I know this has been asked before, but I am really after some help from you helpful lot out there.

My left knee is in agony, whilst my right is fine. I know this is down to my setup with my SPD’s but could really do with some pointers on how to sort this out, as after yesterdays ride I could hardly walk up the stairs

Move the cleats to give a more duck footed position, if that doesn’t help try a less duck footed position. I’ve never had the problem I’m just guessing.

without more information I cannot diagnose properly!

If your SPD’s are causing your knee pain or making pain worse stop using them.

It is the first thing it says in the paperwork.

You need to see a pro to have a look at your knee – if it is not an abvious problem (i.e. invisible symptoms) – maybe go straight to a sportstherapist, physiotherapist, chiropractor – or somebody who does knees / bio-mechanics for a living. If you can’t afford the £30 odd consultation – then head to your doctor for a referral to somebody.

If you don’t fix it up pretty quick – it will take longer to repair and could get worse (sometimes the knock-on effects of something like this can cause problems to propagate elsewhere). I am sure it will be OK in the long run – but see somebody who you can trust, and who knows about these things. Get well soon.

I’m guessing that pain is located on the outside of the knee?

Sit on the end of a table, legs out straight and dangle your feet. Do they point forwards? Slightly inwards? Outwards? Your cleats should be pretty much perpendicular to your thighs, regardless of your feet. I’m a ten-to-two man, so cleats go on soles at an angle of about 10 degrees from what would be straight ahead (outside of sole is further ahead) .

One further tip is move them EDIT: in a bit towards the inner edge of the shoe. So you get more pronation without hitting the cranks.

If your feet point in, do the opposite.

Stop doing whatever’s causing the pain – ie using SPDs. Go and see your doctor and see if he can refer you to someone. If not, go and see a sports physio.

I’m a big fan of NHS physios, they’ve no vested interest in seeing you come back, unlike the private bunch.

Avoid chiropractors entirely, they’re about as much use as homeopathists.

If you really want to be clipped in in future, maybe try Time pedals or similar with more float.

I had a similar problem last year every time I went out on the HT, and the stairs were a killer for days following every ride. My pain was more at the back of the knee though.

I Googled it and everyone came back with ‘seat too high’. So I lowered the seat by an inch and never got the pain again. It’s definatly to do with your seat position

… said this in almost the same thread yesterday. Might not be your cleats. Just try a ride with the seat dropped an inch from where you normally have it.

I’m a big fan of NHS physios, they’ve no vested interest in seeing you come back, unlike the private bunch.
———-8<———-
Avoid chiropractors entirely, they’re about as much use as homeopathists.

Not sure about NHS Physio’s – depends on how your local health authority is doing on their budget this year – your mileage may vary – and I hope you are lucky.

Sure the private guys do want a new Porsche – but frankly I think your NHS doctor is more lightly to get his first (aren’t the majority of NHS establishments being run as independant businesses these days?). Respect where respect is due, but don’t kid yourself – money is the key priority to most, these days, I hate to concede.

Chiro’s can come across as snake oilers (and maybe there is an element of it) – but, if you have any of the conditions they are trained to deal with like twisted pelvis, any of the spinal (or muscular) stuff, hips etc. then it is their business – and if you see a professional – then you will most likely get professional results.

Whoever you decide to see – get somebody with a good quality degree in the subject, check with the official governing body for membership/affiliation and use your common sense – and you can be more assured that you are not seeing a quack.

Hopefully dropping your seat, or adjusting your cleats will cure it – but for some agony means leg falling off – and if it is – you need professional help!!!

Most importantly Get Well Soon! 🙂

Switch to flats, much more rad anyway!!

I’d recommend going to see a sports physio – after 16 years of cycling I somewhat randomly developed a really painful knee injury at the beginning of last year – was off the bike for 8 weeks due to it.

After a rather fascinating visit to a superb sports physio I got diagnosed with weak hamstrings, feably puny glute muscles (bum muscles), my SPD shoes needed inserts to rotate the angle of my knee in relation to my foot when I cycle and I promptly sold my XTR M980 SPDs and got some Time ATAC XS pedals (waaaay more float). Within 10 days of doing various leg strength exercises he prescribed together with the above the issue (similar to tendonitis) cleared up.

Basically if I hadn’t gone to the physio I would have struggled on with the symptoms and am sure I would have been off the bike for considerably longer. I’ve also never needed to have a return visit to have the injury reexamined by the physio so the £37 or so quid was well worth it imo (as was investing in the rather pimpy Carbon Time ATAC pedals!).

Hi tiff,
Whereabouts do you live?
Some good advice above, and some shockingly bad advice.

“go back to flats” really isn’t the way forward. During the pedalling cycle, bio-mechanics dictate that your foot will need to move through at least one of two arcs.
Internal/external rotation, and possibly eversion/inversion.
Flats stop any rotation owing to their pins holding on to your shoe soles. Inversion is completely uncontrolled (but I suppose you at least have some).

I’d suggest a two pronged course of action:
a) See a physio
b) See a bike fit expert

The physio will help address weakness or imbalance. The bike fit expert will get you on the bike properly- this means cleats in the right position, at the right angle, with wedges if necessary.

Hope it works out for you.

Hi and thanks for all of the responses.

To give you all a bit more info, I live in Sheffield and mostly ride in the peak. I use Crank Brothers pedals and cleats so a bit more float than Shimano. The pain I have got is on the inside at the front of the knee and has not got any better since riding on Sunday, so yes I will ring the quacks tomorrow to start the ball rolling.

I really don’t want to switch to flats as it just feels wrong after years of riding clipped in.

Any advice anyone can give me to sort this out would be great as I have entered 2 rounds of the Fetish Enduro series and the Mega this year. So I really want to sort it out ASAP