"Another" newbie, with problems...

[SadieKate]

Ah ha! That is called the top tube. So, if you consciously keep your knees close to this tube the pain goes away and if not, it comes back?

What kind of shoes and pedals are you using? And do you hae a double or triple crank?

IT band issues can be horribly hard to fix.

[Hell-uv-a-job]

I have now regular running shoes since I use pedals with clip and straps. I want to get shoes and new pedals but not sure if they could help with my knee problem. About having a double or triple crank... you lost me . But I think you are asking me about the front crank right? Where the pedals connect? It is a triple, the back crank in eight if i am not mistaken.
I normally use the 2nd gear in the front crank and between a 3 and 4 for normal or leveled road in the back.

I can ride all day at this level in a straight road but of course not if i take a hill (even if is very small) or accelerate to say cross a road quickly. I have to be very gentle when I accelerate. When this happen I feel discomfort. Lets not say pain, I have not gotten to that point yet and I am fighting hard not to get there. I used to be a runner and developed IT band during a 50 mile ride in Germany (since I was a good runner I never thought I needed training for that long ride). I used a friends bike. Now I know that good friends don't let friends ride Huffy Bicycles. After that, i could not run anymore .

To answer your question: If I intentionally keep my legs close to the top tube I noticed that I do not feel any kind of discomfor at all while climbing (while seated) or during descends using high gear and I can even accelerate and have a very decent phase for a 23 mile ride without ever stopping (except for the Hiny stretching of course). It usually take me like 2 hrs for the 23 miles (I am a newbie!! What do you expect!! ) IT bands are a you-know-what to fix and are very painful if you push yourself. Even with ultrasound therapy and stretching it did not do much, I just learned to live with it by becoming a couch potato. But hopefully that is about to change.

[doc]

You mentioned stretching. I assume you did PT for the IT band issue too? Keep up the stretching so at least you stay flexible and it doesn't worsen. As far as having knees close to top tube, that is a very good position to ride. If you find it comfortable, most definitely do it.
I suggest you get a cadence monitor. You are supposed to be between 75 and 110. I am guessing your knees would like the higher end. You may find you spend too much time mashing (the lower end) and that will be much more likely to give you knee problems. If you're a newbie, you probably don't know what your cadence is. Mashing all the time is a common newbie mistake. Spin at the 90-100 end all the time and you may find your knees last a whole lot longer.
G'luck

[mikki]

Have you thought about more frequent, but shorter rides? I, too have knee issues related to my IT band. I know if I ride several times a week, but only 5-10 miles each ride, that my knees 'warm-up' to the idea of riding. I also try to keep my gearing light so I am literally 'spinning', as the harder I have to pump my legs the more my knees scream. I literally pushed it too hard one day, after having not ridden for a while, and had to call for a ride home. Good Luck, and don't give up yet.

Another thought - have you talked to your doc or PT about how to approach this? Not if its a good idea or not, but how to set up a training schedule to get you where you want to go, and still be able to ride in 10years.

[Eden]

Rmember that strong and flexible hamstrings do wonders for easing knee pain on the bike too. I don't know if your IT band problems would keep you from doing this, but low/no weight hamstring curls ( I think that this is what they are called - the one in the gym where you lie on your stomach with the pads at the backs of your calves and bend your legs back towards your butt) are great.

[SadieKate]

I wonder if your running shoes are putting your knees at an odd angle since good running shoes address all kinds of pronation or supination issues. Also, the sole is wide increasing the Q-factor (which is the distance from one pedal to the other). Women are the most sensitive to Q-factor probably because we are also so prone to knee issues. I use clipless pedals and have the cleats set up so that my feet sit towards the inside edge of the pedal. Crank Bros makes a shorter pedal spindle to address the same issue. Your cage and strap approach could be exacerbating the foot position problem. What happens if you take the cage off? Do you feet want to sit closer to the frame?

Some people who use Rx orthotics for running do not use them for cycling so you can see that angles for your feet may be sport-specific. Did the LBS measure body angles when they fit you? You need to go back and talk to them again. It is only a month later. They'll want and need the feedback. So, you have two things to consider, foot position (inwards and outwards) and foot angle (there is even a wedge made by LeMond for this). Aggressive hip angles can cause problems also. I told you there were a ton of possible issues!

Doc is right about cadence, but it sounds like you are paying attention to that already. Mikki touched on the warm-up issue. I watch loads of cyclists start out way too fast without a proper warm up time, but if you watch a racer they sit on a trainer for a long time before a racing just spinning a high cadence with little resistance. I find that if I mimic the same thing on the road I don't develop knee (or fatigue) issues later in the ride.