Pedals and knees

[asc99c]

This morning, I did a test run of my intended commute, 24 miles each way, on my new bike. Just getting my head round the route with little traffic in the way.

Getting there went pretty well, took a little over two hours mostly on eco and with the second bar (of 5) vanishing about a mile from work. But half way through the return journey, my right knee gave up. I had quite a bit of pain on the outside of the knee joint. Got back with help of turbo mode, and a few walking breaks.

So onto the question, I'm currently using flat pedals, but had already been thinking of trying clipless ones. Bit of googling suggests knee pain can be caused by stomping instead of pedaling in circles, and clips seem like they might encourage better pedaling. Just wondering if anyone has found switching pedals helped their knees?

Thanks

Andy

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[EddiePJ]

All of my riding is completed using a clipless set up, and I have no idea if it helps, or even makes any difference in respect of knee pain.

I still suffer badly from knee pain, and sometimes it might be in as little distance as ten miles, or another time I could perhaps ride 60 miles and feel nothing.

Knee complaints are all very different, so I suspect that you won't get a definitive answer. My pain is caused through muscle wastage of the hamstring and quads. If I don't stick to a strict daily exercise routine, then my knees suffer badly. Sadly, I'm not so good at keeping that exercise up, and find it a chore.

I have also found that hydration pays a major role in respect of my knee pain. If I don't keep sufficiently hydrated, then I suffer.

The biggest no no for me, is getting out of the saddle to pedal. If something is going to cause me pain, then that is it. I also prefer to maintain a very cadence, which I have found works very well for me.

 

[Benjahmin]

No idea about clipless pedals but a sports therapist told me that any horizontal foot rotation, on the pedal, is really bad for knees. It's easy to see, while you're riding, if this is happening then you can work on keeping your foot facing forward. Worked for me!

 

[asc99c]

Could have been foot rotation actually. My joggies on my right leg kept getting stuck in the chain, so I had tried to move my foot to keep them out of the way.

My bib tights from fat lad at the back arrived this afternoon though so that problem should be solved, as long as I can bring myself to be seen in them [emoji23]

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[Deleted member 4366]

Make sure that your seat isn't too low. Your knee should be nearly straight when the pedal is in its lowest position.

 

[Cliff-C]

To share my own experiences....

I have used clipped peddles for many years on both road and mountain bikes. However, I don't have them on my e-bike.

There is no doubt that clips make for more efficient peddling as your legs can pull on the up stroke. However, they can force your legs into a specific position on the peddles and if your riding position or the angle of your foot is not correct this can punish your knees.

I found that as my knees deteriorated with age I was better off with flat peddles which allow your more flexibility as to foot position at the expenses of a little efficiency.

In addition to checking seat height, suggest you also consider the position of your saddle (forward and back).

There are quite a few vids on YouTube which show how to get your seating position / leg angle correct.

I found that moving the saddle forward reduced knee pain issues, but it depends on your frame size/ridding position.

Good luck.



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[Cliff-C]

p.s. might be worth a look....

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/take-care-of-your-knees-part-2-17445/

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[Gringo]

Lots of good advice/observations above and I like to add my 2 pence worth.
(5 knee OP's, deteriating cartilage, arthritic growth)

1/ I don't remember all the names for the individual tendons, ligaments and muscles but I do know they hold the knee together and I need to stretch them after a ride or any activeity that gives me knee discomfort.
After my last op the physio pointed out that I wasn't holding each stretch long enough, I'm now holding each position for 60 to 90 seconds, so that's up to 10 minutes stretching after a long ride

2/ crank length makes a big difference to how tight your knee is bent at the top of each pedel stroke. I have shortened my crank arms so my knee bend is not so tight (I needed offset pedals to keep my saddle at the same height)
Crank length is one of my bugbears, if your 5' 2"or 6' 6" tall, chances are your local bike shop will have a bike frame to fit your height but only one length of crank arm, it just doesn't make sense.
Like selling trousers in different waist sizes but only one length leg

 

[asc99c]

That's a good read. I'm definitely guilty of using big gears and low cadence, and i also noticed the pedals hit the ground a few times on corners, which surely means longer cranks than I was used to on my old bike.

I'm 5'11" but with tiny 31" legs and a long body, so I'm always cramped lengthways on the bike, even though i can only just stand over the crossbar. It may mean the cranks are too long for me though, I'll go and measure vs my old bike.

Although comparison aside I've never done a 50 mile ride on my old bike!

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[asc99c]

After a visit to the local bike shop, I'm getting some Shimano SPDs. The shop were great, they fitted some spare pedals to a bike and let me try on the shoes. Really liked the feel of it and found it pretty easy to clip in and out on the loosest settings. I'm up to 200 miles with no recurrence of knee troubles though, so it's not directly related but it did feel like they'll help with the distance.

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[Will Tinker]

It's interesting to see so many people complaining about knee pain.

Long story short - my cousin passed away over Christmas. I wanted to raise money for Cancer Research, so spent the past 4 months preparing to do the Bristol 10K, having done no running in god knows how long.

My knees were the first to suffer, and gave me a lot of trouble and pain throughout the past few months. Because I commute to and from work on bike, my cycling meant that my knees weren't getting the time to recover.

In the end I didn't have a solution. There were a few days post-run when it was so bad that I could barely walk. All I could do was use Ibuprofen (gel or tablets) and strap my knees up with this special tape.

Thankfully, completed the 10K on Sunday. So get to retire from running forevermore! Hoping my knees will finally start to recover.

 

[flecc]

I'm definitely guilty of using big gears and low cadence

Always a big mistake and likely to cause permanent knee joint damage.

Double the cadence means halving the pressure per stroke, and those pressure are not cumulative. So training yourself to use higher cadences is always best for long term joint health.
.