New Pedals and cleats

[Night rider]

Why can nothing be simple...I have been riding for about 6 months and do on average 70 miles a week (to work and back mostly). I thought that I would try getting some new pedals and give some cycling shoes a go. I put the pedals on and have done about 30 miles. I now have terrible pain in my left knee which I haven't had before. The weather has been very harsh (very windy) these past couple of days, so I might have added more strain on my knee, but I more think new the new shoes will be a problem. Most things I have tried have said to play around with the cleats.

Any suggestions that might help me?

[Owlie]

What pedals and shoes did you get?

If you have clipless pedals, your foot is now pretty much locked into place, with only a small degree of "travel" available. This means that you're no longer able to move your foot around as much, so every pedal stroke is pretty much the same. Therefore, there's more potential for repetitive motion injuries. This means that it's pretty important to have the right pedals for your knees, and your cleats adjusted properly.

You might consider having a fitter adjust your cleats for you. It is possible to do it yourself, but that's not something I have experience in.

[OakLeaf]

Unfortunately you're going to need to let your knee rest and heal before trying this again. If you can put the flat pedals back on and ride without pain for the time being, that would be ideal, but if you can't, then just rest. You don't want to aggravate it.

Next time you go to try the cycling shoes, bring the tool you need to adjust your cleats. If you pay close attention, you should be able to feel which direction your knee is getting torqued, and adjust the cleat accordingly. If the pain is in a particular part of your knee right now, before you even start, try turning the cleat just slightly so that next time your knee won't be turned so much in that direction. Small adjustments, little by little, ride a mile or two before you make the next adjustment.

Also consider the possibility that the stack height of your cycling shoes and pedals is different from what you had with the flat pedals and whatever shoes you wear with them. You may need to raise or lower your seatpost as well.


A good fitting would be ideal, if you can afford it.

[ridebikeme]

I would definitely recommend that you have a fitter adjust these for you. In addition to the suggestions from Oakleaf, there could also be some fore/aft issues as well. This has a great deal to with your knee being supported over the pedal axle or not.

As a suggestion, once you have your fitting, take a permanent marker and trace the cleat on the sole of your shoe. The next time that you replace your cleats, you'll be able to get them back in the same position.


http://chasecyclery.blogspot.com

[soprano]

Also consider the possibility that the stack height of your cycling shoes and pedals is different from what you had with the flat pedals and whatever shoes you wear with them. You may need to raise or lower your seatpost as well.

I second this. When I've changed pedals, I've always had to change my saddle height. It's amazing how a small difference in saddle height can just kill your knees.

[alimey]

Yup - definitely worth a (good) fitting. Some people are more sensitive than others. We run a fitting studio in London and have done well over 10,000 hours of fitting. Here are a couple of questions to ask (make sure you actually speak to the person doing your fitting):

1. How many fittings have you personally done (if less than 200, quiz him or her about their training)

2. Are all necessary follow-ups included in the price/will you work with me until my problem is solved? (If they say no to either of these, I would find somewhere else).

Given a choice I would always go with a person with a lot of experience over someone who has little experience, but is using a computer or a system. Likewise, I'd rather have a great doctor than someone with no training but a fantastic new stethascope . . .