Clifton CC

Will,

Pushing big gears all the time puts knee joints under alot of strain.
Riding at this time of year with temperatures hovering around 0 degrees can cause them to ache also.

In the weeks leading upto the knee pain what sort of riding have you been doing? Hard short hours here and there, long steady (not 20mph plus) rides in the hills?

Point Im making is that the more infomation you can pool together, the better understanding you will have about your body, this info would also help a professional set about finding the cause of your problem.

Also when you do ride, do you find that your knee's track straight as your leg bends and extends throughout the pedal stroke or does your knee swing in over the top tube at the top of the pedal stroke.

I had some problems during the second half of this season and found that my look keo pedals had worn where the cleats come into contact with them causing a lack of stabilty at my foot which in turn lead to a knee problem. New pedals and a month off the bike has rectified the problem and after three weeks back on the bike Ive no problems touch wood.

I've only being doing short 18mile rides but have been doing them fast, averaging 17-18mph, probably 20mph if it was not for traffic lights and at traffic lights when they go green I always accelerate fast, 0-20 in a matter of seconds but it's stuff I've always done really, dont know if since I come to Manchester and started booting it from traffic lights is the reason?

I don't want to have to take a whole month off the bike

Ian, I'll go to the doctor tomorrow, even when walking I have pain there and if it gets any worse I'll be limping. even just sitting in the chair right now I can feel it.

Will, i think you have just diagnosed the cause of your problem in your
post above. If you're not prepared to do whatever it takes to sort out the problem, stop moaning about it and live with it. Potentially worn out pedals and hard riding in freezing weather with no warm up will injure anyone.

nickb wrote:Will, i think you have just diagnosed the cause of your problem in your
post above. If you're not prepared to do whatever it takes to sort out the problem, stop moaning about it and live with it. Potentially worn out pedals and hard riding in freezing weather with no warm up will injure anyone.

I do warm up.

I don't see how my pedals are worn out?? They look fine. Where should I go for someone to check my position out who knows what they are doing?

I'll obviously do whatever it takes if it means that if I don't I'll end up crippling my leg and not being able to cycle again then course I will.

Just I'd be really unhappy knowing my fitness is going down the drain as I'm not able to cycle and all the effort I'll have to put in again to get it back up and cycling is something that I love to do allot now and when I'm stressed I find it helps me to clear my head etc... would be amazingly awful to have to give up cycling for a long time thats why I may come across as moaning, any alternative to solve my knee problem but keep cycling and I'd take it.

http://www.racescene.co.uk/measuring_service.html

You can pay an awful lot more but this is the bees knees (!)

I'll obviously do whatever it takes if it means that if I don't I'll end up crippling my leg and not being able to cycle again then course I will.

Will, you found out that not cycling for a few days and your knees were a lot better. Of course you should see a professional and get a proper diagnosis but if resting for a few days got them much better I'd suggest that resting for a few more days and not then cycling so far/hard that they hurt again should enable them to settle down. Once they are painfree, gradually build up again and you'll likely be fine. Get the cleat alignment/fit sorted and you'll be OK.

I want to get my bike position checked out but do'nt think anyone will do it like edinburgh cycles in Manchester.

Will, I know it's frustrating to be off the bike but if you want to improve as a cyclist you've got to think long term.

A couple of weeks off your bike whilst you're injured will give at worse a minor reduction in your fitness level, this will be easily rectified once you get back on the bike.

Cycling whilst your injured could potentially lead to a more serious injury which could put you off your bike for months, even years, look at Ian's experience. You'd be daft to risk it.

Michael

MichaelCarter wrote:Will, I know it's frustrating to be off the bike but if you want to improve as a cyclist you've got to think long term.

A couple of weeks off your bike whilst you're injured will give at worse a minor reduction in your fitness level, this will be easily rectified once you get back on the bike.

Cycling whilst your injured could potentially lead to a more serious injury which could put you off your bike for months, even years, look at Ian's experience. You'd be daft to risk it.

Michael

I told my tutor about it at college (he's a runner), he said he had a bad knee injury and had to have an operation, was off running for 6 weeks!!!!, and from what I described to him it seems I may, have something similar but he said it might just be water on the knee.

I am going to the doctor tonight, don't know if I'll get an appointment as I have to register today so would not be likely to get an appointment same day I don't think.

These guys do bike fitting in Manchester
http://www.tricentral.co.uk/

Andrew Evans, the injury consultant to Rapha Condor Recycling, whose riders include Chris Newton, bronze medallist, Beijing Olympics provides injury consultation and educational services at TriCentral to assess your bike set-up and make adjustments according to your body bio-mechanical needs, with services including;
Injury diagnosis and treatment.
Lower and upper limb assessment.
Spinal and pelvic alignment assessment
Orthotic prescription (formathotics)
Educational services/ workshops.

Cant find much info on the site wanted to know how much they would charge, maybe it would be worth going there for bike fitting and to check my knee.

So shall I go register at the docs and make an appointment or cycle about 10 mile on my bicycle to this place called TriCentral? I never went to the doctors as I was unsure which option to take.

This is sucking major bad now, I'm going to have to find something other than cycling until this is solved, I feel down now and the way I've got myself feeling happier again is going out for a nice long ride on the bike :\.

So does anyone have a rough idea what the cause of a creeking feeling on the kene is when you stretch your knee out and push on the heal and then lightly push the knee?

If it is inflamed then it's highly likely the doctor is going to put me on a course of tablets to get rid of any inflamation no?

Okay, Will:-

Some straightforward suggestions:-

1. If something's hurting, especially knees, and it gets much worse when you cycle, then rest up for a while. I mean a week or so, not a day. It may be frustrating but you'll not lose much fitness, and if you lose a little, so what? You can't use it at the moment because your knee's knackered, and it's not like you've got the race you've been training for all year just coming up. So give it a break. Use the bus. A tenner for a week's bus travel is cheaper than an osteopath's treatment bills.

2. Go and see the doctor, or a specialist sports injury person. Do not rely on anyone on here telling you what your description of funny noises from your knee means.

3. You've already had your bike fit checked by CH on their jig. Check measurement - particularly see what the seat height is in comparison with their base measurement, as I know you played with different positions. What did they recommend and what is it now? As suggested, check pedals and cleats for wear, and check cleat position hasn't moved.

4. When you get back to riding, ride to suit winter. 20mph blasts will knacker your knees. You say you're warming up? If it's zero degrees I'll treat the first half hour of my rides as warm-up. Sprinting away from traffic lights - especially in a big gear, will strain your knees. What's your usual cadence when riding? What's wrong with steady, low-stress, spinning the pedals 16-17mph at this time of year?

5. Always, always wear tights / legwarmers / kneewarmers in cold weather.

Okay, now go back and read (1) again!

My cadence is usually around 75-90, like to keep it around 90. When I do do take off fast from traffic lights I start in the 3rd gear down and also in the big ring and just keep my cadence high and cycle through the gears.

I'll try go see a doctor tonight. I feel abit too stretched out on the bike now too so I'll have to take it to cycle heaven on Saturday.

Will

Stuck on the phone so looking through the long running threads and I cannot believe you still have not seen a doctor.

SEE A DOCTOR SEE A DOCTOR SEE A DOCTOR SEE A DOCTOR

They will check whether you have damaged something and once you know that you can move on to the discussion of whether to follow their advise or not.

The next post you do should begin with the words

I SAW THE DOCTOR and ......................

"...When I do do take off fast from traffic lights I start in the 3rd gear down and also in the big ring..."

As various people have already suggested, you're answering all your own questions. Take a break, see a doctor, check your bike setup against the sizing sheet CH will have given you after your bike fit, and when you do get back on the bike (ie when you're not getting any pain, after taking a break and seeing the doc) take it much, much easier.