[trib]

I spend a lot of time on here chatting shit about mountain biking, but in reality over the last couple of years I haven't done much more than ride short distances on road at a leisurely pace.

However over the past week I've been taking my cross bike up into the hills and enjoying the feeling of near death that is climbing dusty california trails. The issue that's arisen is my right knee feels terrible after. It clicks and feels 'hollow' for want of a better expression. Still has side to side support and full movement, but it clicks and feels weird.

I haven't crashed, not in a disastrous fashion anyway. I'm also using flat pedals, so it's not like my foot is locked into a bad position. My saddle feels at the right height and my left knee isn't giving me any grief - which leads to the crux of the matter...

Do I have:
A) Bad pedalling form, causing my right knee to take on weird stress (I used to round off a LOT of square taper cranks, but didn't everyone)?
B) Fit issues with my bike (it's a bit short and, the front end is a bit low) that are causing weird stress?
C) Probably an unrelated injury that is being compounded by lots of pedalling?
D) Something else?
E) All of the above?

I will go see a specialist at some point, but just wondering if anyone had similar issues.

Also, yes I realise that cyclocross bikes are fashion accessories for hipsters who outgrew their fixies, but they're great for the local trails so please focus on my shitty knee.

 

[jonKranked]

are you getting almost full leg extension at the bottom of the pedalstroke?

also, yoga.

 

[mykel]

Are you a member of the Rlidemonkey Old and Fat Club?
I'm on the downside of 50, and carrying an extra 25 lbs.
I broke my knee/leg doing the BMX thing 40 years ago.
I notice my bad knee gives me grief with the extra weight.
Age don't help either.
I'm anal about seat height, I even raise the seat on my DH bike for transit between lifts and trails a mile away.
(Much to the amusement of the general DH public I might add )

In addition to seat height, check fore and aft adjustment, as well as the angle.


One way out there thing if nothing seems to help - when at the docs get checked to see if your hips are in alignment - if not and you have slightly different leg lengths , that can play havoc with the knees.
...told you it was out there....

 

[trib]

Thanks for the feedback so far.

I'm 30, carrying more weight than I should be, but not exactly overweight (I can still fit into bib shorts without too much embarrassment), so I doubt it's too much of the age and weight issue.

Will try drop the nose of the saddle a bit and see if that helps at all.

 

[jonKranked]

if you're out of shape that is likely a contributing factor

 

[djjohnr]

"The tendons – Above the knee (attached to your quad muscle) is the quadriceps tendon; below the knee (linked to your kneecap) is the patellar tendon. This is usually the area you feel “hollowness” in (chondromalacia) if you do too much mileage running or have bad form/loading patterns."

From - http://modernhealthmonk.com/ultimate-guide-to-chronic-knee-pain-runners-knee/

 

[trib]

Thanks - will be more critical of my pedalling style and do some saddle adjustments, hopefully make me feel less broken after riding

 

[SkaredShtles]

However over the past week I've been taking my cross bike up into the hills

Well there's your problem.

 

[Bikael Molton]

sounds like meniscus damage to me. Ibu is your fren'.

 

[trib]

Well there's your problem.

The cross bike is a lot of fun on the fire road and cattle trail runs round here. Could do with some bigger tyres, but the people I've seen on Bronsons and Enduros look miserable in comparison to my nimble little machine.

 

[canadmos]

A
I'm anal about seat height, I even raise the seat on my DH bike for transit between lifts and trails a mile away.
(Much to the amusement of the general DH public I might add )

I did notice that your seat post is longer than my trail bike post.

 

[jstuhlman]

if it's chondromalacia of the patella (something i had a few times growing up) , there are strengthening exercises that you can do to get things back in alignment. what i mostly remember are seated extensions of the hurting leg with light weights on the ankle.

also, SHIMZ

 

[toodles]

I had knee problems earlier this year for a few months and was dreading that I'd done some major damage. Symptoms were a bit of niggling pain, and a vague or weak feeling in the knee, especially when trying to push hard. I put off talking to a physio for ages as I was worried it would be either expensive or I'd be told to not ride. When I finally went for an assessment, the problem turned out to be uneven strengthening of the leg muscles. Physio gave me a bunch of daily exercises (15 minutes or so) to do and within 2 weeks I noticed an improvement and 4 weeks after that, no problems at all.

There are so many different things that can cause knee issues that its really not worth speculating about them. Go see a sports physio and get it looked at. It might be much more simple than you think

 

[dump]

Found that when I'm a bit out of shape and my quads aren't as strong as they should be, I get some knee pain during/after rides. I usually ignore it and just don't push it as hard and after a couple of weeks I get stronger and it goes away.

 

[StiHacka]

Try it nao?

 

[slimshady]

sounds like meniscus damage to me. Ibu is your fren'.

This. But instead of going straight to ibu, take an assessment with a knee specialist. You might be grinding your meniscus to death if you had broken a small piece of them, which then works as sandpaper on a surface which should be Mirror like.

This happened to a lot of my riding buddies who also do indoor soccer. If you do any other activity involving hard turns putting a lot of stress on your knees and ankles, my bet is on meniscus damage which then led to patellar tendinitis.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

So you go from the couch to grinding up dirt roads in the mountains on a glorified road bike and now your knee hurts, shocking. Unless you had a serious prior condition, which seems like you would have noticed it, you're just out of shape.

Until you get checked out by a real Dr., get a neoprene knee brace (w/o the hole), a bottle of Alieve, and an ice pack. Wear the brace when you ride, it will keep your achy knee warm. Then ice it when you get home.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Try it nao?

And keep trying it.

 

[Sandwich]

try those funny wedge things for your shoes? Are you in clips or flats? I've been considering getting a set for my road bike as I get a lot of hot spots in my feet. I found most of my knee issues are sorted by adjusting the saddle correctly. My body seems to really like a more forward position, compared to most people who like layback posts. My road saddle is pretty jammed forward on a layback post, and my evil is so far forward udi made fun of me.

 

[Gary]

Flats on a cross bike? as in Cyclocross bike? Why?

Are you using 5:10s or similar sticky soled shoes? Ditch those for a start.

 

[Electric_City]

3 things here.

-go to your doctor and ask about physical therapy.

-go to PT. There's guys and gals work wonders on your joints and muscles. I didn't believe it at first, but 40 x-rays later and no help, the PT fixed me in 10 minutes. Literally.

-Lastly, go to a professional bike fitter. Our LBS guys have gone to classes by Trek (fuck you Trek!) and Specialized. That's cool and all, but really just marketing. They'll sell you footbeds by "S" and wedges to try to help - and because it's personal one-on-one time it might be better, but not perfect yet. You need a real professional bike fitter. We have a guy here that's also a physical therapist! He not only hears "knee pain... Footbeds!" in his head and rambles on about ACL and MCL, but actually knows what the hell is going on in there. The first thing he does is body measurements. He checks your feet, hips and shoulders for alignment. It's $60 for the "consultation" and $150 for you to bring your bike in for a fitting. A buddy who does triathlons had this done cut 30 minutes off of his metric century and said he's not in any pain or soreness when he's done with his rides anymore.