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SPD causing knee pain?

Hey guys,

Ive always ridden flats, and only recently changed to spd pedals. Ive never had any sort of knee pain as long as ive been riding, and whether or not its coincidence, ive got knee pain in my right leg after every ride now. Not sure if its due to the new pedals or just bad timing...

Not being too familiar with clip ins, is there a particular setup that may reduce pain? Is there something obvious to others that i may be overlooking? The pedals are quite easy to get in and out of, no dramas there. And i have the cleats in a central position ie. middle of sole, and middle position in terms of how far forward/back it can be

Its giving me the shits big time, as its seriously limiting my time on the bike. Im thinking about going back to flats if it doesn't improve soon.

Cheers
Ben

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Permalink Reply by Christopher Giuliano on May 10, 2011 at 20:09

Hear, hear!

Lee McCormack (leelikesbikes.com and author of Mastering Mountain Bike Skills) says that if you can't ride in flats, you can't ride.

John, I'm waiting to break my leg or something and then get a surgeon to go in for a look-see. X-Rays reveal nothing.

Michael D Hanslip said:

Check out what another cycle coach has to write about this topic- he advocates that everyone who isn't racing go on flats. I am not quite so extreme in my thinking, but I do recommend that all of my skills class students give flats a go to improve their bike control.

If you don't have a good reason to stay on SPDs, do go back to flats.

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Permalink Reply by Ben on May 10, 2011 at 23:22

Wow thanks for all the replies..having had a good read of what everyone has said, ill stick with them for a little while longer. Im going to adjust the cleats to move my foot further forward on the pedal. And i did notice i needed to raise my seat when i fitted the pedals. I initially raised it 10mm, im still feeling it out but i may need a bit more height.

Pretty sure im good strength wise, ive been doing quite heavy squats for a few years now and never had knee pain. So....im hoping its mainly a result of new pedals/new shoes/new seat height. We'll see what happens i guess!!

Thanks guys

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Permalink Reply by Ben on May 10, 2011 at 23:24

In relation to riding flats, i loved them. Never had any issues with them, i guess its the trend to go clips that made me change. Im happy to change back, but ill wait and give it a chance first! I was way faster DH with flats haha

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Permalink Reply by Snakehips on May 11, 2011 at 8:45

Hey Ben, just because you have a knee problem doesn't mean you have to put up or shut up. SPD's are but one type of clipless pedal, and completely the opposite of flats in that they allow no movement of your foot at all from the position you lock it in to.

TIME & Crank Bros type pedals allow some sideways movement in the foot and whilst only being 15 degrees or whatever, may be enough for your foot to find the right posi.

I went to see a guy called Steve Hogg many years ago in Sydney and one thing he did say was to have your cleat sitting behind the ball of your foot (in fact there's a school of thought that says the cleat should be all the way back under your foot arch). Point being that being further back means you have more power going through the pedal for less stress on your lower leg (maybe knee?). I wouldn't see a problem in you experimenting with that from this advice but you need to remember that any positional change at one end of your leg (foot, seat) will require adjustment at the other (pedal, saddle) and probably more (eg increase bar height if you increase seat height) to keep everything at the same angles. If you really want to get it right I'd go and see someone like Steve or Mike.

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Permalink Reply by Ben on May 13, 2011 at 11:40

I think moving the cleats further back, which puts my foot further forward on the pedals, has helped. Before i adjusted them, i was getting bad pain within 10mins of riding. Last night on the ride it was good for about an hour or so, took me a while to notice any discomfort. This morning i have no pain at all, so heres hoping thats all i needed. Ive made them nice and loose also, ill tighten them up as i get used to riding clipped in. Cheers for the suggestions!

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Permalink Reply by Joe M on May 20, 2011 at 0:03

Hi, I had a sore knee after I got fit and started extending my rides. I went to physio to find out that I was flat footed.

Now I have insoles and all is well. Don't forget to stretch properly either, riding is exercise even if it is fun!