Aching knees - why and what's the solution

[Gumstabber]

So I'm asking for advice here, maybe some of you have had this also.

I commute 6 miles to work (and then home obviously!) every day and don't have achey knees at all. Today I went out for 15 miles round Afan and my knees really ached for much of it.

Now I'm thinking that it's down to the cold weather. When I'm commuting I wear long, insulated tights (the only time they have ached commuting is when it was subzero last month). Today at Afan I just wore shorts as I normally would when mountain biking.

Is there something that will keep my knees warm (will knee pads work) without causing the rest of me to overheat like if I was to wear my commuting bottoms?

Are my knees just getting knackered even though I'm only 33?

[gazza285]

I used to be the same, short rides OK, long rides painful. I cured it by moving my cleats back half an inch, something to consider.

[jackh707]

Knee warmers. I have them, and they are great. Also as said review your cleat position/angles.

[anonymous-user]

try raising your seat post an inch or so too. it sounds like you might not be extending the joint enough and you are too squashed

[BadgerBenji]

Knee warmers good call, check cleats equally good shout, and seat height, the lower the seat unless you are over extended you will find is kinder on your knees.

I'm also a big believer in glucosamine tablets with fish oil, done wonders for my joints, pain free nowdays

[anonymous-user]

I would immagine your body position for Afan was very different to that when just pedalling around your commute! Assuming you spent a lot more time standing up and out of the saddle, you may just have to ride more distance like that to build strength and support in your legs. Certainly having cold legs won't help, but generally i find that off road i never have cold legs because the work load vs speed (and hence heat loss to the air) relationship is so skewed in favouor of the working bit....... ;-)

[Gumstabber]

I didn't even know knee warmers existed. Thanks for the suggestion about seat height too, I'll check on it.

[Crippo]

A basic rule of thumb with eth saddle height is to line eth crank with seat tube and place heel on the pedal. Leg shoul dbe totally locked. Transfer the ball of foot over eth pedal axle and a nice gentle kink will then exist. This is not a perfect solution but if you saddle needs raising by a couple of cm to get to this position then it was most likely your current low saddle which has contributed to the pain.
The next issue is cleat alignment which should be your natural gait. sit on table relax feet. then look down and see which way they are pointing. Try to align your cleats to allow each foot to settle into its natural position.
Again this is a basic first step. It is not a bike fit!!!!

[BadgerBenji]

Good article on bikeradar about setting seat height and the different ways that are used to work it out.

http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/article/how-to-ge...

[BMWBen]

Will be down to your positioning on the bike and your pedal stroke. Check saddle height is correct, as is cleat alignment and positioning. Also check your kneecap is positioned correctly throughout the pedal stroke. It should track straight up and down, roughly aligned with the middle toe. If your knees are in or out, or are drawing anything other than straight lines as they go up and down this can cause problems.

Also make sure your ITB and lat quads aren't too tight (i.e. do some stretching!)