saddlesniffer

I had the same problem with my left leg. The inside part of my left knee would get sore after a ride. I purchased angled cleat shims.for my left cleat and adjusted my saddle height a bit and magically the pain is gone. Made riding so much more enjoyable. I started with just 6-10 miles and have built up to 20-30 now. I used 2, 1 degree shims.

AlgarveCycling

I damaged my right knee many years ago through overtraining and pushing too hard gears all the time. Learning to spin properly as a new cyclist is a vital skill.

When I returned to cycling in a major way a year ago, I took the following steps:

1. I bought an e-MTB bike. This was primarily because I thought my knee issue would flare up again and so I'd be better off on an e-bike. As it happens, 4 months getting back into cycling this way was great for easing my muscles and knees back into it at 50 years of age. I stopped riding it in June last year and haven't ridden it since, my wife has taken it over.
2. I went to the gym for a few months and did strengthening exercises for my knees and cardio for fitness and losing weight.
3. I re-learned how to spin when riding, avoiding big gears and fine-tuning my pedal stroke. While the first two I mentioned here would be very optional for most, I would always recommend this step to all cyclists.
4. My knee did flare up a little so I used a support for a short time to ease the pressure.
5. A professional bike fit with someone who really knows what they are doing. I've always thought I could set up my own bikes but I've had 3 Pro bike fits in the last 6 months and all resulted in minor but major changes. Minor? A half-centimetre higher, centimetre forward etc. 3 times? Each of my bikes - even trying to match one to the other with a tape doesn't get it 100%. I did that with my new Trek and 200km later, beginning of knee discomfort. Very minor changes later, perfection. Different geometry, different bike fit.
6. Speedplay pedals. Because I have specific knee issues, Speedplays were recommended to me because the adjustment is at the cleat on the shoe and can be individually customised to ensure correct foot position and make allowances other pedals cannot accommodate. Works for me.

A year on and I'm as strong and fit as I was in my late 20's. I have lost a bit of speed but still giving the youngsters a run for their money. My knees are fine, I still have to take heed of what I feel in my right knee but essentially, it is now fine and I'm able to push big gears too. I mix it up, as you should, and can rely upon fitness and spinning and max power, big gears on all my rides. Yesterday, for example, 132km, 1400m climbing, 31km/h ave, slow bits, fast bits, sprinting etc, no issues at all.

washed up

https://www.bicycling.com/training/a...my-knees-hurt/

Iride01 

Be sure your seat isn't too high or too low. Too high, and I think you feel it behind the knee. Too low and I think you'll feel it in the knee. But I may have that backwards or sideways.

And of course if you feel some strain coming on in your knee, just shift to a lower gear and go easy and drink plenty of fluids.

Trobinson986

I went for a 10 mile ride today. Around mile 6 my knee started to hurt again in the same spot (anterior medial - front inside)

this wasn’t even a hard ride. Pretty easygoing through traffic, etc. it’s been a month since my initial ride which hurt my knee.

i guess give it more time and rest?

theres a place that does professional fittings called Acme Bicycle company- there here in Brooklyn, NY. its $400 for a 2.5 hour fitting. I guess it’s worth going in for a fit? What do you all think?

frogman

I also have knee problems and use Speedplay pedals. I have used most of the pedals available and found some improvement over the knee pain but it wasn't completely resolved until I used the Speedplays. They are the best for not restricting the natural twist of the foot as it goes through the pedal rotation. It was an unusual feeling when I first tried them. The float is so good that it almost felt like i needed more support to restrict the easy twist whwn pedaling. haha In reality it lets your foot follow its natural twist as you pedal. I only use the Speedplay pedals now and have zero knee problems. My first incliniation after reading about his knee problem is to consider the float situation with his current pedals. This has a big impact on knee problems.

Trobinson986

This morning I did some lunges to test if my knee hurt. A month ago- immediately following the injury I couldn’t really do a lunge without feeling pain. Today I felt nothing when doing lunges- it’s ONLY while on the bike that I feel this pain. Maybe I’ll give the speed play pedals a shot

littleArnold

I have had almost the exact same problem with my knee when I have overtained. I backed off and my knee was back to normal. Back off for a while and know your limits more isn't always better. As they say train smarter not harder : )

icyclist 

It’s painful reading this thread.

OP, stop riding your bike. When it doesn’t hurt to squat or walk upstairs, go for a ride. A short one.

Going for another long ride - when you’ve barely had any experience riding a bike - no matter what your cadence, no matter what your cleat position, no matter which pedals you’ve got, no matter what cadence you use, would be akin to knocking yourself out by hitting your head with a hammer and then hitting your head with a hammer again.

dr_max

Medial knee pain could be a sign of early arthritis and a good physio program with strengthening of hamstrings and quadriceps Vastus medialis obliquus could get your periarticular muscle stronger to reduce strain on your medial cartilage. Knee would swell at the end of a big ride. if your have blocking symptoms, there could be an underlying medial meniscal degenerative tear associated with it.

in the absence of pain with running, this could be medial collateral ligament sprain from cleats being too internally rotated.

if the pain is anterior when pressing on the front pedal when the crank is horizontal to start from standstill that would be Femoro patellar syndrome and would require quadriceps stretching and strengthening.

Hope this helps

Carbonfiberboy 

I thought for sure someone would have brought this up by now. You may have "patellofemoral pain syndrome." (PFS). Google that. Add the word "exercises" and google again. That's the easy part. You don't have the usual syndrome, which presents with pain on the outside of the kneecap and is due to a weak vastus medialis obliquus (VMO). In this case, the pain is either PFS due to your other quad muscles being either too tight or just overpowering the VMO, OR you've strained or more likely, irritated the VMO tendon.

So what to do about it. First check your fit. Here's my fitting primer.
https://www.bikeforums.net/21296948-post3.html
Do what it says about the saddle. Reach isn't particularly important for this issue. After you have your saddle position dialed in per these instructions, put electrical tape on the seatpost and then raise your saddle up 5mm.

Therapy: ride the bike every day for 30 minutes on the flat, no more, at a cadence of 80-90. Use a pace at which you are breathing easily, using a low gear. Do this for 2 weeks. During this time, take 600 mg ibuprofen 3 X day, then stop.

For off the bike work, read and apply the instructions in this link:
https://www.physio-pedia.com/Tendino...Rehabilitation

The above should have an immediate positive effect (within a week), whether it's PFS or tendinitis/tendinopathy that's the problem. There's a good chance this'll resolve in less than 2 weeks, in which case DO NOT go back to doing long rides. Slowly, slowly ramp it back up and if any pain is experienced, go back to the start of therapy.

This sort of knee problem is the most common cycling injury, or at least it seems so by what's been discussed on these forums, though most often encountered on the Training and Nutrition forum. A significant minority of riders on BF have experienced something like this.

Edit: When you have the problem resolved, put your saddle back down to your correct saddle height.

Trobinson986

Incredible advice, all. Thank you. I’ve stayed off my bike almost entirely and my knee doesn’t hurt to lunge or squat anymore. I’ve been jogging a lot, no knee pain while jogging (there never was) or while not jogging, test lunging at home, etc. I have an appointment tomorrow for a thorough $400 bike fitting - i am
hoping it is worth it. Although, most of the feedback I’ve heard about the fitting at this place - Acme bicycle company (Brooklyn, NY) says they do a good job. So I figure it’s worth the investment now that my knee is not hurting and hopefully I can start riding and slowly build up to doing long rides