Tender Knees

[posagirl]

I read a post somewhere about how to fit your saddle in regards to sore knees. Now I need the information, I can't find it. My knees don't necessarily hurt when I am riding, but seem to hurt the next couple days. I have checked the height of my saddle, but I think I need to fix the other adjustments. I do have to ride up some steep hills (where I live, there is no avoiding that). The nearest bike shop is 45 minutes away, so I can't just "pop" over to LBS. Thanks.

[LBTC]

Hi, PG

Both saddle height and saddle fore/aft position can affect your knees. Assuming your saddle is in the right height, the next thing is to look at your foot position. I learned it the hard way!

My bike has been fitted by a very knowledgeable bike shop guy, but I ran into sore knees after getting a new pair of shoes. It wasn't until well after th 100km organized ride (after which my knees were agony) that I checked the cleat position on my shoes. You want to ensure that the ball of your foot is lined up with the axel of the pedal. If you have SPDs make sure that your cleat is positioned so that the ball of your foot is in the right place.

Sending butterflies to help you find pain-free riding,
~T~

[KnottedYet]

Try to find a copy of Andy Pruitt's Complete Medical Guide for Cyclists. Great book, and well worth buying your own copy if your library doesn't have it.

[meridian]

I have pretty weak knees, and even after I tried every adjustment possible with my seat and cleat positions I continued to deal with knee pain after rides ...right up until I invested in a crank with a much shorter length, which was a knee saver for me, so that's a possibility to look into.