CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Questions/Support/Help

Hurty Knees

(11 posts)
  • Started 12 years ago by DaveC
  • Latest reply from Cyclingmollie
  • This topic is not resolved

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  1. DaveC
    Member

    My knees hurt.

    I cycled to work 3 days (Weds - Fri) last week on my cyclocross. It was cold on the mornings which I thought might be why my knees began to hurt on Thursday but they still hurt Friday cycling home in the relative warmth. They only really hurt when cycling or after. They still ache slightly today (cycled on my MTB with the kids round Lochore Meadows) and I wonder if the seat on the cyclocross is making my knees hurt. Its an ache inside the knee caps. I know the seat is slightly too low as its lower than my Dawes (I can feel it). I thought seat height might affect my back, but can it cause pains in the knees also?

    In the past (7 yrs ago) I have slightly torn my Cruciate Ligament, but the Specialist said cycling would strengthen my muscles supporting my knee and I haven't had this sort of pain before cycling. I've been cycling nearly two years now.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  2. chdot
    Admin

    http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8598

    Posted 12 years ago #

  3. crowriver
    Member

    I reckon it's the saddle height/position, combined with distance/effort. Could be that the geometry of your cross bike needs a different setup than the Galaxy.

    The only time I feel some knee discomfort is if my saddle is too far back/too low and I'm climbing steep hills or nearing the end of a long ride. Maybe you need to rest up a bit, sounds like your cartilege needs to heal a bit. I take glucosamine tablets to try and stave off joint pain, seems to work.

    Once the pain subsides, try experimenting with saddle height and position to find the sweet spot.

    Are you wearing knee warmers or tights?

    Further info:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/bike-blog/2010/dec/03/cycling-fitness

    http://sheldonbrown.com/pain.html#knees

    Posted 12 years ago #

  4. Min
    Member

    Agreed, saddle too low can definitely give you sore knees. Try that first and hopefully that will do the trick.

    Knee warmers are the greatest invention ever. Apart from the bicycle.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  5. DaveC
    Member

    Just lifted the saddle up 1/2 an inch. I measured the BB to Saddle on the Dawes and they were exactly the same, if higher on the Cotic, though it felt lower when riding. May be the geometry making it feel lower? Measured the Crank arms, the same too... Anyway I have also just bought a pair of dhb Vaeon Roubaix Padded Bib Tight at ~40 from Wiggle. Not as hot as my Nightvision tights, so hopefully this and the saddle height will sort it.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  6. chdot
    Admin

    "Measured the Crank arms"

    Most have length (commonly 170mm) marked on them.

    If people have more than one bike that they do longish distances on, probably best if they are all the same.

    http://sheldonbrown.com/cranks.html

    Posted 12 years ago #

  7. Uberuce
    Member

    My knees started to hurt shortly after going to SPD on wee blue floofy. Turns out the soles of my new shoes are a few millimetres thicker than my old ones, so I wasn't extending enough. Few millimetres of saddle height later and I'm grand again.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  8. Its_Me_Knees
    Member

    As you might guess, I have had hurty knee issues.

    In large part cycling has had a very positive effect, stabilising knee joints previously rendered unstable by years of footy and (more recently) overweight. However, I have noticed that long runs and/or cold weather do cause some aches, for the most part in the outer collateral ligaments and maybe the patellar tendon (in other words, not the cruciates...) and I have found that a bit of post-cycle rubbing/warming of my knees (one at a time, while sat down, with both hands cupped around the joint while I slowly extend and bend my leg, has a useful restorative effect. I'm guessing that I'm just stimulating a bit of blood flow in an otherwise cold knee, which helps minimise soft tissue damage. But that is just a guess: it might be induction of positive energy fields or maybe healing by the spirits of my dead Mayan ancestors. Or just a placebo effect...

    Posted 12 years ago #

  9. Chimpofdoom
    Member

    Interesting.. I've been experiencing sore legs recently (knee to calf muscle), could be the cold, but I'll try adjusting my seat and see how they fare once they've recovered (it's sore to stand, so a couple of days rest required)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  10. Smudge
    Member

    Glad it looks like you may have found a cure. Generally, if you're getting sore knees, stop and try to identify the problem.
    One of the (many!) reasons my knees are borderline now is that in my 20's I rode a lot with poor setup/technique and ignored knee pain.
    I now have a buildup on the back of both my kneecaps and have to watch carefully what I do :-/

    That said, cycling now with decent technique and setup has stabilised them and made them stronger :-) but if they start to hurt I do something about it rapido!!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  11. Cyclingmollie
    Member

    Advice on knee pain when cycling.

    Posted 12 years ago #

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