Pedals, feet and Knees

I have discovered I tend to turn my left foot in while pedaling, sticking my heel out. Made it extremely difficult to ride with Speedplay Frogs - I kept unclipping! I've switched back to spd pedals, but this turning in thing is messing with my knee.

I noticed when I take my spin class, and use toe clips, my foot stays straight, or at least straighter, than when on the road bike. Will I develop the muscles in my leg enough eventually that I'll stop turning my foot - or am I due for another trip to the ortho? (I have chrondomalacia also..guess that's pretty common in women from what I've read)

Janet

Hello there,

I wasn't aware of it until I went for a bike fit, but I also ride pigeon toed. I have never ridden without clipless pedals (well, when I was a kid, but not since taking up cycling again as an adult) so I'm not sure how I ride otherwise, but I've found that after my bike fit and them altering my cleats- so that I could ride pigeon toed "naturally" without twisting my ankle while clipped in- that it has actually helped my knee troubles/pain. It's just natural for me to ride that way, and was unnatural for me to try to keep my feet straight. Anyway, I'm not sure exactly what the man did to my cleats/pedals to make it so that I would ride pigeon toed naturally, but it has really helped. Maybe a trip to a bike fit guy would give you some answers...Maybe your situation is totally different as well, so good luck and I hope whatever you find out that it keeps you from a trip to the ortho!!...

Knee alignment problems and cycling are a VERY big deal- I rode my way into bilateral reconstructive surguries last year, and I've got chondro patellae too. You need a good fit guy, who knows about things like Big Meat Power wedges and how and when to space out a pedal with a washer- there are all kinds of thigs to be done. Yoga class can help alignment issues too, the stretching pushes soft tissue back into place. I was riding pigeon toed and with my feet cocked up sideways- my mechanic said this is common and needs attention. If yours is so bad you're losing a Speedplay, it's time for action.
Go to <www.bicyclefit.com> and fish around, and write or call the guys about a good fitter in your area. They're super nice, true bike folk, and can send you to sombody first rate or tell you what to do. They really helped me when my knees were so bad I couldn't walk. You don't want to wear on that kneecap any more- one of mine is a grade 5 and it just hurts like the devil some days. It'll also mess with your hip, and you may have foot issues and be happier with orthotics. Then there's the SI joint problems knee misalignment can cause.
If you ever need to suck it up and have a lateral release surgury, they have new equipment and it's not so bad. My first leg was awful, but the second knee, I walked out of the hospital with my crutches over my shoulder.
I don't know where you are, but there are excellent proffessionals who can fix you up. Be leery of the mediocre, they will waste your time. Ask around.
Finally, theres nothing wrong in putting clips on the bike. Clipless are neat, but there's a lot of fashion pressure to use them. It isn't worth worsening arthritis.
Put the bike in front of a mirror on a trainer, put a stiky dot or small post it on the center of each patella, pedal. If the knees are corkscrewing, or doing a figure eight, see somebody medical.
Been there, done that.

missliz

Thanks for the replies - I did go in and have my fit checked. My cleats were way off! Seems to be better now, but I think I'll consider new pedals again, when I return from my AIDS/LifeCycle Ride - maybe go to actual road pedals, or give the frogs another try. I had a friend keep an eye on my wayward foot, she says I'm not turning it out nearly as much as previosly. Guess the Spin classes help - although I really don't like them!!

I'm off in 1 week for the LifeCycle ride - San Francisco to Los Angeles--wish me luck! (www.aidslifecycle.org if you're interested)

Janet

Hi Snapdragen

Have you considered some of the Speedplays designed for road use? I currently have a pair from the lower end of the range and I love them, after I had such a nightmare getting out of other makes.

If you still find your foot comes outs it may be worth looking at some of the others in the range, such as the Zero’s, which have adjustable float and the angle of exit is greater, so you have to turn your foot round more to release it.

Also, a tip I picked up a while ago, for road riding, was to imagin you have a pencil taped the inside of you ankle and as you pedal you're trying to draw a perfect circle each time. I find this useful sometimes to help make my pedaling smoother and stop my knees from wandering!

Pedals aren't the whole solution here- they help, but knee alignment problems usually take more than that. I have a giant box of pedals that I went through before my knees gave out completely. They just staved the problem off.This is not an uncommon situation with cyclists, ther's this beleif that a new gizmo will fix it when that's not usually the case. Shops do very well on this. Two cheaper quick fixes are orthotics, which any Gita dealer can get you for about thirty bucks. The good ones are called Peterson Powerbeds. Or you may need custom ones, go to an orthoticist, not a physical therapist for them. The obvious joint problem is often caused by a problem in the next joint. Foot problems cause a lot of knee trouble.
Big Meat Cleat adjusters will fix a lot! I already mentioned these. What the average bike shop guy doesn't know is that all the high level riders use both of these. Every Tour rider has orthotics, and if not cleat wedges then the shoes and cleats have been taken to a machine shop and customized. The basic fitting you get at the average shop is usually ok, but the kind of biomechanical problems that chew up a knee or haul on the SI joint are beyond the scope of most of these guys knowledge. Unless your shop is fitting nationally competitive racers, then they know more, but unless you make noise you aren't going to get that attention. The guy who really knows what he's doing will put you on the trainer and watch you spin.
Crosstraining helps too. If all you do is ride, and your tecnique is less than stellar, muscle imbalance will pull you out of whack.