Over the last month or two I have increased my riding and also ridden my singlespeed more. My fitness has improved massively but I now suffer from near constant knee and lower leg pain in my left leg.
Is there a simple way to tell if this just my body adjusting or whether my knee is set to explode – I have been hammering the climbs. I really don’t want to give up the singlespeed again if at all possible.

Which ever it is, it’s only going to get better if you are kinder to your body.

Could be lots of issues, the ones which have bugged me personally, saddle too far back and twisting the knee too much when getting out of using road clipless pedals.

Anecdotally, IME: If it’s near constant I’d say it’s almost certainly damage – muscle pain (DOMS) is something you suffer from when you start increasing load, I rarely get it once I’m into the swing of things.

For example I started doing Pilates this year – after the first couple of classes I had aches in muscles that I never knew existed 🙂 Now I’ve been doing it for a couple of months I might feel tired after the class, but it never hurts.

Things to do? Again anecdotally I find I get hurt when I don’t stretch enough. Less anecdotally rest is obviously a plan, make sure you’re getting at least a day or two of recovery during the week. Also weight lifting may help – things like squats, lunges, dead lifts etc.

My intuition suggests that if it is just one leg (not both) then its not just an “ache” from being used more / differently.

Perhaps see a Sports Therapist who specialises in knees for a yes or no answer but my understanding is that an MRI scan is the only way to be certain if there’s no external signs.

Check your saddle height very carefully. Inside leg * 1.09 helped me get close. My seat post had been slipping down ever so slowly every ride and I didn’t notice until after a few weeks I had full blown knee pain after riding 10 miles. Thought I’d damaged the knee properly and saw a sports therapist 3 times over 4-6 weeks who helped me learn some recovery exercises and stretches that would help strengthen the supporting knee muscles. Once I had rest / recovery / exercises and finally checked the seat post and stopped it slipping the riding pain stopped and recovery was also as quick as it was before the pain started. I definitely did some minor internal damage that is healing but it’s manageable now and I don’t get the same pain. I’m still not 100% confident it’s fully sorted but at least I can do a ride and recover without any significant pain again. I didn’t stop riding completely but did have to reduce the mileage and stop indoor interval training on the bike (replaced by swimming). I also got an extra bail out gear 1×11 so I could spin more up climbs when necessary instead of struggling on with 1×10. It’s really helped too. I also found a foam roller helped to loosen up the leg muscles. It was all very tight.

A combination of throwing everything at the problem worked for me. YMMV. Good luck. Nothing worse than knee pain.

Thanks – I haven’t heard about 1.09 before and I think my saddle may be too low as I like to get off the back (non dropper on the singlespeed).

Try it. As a certified “Endurist” I do have a dropper but I was finding and thought “this bike is good at the flat bumpy stuff… I can leave the saddle up and keep pedalling”… big mistake as climbing was killing my knee.

Now with the saddle at the right hight it’s actually really uncomfortable to keep it high during bumpy flat sections so the dropper is absolutely essential and standing to pump and pedal standing over rougher terrain instead of trying to sit.

I just got complacent and I’d not really paid any attention to my recovery so it’s been a good learning experience despite the cost of Physio and new parts.

I came 3rd at an XC on Sunday in the Fun Category and 4 weeks ago I would have pulled out. All form a stupid seat post being too low (I believe).

So many variables involved though it’s hard to be certain.

I’ve no idea how XC riders manage without a dropper. Hats off to them. I’ll take the weight penalty and keep the dropper.

Not telling anyone how to suck eggs… hopefully it’s helpful.

The 1.09 thing. Get a thick book. Stand by a wall. Book through legs, mark wall. Measure in cm with a tape.

Then x by 1.09.

On the bike put saddle up. Line up pedal with seat post angle so it’s straight and at lowest point. Measure with tape from centre of pedal axle to centre of saddle padding.

Within 1cm of the x 1.09 number should have you with a locked out heel on the pedal when sat on the saddle. When foot is in normal mid-foot position fully extended it should just be a tiny bit bent and almost locked out. Hips should not bob up and down while pedalling. So adjust until they don’t as that will cause all sorts of other problems of it’s own.

When rotating pedals the knee won’t bend so much at the 3 o’clock position (check that your knee is in line with the pedal at this position too) as it did before and so less force will be going through the knee tendons when climbing.

The straighter the leg when pedalling the better and try to focus on pedalling from the hips / glutes rather than through the legs. Don’t pull on the pedals if using clips. Flats are fine as you can’t pull. Focus on the power part of the stroke with each leg.

That’s what I’m doing. Adjust as necessary.

Make sure you’re fully recovered with no walking pain (I found I had pain when using the clutch in the car as the only other place other than the bike it would hurt) then do a steady ride with test climbs. Hopefully no pain. You may have some later on but it should be less and less each time as the knee recovers.

Hope the info helps.

Thanks for the info.
Hmm. Saddle is going to go up a lot – I need a new seatpost.

If you’ve suddenly increased your cycling, it can create a chronic condition called Patellar Tendonitis – also known in cycling circles as “winter knee” where riders ramp-up the miles in the winter.