# pain in front of knee ???



## mudphalt (Sep 21, 2008)

I need help fitting my bike , I have been wrestling with it for almost 2 years now.. and getting tired.... I've had 3 fits done and still not comfortable... I have tried 5 seats now, 3 posts, 3 handle Ibars and 2 sets of pedals, and countless types of gloves... here are my issues..... left leg going numb within a few miles... changed seat to smp selle and that seems ok, but now my knee is bothering me again.. originally a bike fit for knee issues led to changing out my shimano pedals and sidi low end shoes to speedplay x pedals and sidi dominator shoes.. along with moving saddle backwards as far as would go.. solved knee issues, but then had back soreness and shoulder / chest strians.. It seems like making adjustments to solve one problem brings on another problem and I just cant seem to get to where I can go 20 plus miles without some sort of pain.. I dont know where to turn to now.. I just want to enjoy riding and stop spending money on parts over and over that arnt really helping...

I currently have the following set up : its' a trek pilot with a 44 cm ergo bar, 90 mm stem with 17deg rise.. thomson setback seatpost, selle smp seat.. gel under gel bar tape.. and the speedplay x pedals..

Now the x pedals have no float adjustment, its' all float ?? wondering if maybe too much and should try the zero pedals ?? but afraid to buy anything else at this point.... 

Thank you for any assistance


----------



## tomwaterloo (Jul 10, 2009)

I recently installed zeros and slight right knee pain went away. I also had shoulder pain when I got a new bike two years ago. I switched to a terry liberator seat which solved all my but problems. As for the shoulder aches, I had to learn to ride and change my arm position every five minutes or so, shifting from the brake mount hand position to the center bars and vice versa. By not staying in one position too long, my shoulder aches disappeared. Love the Speedplays. I bought the ones that are 1/2 inch longer, which are good for big people with wide hips. It took me several months of riding my new bike two years ago to feel comfortable. Part of it is just getting used to the positions. Also, if you are fatigued while riding, that crushes morale. If you have some riding buddies, draft, which is about 30% less work. Works wonders for the ego. Otherwise slow down. Worst thing when one has an ache or two is to push it to the point of exhaustion. Hang in there. Hope this helps.


----------



## Spunout (Aug 12, 2002)

mudphalt said:


> . along with moving saddle backwards as far as would go.. solved knee issues,


Raise your saddle 10mm and adjust the saddle setback so that you are properly positioned to the BB. Ride easy, spin, stay out of the hills. You are probably new at this, right? Start easy and build slowly. 

Ice the patellar tendon (if this is your problem) and strengthen VMO whch helps keep patella tracking straight.


----------



## mudphalt (Sep 21, 2008)

??? whats VMO... Not totally new, but have only been riding road for about 2 years now.. but rode mountian for about 15 years prior. never had any fittment or pain on the mountain bikes.. I really enjoy road biking, getting nice and fast, but I get frustrated after 10 miles or so cause I'm hurting.. I took the bike in the house last night and leveled the seat again, and adjusted the fore aft so that a plumb bob hung from the front of my knee to the center of the pedal spindle with the pedal in the forward most position. I'll go ride tomorrow and see what the chnages bring.. even though they were pretty close , But i'll just start over again for the 50th time and try again..


----------



## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*look up chondromalacia*

since road bikes lack the granny of an MTB, you may be suffering from saddle too low, gear too big
also have your legs checked. Maybe you have a length issue so one leg is getting fit and the other is not


----------



## mudphalt (Sep 21, 2008)

Thanks for all the feedback.. I looked up the things you guys mentioned and I found this one in particular usefull.. the bike fit page.... It mentioned heel scrape as far as seat height was concerned... Well I was about an inch too high.. so I lowered my seat untill the heel just touched the pedal.. then readjusted my fore aft position.. I took it out for about 15 miles today........ well my shoulders didnt start to bother me untill about mile 13 my but was pretty good, little sore , but no numbness neither leg had any numbness and my hands didnt have numbness either.... Huh... that was simple... LOL... The only issue I see now.. is with my pedals, the x pedals have no stops and my left leg seems to twist a bit ?? and my heel will head towards the stay and hit it if i'm not paying attention.. Right foot is fine.. so this maybe my knee issue .... I'm gonna get the speedplay zeros that have the adjustible float and set it so it keeps my feet straight.. maybe then i'll be pretty good.... So I think your right aabout that chrondolmaleria thing.. partially anyway.. dont have all the symptoms but maybe cause it's just at the early stages.. So if it doesnt get better over the next month or so I'm gonna go visit my doctor on that one.. Thanks for all the help guys, you saved a bike from becoming a wind chime.. LOL..


----------



## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*you are welcome*

you can also fix the float issue by pedaling very consciously
what I have also found is when I concentrate on form, I tend to go as fast, sometimes faster
I've been getting dropped on climbs and instead of struggling, or pushing myself into the pain cave, just focused on my stroke. I wound up catching up while be less stressed

our form tends to go to pot when we are flailing


----------



## Dr_John (Oct 11, 2005)

> I'm gonna get the speedplay zeros that have the adjustible float and set it so it keeps my feet straight.


I had knee problems for awhile. I eventually figured out the float on my Zeros was too high. Now I have them set to almost no float, and all is good.


----------



## mudphalt (Sep 21, 2008)

I got my Zeros,.. take a little getting used to quite a bit harder to clip in and out of BUT. that float adjustment is helping to keep my leg better aligned.. after a few rides now, I'm feeling a bit better, still sore in the knee but not like it was .... I also noticed a slight increase in speed ... I'm trying to focus more on the higher cadence #'s and form Think i'm on a better track now... Thanks guys...


----------



## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

This is such a common issue that you can use the search function to find practically volumes about it.


----------

