Originally Posted by
calamarichris
My main point is: hire a professional to observe you pedaling, rather than trust the generalized advice of well-meaning internet strangers.
Both cleats were shifted back about 2-2.5mms, but there's no question my seat was too far back. The first time I went out riding after the visit with Nate, I noticed my knee-pain side felt a little off. He did rotate it maybe 1-3 degrees. But how can a well-meaning internet advisor catch something so tiny like this without watching you closely, personally with lasers pointed at your kneecaps while you pedal? No human body is completely symmetrical.
Didn't want to make my original post too long, but he also had an interesting device that measured my leg-strength imbalance, and if I was pedaling in circles, or like a Parkinson's-afflicted newbie triathlete. He recommended some strengthening exercises in both cases that made my wattage climb and climb the more I worked at it (having strong hip-flexor muscles can really reduce the weakest point of our pedal stroke [the top 10 degrees] and smoothify your pedal stroke). Minor muscle groups FTW.
At the finish line of the next two l'Etape du Californias (at the Mount Baldy summit), I looked like a bulldog at a greyhound convention. Seriously, I was the most line-backer guy up there, and the skinnies kept pouring in. AND the only steel frame both times.
You mean having someone actually observe you while pedaling, and making adjustments from that is better than asking random strangers who have never seen you or your bike setup, let alone watched you in action? You don't say... I will say however, that there are also a lot of bad fitters out there, ones who go by numbers and formulae instead of actually watching how the person interfaces witht he bike dynamically, and don't pay attention to subtle clues when the customer is pedaling, but it sounds like you got one who actually worked for you.
You should be careful though when a fitter stresses exercises to help correct a problem that can be corrected with fit. Not everyone has the same flexibility, and to fit a bike in such a way that requires a person to stretch to increase flexibility in order to pedal efficiently, instead of correcting the fit to fit that person's individual fitness level and flexibility can be problematic, and cause more problems. It doesn't sound like that is what your fitter did though. There is nothing wrong with suggesting exercises to help a cyclist to improve, but I have seen many fitters tell a customer that their problem isn't fit, but rather lack of core strength or lack of flexibility in some area. Though the rider may be deficient in those areas, the answer is not necessarily to disregard changing the fit to help the issue and tell them to fix their body mechanics. Sometimes there are underlying physical issues that make that difficult, or impossible. Adjusting the fit to help overcome those issues is more likely to keep the rider actually riding, instead of giving up, and more likely to prevent injury, at the same time increasing efficiency for the rider at their current fitness level. Changes can be made down the road if the rider becomes more flaxible, or increases their core strength.
These are just observations made over the past 50 years. Glad you can now ride without knee pain. I too think it was probably the cleat position. A rider can adapt easily to various seat heights and setback, lower seat heights are actually easier to adapt to than a too high seat height. Cleat position though can seriously screw up your knees though, especially if it is rotated too far one way or the other. This is actually one reason I ride flat pedals with pins now. I do not have to have my feet locked in one position. Of course if I were riding competitively I would be using clipless.