Knee pain from SPD pedals

:
: Many people have a natural twist to their foot as they pedal, this is
: why many of the modern pedal cleats have a built in "float". That is,
: when clipped in, the shoe can twist freely slightly. This also allows a
: little sloppiness in setting the angle of the cleat, Too much
: inaccuracy, however, can lead to trouble.
:
: Ride your bike, and pay particular attention to the guilty leg. At any
: point of your pedal stroke does it seem like your foot is trying to
: twist out of the pedal? Note, this may be just a slight pressure. But
: it should not be pressing against either of the cleat's "float limit"
: anywhere during your pedal stroke.
:
: If it is, the cleat is adjusted wrong and is preventing your foot from
: twisting as it should. If this is so, determine which direction the
: pedal is "fighting" against your foot and adjust the angle of the cleat
: to allow your foot to twist naturally.

This is what happened to me. My left foot tracks straight ahead, but the
toes of my right foot want to point slightly away from the bicycle. If the
cleat doesn't allow this, the knee hurts on the inside. So, you can adjust
the cleats to fit the natural turning of your feet.

Pat in TX

On Sat, 25 Jun 2005 17:19:15 GMT, Neil Brooks
wrote:

dgk wrote:

Two weeks after starting to use SPD pedals one of my knees is hurting
a bit. The only adjustment I know of (besides the release setting) is
to move the cleat either forward or backward, whichever of the two
sets of screws is not in use.

I can also move ME on the bike by adjusting the seat position. Any
advice appreciated.

Maybe something on this site can help....

http://www.cptips.com/knee.htm

Very helpful. Thank you. When I go back to SPD then I will do higher
rpms and lower gears. I'll also find out how to adjust the float. It's
only on the left knee so something is different on that one. No, that
doesn't add up. Neither were a problem until yesterday so it is quite
possible that the right knee will be causing a problem in another few
days. Adjust both.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article ,
dgk wrote:
Two weeks after starting to use SPD pedals one of my knees is hurting
a bit. The only adjustment I know of (besides the release setting) is
to move the cleat either forward or backward, whichever of the two
sets of screws is not in use.

I can also move ME on the bike by adjusting the seat position. Any
advice appreciated.

_ Check out the cleat position articles in the Q&A section at

http://www.cyclingnews.com/

_ Moving the cleat back might solve all your problems and it's
certainly a simple thing to try.

_ Booker C. Bense

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On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 15:08:38 +0000 (UTC), Booker C. Bense
. stanford.edu wrote:

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article ,
dgk wrote:
Two weeks after starting to use SPD pedals one of my knees is hurting
a bit. The only adjustment I know of (besides the release setting) is
to move the cleat either forward or backward, whichever of the two
sets of screws is not in use.

I can also move ME on the bike by adjusting the seat position. Any
advice appreciated.

_ Check out the cleat position articles in the Q&A section at

http://www.cyclingnews.com/

_ Moving the cleat back might solve all your problems and it's
certainly a simple thing to try.

_ Booker C. Bense


That site sure is overkill. Lots of stuff there. It's hard to get a
feeling from the three letters that I read but I will try moving the
cleats around until I get a better feel.

Part of my problem last week was that I was riding with a flat, sort
of. I had noticed that I was just dragging along, in fact I looked at
the brakes to make sure that they weren't rubbing. The odd thing was
that the rear tire looked fine when I looked down at it.

Later on I checked the tire and it certainly felt low. I checked the
tread and found a nice sized piece of glass, so I pulled it out. But
the tire was far from flat, so I pumped more air into it and continued
on my way. When I passed a bike shop I used the hose to really fill
it.

Sunday I had some time and did find a slow leak where the glass had
managed to just nip it. So I patched it and now it's fine. But I think
that I was really putting more pressure on the knees than normal.
Hopefully this weekend I'll get a chance to mess around with the cleat
position. In the meantime I put back the old pedals for the rest of
the week.

On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 03:52:01 GMT, Jeff Starr
wrote:

On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 12:20:58 -0400, dgk
wrote:


That site sure is overkill. Lots of stuff there. It's hard to get a
feeling from the three letters that I read but I will try moving the
cleats around until I get a better feel.

Part of my problem last week was that I was riding with a flat, sort
of. I had noticed that I was just dragging along, in fact I looked at
the brakes to make sure that they weren't rubbing. The odd thing was
that the rear tire looked fine when I looked down at it.

Later on I checked the tire and it certainly felt low. I checked the
tread and found a nice sized piece of glass, so I pulled it out. But
the tire was far from flat, so I pumped more air into it and continued
on my way. When I passed a bike shop I used the hose to really fill
it.

Sunday I had some time and did find a slow leak where the glass had
managed to just nip it. So I patched it and now it's fine. But I think
that I was really putting more pressure on the knees than normal.
Hopefully this weekend I'll get a chance to mess around with the cleat
position. In the meantime I put back the old pedals for the rest of
the week.

It sounds like, you need a decent floor pump and gauge. It is a good
idea, to check your tires before every ride. Looking at them isn't the
answer.

At this time of year, I ride 4-5 days a week. I check and top my tires
off, before each ride. It takes, just a couple of minutes.


Life is Good!
Jeff

Sure, I have a nice floor pump and gauge, but I don't take them with
me. I pump them up every week and check each day just by squeezing.

This leak developed somewhere during the inbound commute or perhaps on
the outbound, but it certainly made itself evident on the outbound.

"dgk" wrote: (clip) Later on I checked the tire and it certainly felt low.
(clip) But I think that I was really putting more pressure on the knees than
normal.(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Certainly a low tire will increase pedaling effort, as does a hill, a
headwind or a higher speed. I tend to ride at a speed which puts an
acceptable load on my legs and lungs. A low tire would tend to make me ride
slower at the usual knee pressure, so I wouldn't expect to develop knee
trouble from a low tire. Doesn't that seem logical to you? Or do you drive
yourself harder to keep speed, regardless?

On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 16:54:53 GMT, "Leo Lichtman"
wrote:


"dgk" wrote: (clip) Later on I checked the tire and it certainly felt low.
(clip) But I think that I was really putting more pressure on the knees than
normal.(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Certainly a low tire will increase pedaling effort, as does a hill, a
headwind or a higher speed. I tend to ride at a speed which puts an
acceptable load on my legs and lungs. A low tire would tend to make me ride
slower at the usual knee pressure, so I wouldn't expect to develop knee
trouble from a low tire. Doesn't that seem logical to you? Or do you drive
yourself harder to keep speed, regardless?


No, I was definitely going slower. Still, I was feeling the knee at
that time so that was also why I was going slower.

I'm going to resume biking tomorrow. It promises to be wet.

On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 09:43:03 -0400, dgk
wrote:

Part of my problem last week was that I was riding with a flat, sort
of. I had noticed that I was just dragging along, in fact I looked at
the brakes to make sure that they weren't rubbing. The odd thing was
that the rear tire looked fine when I looked down at it.

Later on I checked the tire and it certainly felt low. I checked the
tread and found a nice sized piece of glass, so I pulled it out. But
the tire was far from flat, so I pumped more air into it and continued
on my way. When I passed a bike shop I used the hose to really fill
it.

Sunday I had some time and did find a slow leak where the glass had
managed to just nip it. So I patched it and now it's fine. But I think
that I was really putting more pressure on the knees than normal.
Hopefully this weekend I'll get a chance to mess around with the cleat
position. In the meantime I put back the old pedals for the rest of
the week.

It sounds like, you need a decent floor pump and gauge. It is a good
idea, to check your tires before every ride. Looking at them isn't the
answer.

At this time of year, I ride 4-5 days a week. I check and top my tires
off, before each ride. It takes, just a couple of minutes.


Life is Good!
Jeff

Sure, I have a nice floor pump and gauge, but I don't take them with
me. I pump them up every week and check each day just by squeezing.

This leak developed somewhere during the inbound commute or perhaps on
the outbound, but it certainly made itself evident on the outbound.

Reread, the post, I was replying to. You make it sound like your tire
problem was during the course of a week, not a single day.

I really don't think that squeezing tires gives you an accurate
reading of air pressure. Bike tires, or more correctly their tubes,
lose a little pressure everyday. By the end of a week, you can be
down, 10-20 pounds. And each day when you squeeze them, they feel very
close to the day before.

Do what ever you want, I believe that checking and topping them off,
takes only 2-3 minutes and is a simple, worthwhile thing to do.


Life is Good!
Jeff

On Sat, 25 Jun 2005 12:26:51 +0000, dgk wrote:

Two weeks after starting to use SPD pedals one of my knees is hurting
a bit. The only adjustment I know of (besides the release setting) is
to move the cleat either forward or backward, whichever of the two
sets of screws is not in use.

Rotation. need to get the rest position of your foot right, because even
with float there is a spring that centers the cleat. This caused me
problems when I used spds, but now that I use Speedplay Frogs, it's no
longer a problem.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics, I can
_`\(,_ | assure you that mine are all greater. -- A. Einstein
(_)/ (_) |

On 2005-06-28, Jeff Starr wrote:
On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 09:43:03 -0400, dgk
wrote:

Part of my problem last week was that I was riding with a flat, sort
of. I had noticed that I was just dragging along, in fact I looked at
the brakes to make sure that they weren't rubbing. The odd thing was
that the rear tire looked fine when I looked down at it.

Later on I checked the tire and it certainly felt low. I checked the
tread and found a nice sized piece of glass, so I pulled it out. But
the tire was far from flat, so I pumped more air into it and continued
on my way. When I passed a bike shop I used the hose to really fill
it.

Sunday I had some time and did find a slow leak where the glass had
managed to just nip it. So I patched it and now it's fine. But I think
that I was really putting more pressure on the knees than normal.
Hopefully this weekend I'll get a chance to mess around with the cleat
position. In the meantime I put back the old pedals for the rest of
the week.

It sounds like, you need a decent floor pump and gauge. It is a good
idea, to check your tires before every ride. Looking at them isn't the
answer.

At this time of year, I ride 4-5 days a week. I check and top my tires
off, before each ride. It takes, just a couple of minutes.


Life is Good!
Jeff

Sure, I have a nice floor pump and gauge, but I don't take them with
me. I pump them up every week and check each day just by squeezing.

This leak developed somewhere during the inbound commute or perhaps on
the outbound, but it certainly made itself evident on the outbound.

Reread, the post, I was replying to. You make it sound like your tire
problem was during the course of a week, not a single day.

I really don't think that squeezing tires gives you an accurate
reading of air pressure. Bike tires, or more correctly their tubes,
lose a little pressure everyday. By the end of a week, you can be
down, 10-20 pounds. And each day when you squeeze them, they feel very
close to the day before.

Do what ever you want, I believe that checking and topping them off,
takes only 2-3 minutes and is a simple, worthwhile thing to do.


You guy make me feel bad. About 2 weeks ago (350 miles) my rear tire
felt a little soft when I squeezed it. I went to fill it up and the darn
top of the presta valve was broken off. Maybe tonight I'll change that
tube. It'll sure feel fast after riding around the past few weeks low on
air.