisting my shoe clips and it's always there. When I go to get fitted they always set the saddle to high, I ride for a short time and when I get off the bike I can still feel a slight pain just above the right knee cap.
I don't know if this would help, but my inseam is 34.5 from the floor in bare feet and right now the saddle is 30" from the BB and I have my shoe clips at the ball of my foot. When the shop set me up, one had the saddle at 32' and the other shop had it at 31". When I was moving the saddle to different heights, I was moving it a 1/4 of an inch at a time. I talked to a guy yesterday and he said to try it a MM at a time. Isn't that kind of touchy. I really don't think I could be that exact to move it in such small increments.
I called the shop up and told him that my right knee is bothering me, he says raise the saddle. If I raise it anymore I wont be able to touch the pedals. So I started to lower it, knowing I cant raise it anymore and I'm trying to lower it 1/8 of an inch at a time. I find it hard to believe that 1/8 of an inch would make that much of a difference.

I thought maybe I'm not warming up enough, so I spin for about 15 minutes, it seemed to help a little. I can take it easy at 12 or 13 mph, but when I start going 16 or 17mph, I'll feel that same knee pain when I get back home. I've been riding for about 1 1/2 years and been putting up with this for quit some time now. My first year riding I put in 3500 miles. I just rested my knee for 3 days and yesterday I went out for a short 10 miles and there it was again.

Anyhow I read so much about bike fit I don't have clue what is going on. The only thing that keeps coming to mind is a short leg, but I told the fitters about it and they said it wasn't enough to worry about. Thanks for any help as I've been playing with this for some time now and I'd like to get taken care of.

1/8-inch can make a huge difference. You should think in terms of MMs.

You might want to go get a professional fitting -- it's well worth the money. Not sure what kind of fittings you've been getting. A professional fitter will account for different leg lengths -- one solution is insoles with shims on the bottom of the one worn on the shorter leg.

Also, it's often hard to tell right away if a change you've made is the right change -- it takes the body a while to adapt to a new set-up. My set-up, done by a pro, felt "wrong" at first, but after a while it felt perfect. This really can complicate things. Especially if you're changing more than one thing at a time -- seat height, position (forward-back) and cleat position. That's a lot of variables and possible combinations, as you've discovered.

Of course, you could have a knee problem that's aggravated by the movements inherent to cycling, no matter what your seat height is. Good luck!

Thanks mateo, I just got back and my knee feels pretty good, but I had my riding shorts on with sweat pants. So what your saying is if I take the sweat pants of, I would have to raise the saddle a mm or 2. You wouldn't think that much would mean anything. Thank you very much for your reply. I know that I'm close now, I hope.

Given that you've been through multiple fit sessions and tried many saddle positions, perhaps it's time to look at something other than bike fit? If it were me, I'd see a doctor, preferably a sports orthopedist, to be tested for things like arthritis, IT band syndrome, leg geometry issues, etc.

What kind of pedals are you using? You might consider switching to something with more float. Also, if it's your right knee that's hurting, you could try loosening the straps/laces on your shoes a bit, especially toward the front of your foot. This, in effect, gives you a bit more float and may relieve pressure on your knee.

I also agree with supcom that seeing a doctor might be a good idea, too.

Yes I do have Rheumatoid and osteo arthritis, but for the most part it's been in my wrist and elbows. I did go with the spd m424 pedals and that helped a lot over the 520s. I really don't think the 520s have a big enough platform and the 424s do. I'll have to see if medicare will pay for some kind of doctor to get checked out. Maybe my RA doctor could, I'll have to check it out, thanks again guys.

The float (the amount your heel/foot is allowed to rotate laterally when clipped in) might be important here. Many riders with knee probs opt for pedals that have lots of float (such as speedplays). Not sure how much float your pedals have (5 degrees?) or whether the float is adjustable. Check the manual. The amount of float probably matters much more where your knees are concerned than the size of the platform.

Another thing that might tell you whether it's a float/pedal issue is to go for an easy ride just in your tennis shoes. I think your platforms are big enough to allow you to do this safely. If your knee does not hurt after, it points toward your pedals/cleats as the culprit.

Good luck.

If I go for an easy ride my knees don't hurt at all for the most part. It seems like I warm up enough ( 15 to 20 minutes), but when I try and put to much preasure on the knee, I have my problem. Maybe I should do some work outs on my right knee only. I though after riding as much as I have that my knee would be ready for more of a work out. I think the pedals have 5 or 6 degrees and I do leave my shoes a little lose. Besides my shoe being lose and the pedals set at hardly any pressure at all, I don't think that's it. I tried that out this morning and I got all kinds of play. I know the Shimano M424 aren't a real road pedal, but I've had the best results from them so far. They did help with the knee pain. Maybe your on to something, but I wonder why on one side only. It sure would be worth a try though, thanks again.

mateo, I think you hit it. When I was looking for a new bike, a Cannondale, it had flat pedals an they felt pretty good, so I bought some and put them on my Jamis touring bike and I pedaled harder that I ever did and didn't have any pain at all. So now I knew I had to get a different pedal with a larger platform and that's how I ended up with the M424. I bought a Specialized Roubaix and put the M424 on that as well, so I may have to change them out. I looked at some road pedals and it looked like the platform on the M424 were bigger. I'll have to look around. Many thanks again, I moved this saddle so many times I think I wore the seat post out.

Pain above the kneecap usually means saddle too low. While sitting on the saddle normally, either on the trainer or leaning against something, unclip one foot. With the heel of that foot on the pedal, back pedal slowly until at the bottom of the stoke, your crankarm is aligned with the seat tube. Your heel should just barely be in contact with the pedal with your knee completely locked and your pelvis level. If your heel is firmly in contact with the pedal, raise the saddle. Some people leave a 4mm gap between the heel and pedal. Try this with both legs as they may be different lengths. Your sore knee may be on the long leg.

Once you have established saddle height by this method, *then* you can experiment with adjusting the precise saddle height by mm. With modern pedals, float is seldom the problem, nor is pedal size if you are using good quality cycling shoes with very stiff soles.

+1

That's exactly the method I learned for adjusting seat height (initially).

I went out for my daily ride and I got to say it really felt good. This is the first time since I've been riding that I got home pain free. I don't know if I have to tweak it later or not, but I don't want to touch it now that it feels so good. Many, many thanks guys I really appreciate it.

I think you need better fit advice.

Ideally, you can find somebody who is both a PT and a bike fitter. The best fits are the ones where the bike is adjusted to you and then you (through flexiblity and/or strength training) are adjusted to the bike.