Knee injury - alignment issues using clipless pedals?

[272BHP]

I have pretty much always ridden with flat pedals and have also had fairly injury free knees. In the autumn I got my first ever road bike and fitted Shimano SPD-SL pedals and bought new firmer road bike shoes. Spent a while adjusting the cleats till they felt right and went on a few spirited rides in October.

Bike has sat in the house since as I woke up one morning with achy knees and that along with a run of atrocious weather meant I had not taken the road bike out and just used my flat pedalled hybrid instead. The achy knees feel almost like what I see arthritis described as. In the recent cold weather they are worse than ever. I do a fair amount of gym training as well and this has totally impacted on how I can realistically train legs as well.

In December I noticed that my quadriceps muscles had atrophied quite markedly and in recent days even the skin is sagging around the area which is quite alarming I must say. I can only imagine this all started with the clipless pedal use although I remain open to the possibility it was coincidental.

Has anyone experienced anything similar?

[donaircooleone]

272BHP said:

I have pretty much always ridden with flat pedals and have also had fairly injury free knees. In the autumn I got my first ever road bike and fitted Shimano SPD-SL pedals and bought new firmer road bike shoes. Spent a while adjusting the cleats till they felt right and went on a few spirited rides in October.

Bike has sat in the house since as I woke up one morning with achy knees and that along with a run of atrocious weather meant I had not taken the road bike out and just used my flat pedalled hybrid instead. The achy knees feel almost like what I see arthritis described as. In the recent cold weather they are worse than ever. I do a fair amount of gym training as well and this has totally impacted on how I can realistically train legs as well.

In December I noticed that my quadriceps muscles had atrophied quite markedly and in recent days even the skin is sagging around the area which is quite alarming I must say. I can only imagine this all started with the clipless pedal use although I remain open to the possibility it was coincidental.

Has anyone experienced anything similar?

Sort of similar, I ended up making a physio appointment which pointed to hamstring issues for me to work on. Might be worth seeking physio?

Have you ramped up your mileage which coincided with the new pedals/cleats/shoes?

Are you using the YELLOW cleats? As someone recently converted to SPD (I chose this mainly for free float, ease of use and shoes that can be walked in easily) I did find getting your fit checked out very useful - a lot of these offer cleat adjustment and shoe fitting.

Could try slamming the adjustment as far back as possible and getting some extra floaty degrees.

[smn159]

You do need time to adapt to a new riding position, plus of course the bike and cleats need to be set up correctly.

If it were me I'd take the guesswork out by having a proper bike and cleat set up done. It really is worth it IME.

[stargazer30]

You will find cycling legs and gym legs are different. It literally is a different type of muscle. A guy who can squat 200kg will be rubbish on a bike ( other than in a sprint) and an endurance cycling veteran would snap in half under that 200kg bar!

The knee pain could be any number of things. A bike fit is your best bet to start with.

Edit: strength training is recommended for cyclists to strengthen bones and avoid muscle imbalances but the weight needed is a lot less than your average body builder type.

Edited by stargazer30 on Wednesday 31st December 17:59

[272BHP]

I was using the yellow cleats yes.

I think I will take the guess work out of it and get some flat pedals I think and go back to just cycling in trainers. I did that for 55 years of cycling and never had a problem. Hopefully my legs recover but at my age these things are not always guaranteed. If they do then I will ease back into the clipless pedals with short gentle rides over a much longer period.

For now though I will concentrate on using all my know how and the proverbial kitchen sink on getting my legs functioning properly again - today seems a good day to start that process.

[gareth h]

I had knee problems when I tried to replicate the stretched riding position of an old Kona to a full sus I had just bought, I adjusted the saddle back as far as it would go, couldn’t work out what was causing the problem until I did some research which suggested it was the knees being too far behind the pedals.
Saddle properly adjusted and all the issues went away.

[272BHP]

gareth h said:

I had knee problems when I tried to replicate the stretched riding position of an old Kona to a full sus I had just bought, I adjusted the saddle back as far as it would go, couldn t work out what was causing the problem until I did some research which suggested it was the knees being too far behind the pedals.
Saddle properly adjusted and all the issues went away.

I haven't been on the road bike in quite a few weeks but I will pay attention to everything when I get back on it. I did not get a proper bike fit but the guy in my LBS is very knowledgable and spent a few minutes looking at me sat on the bike and adjusted a few things when I first got the bike.

My thinking is that I got a different kind of bike, different pedals, different shoes and trying a different riding style and in my usual gung ho enthusiasm went at it too fast and too hard - I tend to be stupid that way