Knees hurt after biking?

Question

Hi,

I've been biking to work for the past 2.5 weeks (about 1:15hrs there and back w/ lots of uphill & downhilll), I don't have clipless pedals on my bike. Recently though, my knees are hurting after I get off my bike, and I have to walk for a couple minutes before it goes away.

Does anybody have an ideas as to what this could be? How do I fix it?

Maybe my positioning on my bike isn't good and I have to change that? I could try raising my seat?

Thanks for any help,

Bryan.

Answer 1

Pedaling too hard a gear and the saddle being too low are the to main reasons for knee pain.

Answer 2

Use lower gears so it is easier to pedal - less strain on the knees.  Take Aleve, ibuprophen or aspirin and put ice on it in the evenings.

Answer 3

Using too high of a gear, ill fitting adjustments, and riding too long are the top reasons for knee pain.

For gearing, try to maintain your cadence at 65 rpm and  above- 90 if you can handle it, for fit- there are several good sites for bike bike fit- pay attention to the leg and feet part- saddle position and height, foot pedal positioning.  Q factor as a remote possibility.

You mention no clips; your legs are happiest when the ball of your foot is over the pedal axle.

Leg extension should be a 5% bend at full extension, not 10% and not fully extended.

Seat front to back adjustment  should make your leg extension close to vertical, but, sometimes this adjustment is used for arm  reach to handlebars.

Another possible problem is the wrong length crank arm for your leg length.  If you have average leg length, then a 170 crank arm is probably OK.  too short crank arms seldom cause knee problems, only too long.

So I would adjust my seat height, read my crank arm number, go to lower gears, maybe put on toe clips to position my foot correctly.

This does it for most people.  

Might try some faster tires to make the commute power needed a little lower.

Bike shop visit after this.

Answer 4

Try stetching before and after and make sure seat is to low. Ü