Help me tweak my bike fit and/or technique
August 24, 2013 9:47 AM   Subscribe

I'm getting a bit of pain in my left knee when cycling recently, so I stuck my bike on the trainer and shot a couple of videos (side, front). I'm planning a trip to both the doctors and a professional bike fitting, but in the mean time (seeing as I still need to bike to work everyday), I was wondering if any of our cycling MeFites could take a look and see if there's anything obvious to fix? On a first look at the videos, it looks like I'm really stretching at the bottom of my pedal stroke (even though it totally doesn't feel like it on the bike) - should I lower my saddle and try to keep a more level foot? In case it's relevant, I'm interested in comfort and not at all interested in speed, so feel free to recommend stuff that will make me slower if you think it'll result in a more comfortable ride!
posted by primer_dimer to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (5 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
[opinions / guesses to follow]
Your idea of lowering the saddle is not a bad one - even a few mm might make a difference for you. From looking at the front video, I might also suggest rotating the nose of your saddle maybe a few degrees clockwise [ie: to the right] but that is based on a possible imaginary impression of your whole body currently angling a bit toward your sore knee.

If you're truly interested in comfort over speed, getting those bars higher / closer to you might also help [but would require a new stem, so try the saddle adjustment first] as might switching to platforms and seeing where your foot naturally shifts to when it isn't clipped in. When I have knee pain, putting the pedal spindle right under the arch of my foot feels better to me, but again that is specific to the individual.

For when you see the doctor, maybe check now to see if pulling on the upstroke makes your pain worse or better or what. Also mention if high rpms or high torque hurts worse. I don't know about knee problems but these are easy things for you to mention in case it is relevant.
posted by Acari at 10:41 AM on August 24, 2013


You certainly should read this.

It goes through a lot of detail about what can cause knee pain while biking. In particular there is a section about why your LEFT knee in particular might hurt, which sounds suggestive.
posted by contrarian at 10:48 AM on August 24, 2013 [3 favorites]


It would help to know more about where the knee pain is. Do you have any swelling - if you sit on the floor with your leg straight does your kneecap seem to be floating in fluid?

From the side view it does look like your saddle is on the high side. I can't quite tell if your hips are rocking or you're just bouncing on the trainer. One rough rule of thumb I've seen that works for a lot of people as a starting point is that you should be able to put your heel on the pedal and have it stay in contact for the whole pedal stroke.

In the front view I'm not sure how perfectly straight on the camera is set up. It does look like your left knee is farther away from the bike. This could indicate a tight ITB, which is a classic source of knee pain in cyclists. There would be no harm in trying some ITB stretches and seeing if they help out.
posted by drwelby at 8:27 PM on August 24, 2013


I kept telling the guy in the video to shift up so I could get a better view. ;)

From the side, I see a bit of bouncing in your hips. Part of this can be from spinning faster than your body is good at in too low a gear, but part of that can also be from a seat that is too high.

From the front, I can see that your right knee is tracking straight up and down and your left knee orbits in an ellipse. This could also be a function of a too high saddle as you tip you pelvis to the side it might also be from your left cleat position.

So if you wanted to try some things, I'd bring the seat down a centimeter. Spin a similar cadence, but see if you can keep from bouncing. You may need to shift up to do so. If eliminating that bounce also eliminates your elliptical left knee as seen from the front, ride it a bunch and let us know if that fixed it.

It's never a bad idea to learn how to use a foam roller for IT band stretches. YouTube has a ton of videos on it.

Good luck and thanks for the videos, they help a ton.
posted by advicepig at 8:59 PM on August 24, 2013


You're looking a little toes-down in those videos and there's a maybe a bit of hip movement - suggests your seat's too high. Especially if you're not a particularly supple person (can you touch your toes?), try lowering it. Just a few mms can make a big difference with knee pain. Other than that, hard to advise without knowing where in your knee the pain is. As a general first approximation: Pain at the front of the knee, especially under the kneecap - seat's too low. Pain at the back of the knee - seat's too high. Best to see the doc beyond that.
posted by normy at 8:38 PM on September 2, 2013


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