aching knees during and after cycle....

[hero of valour]

....i did my longest ride so far in my new clipless pedals last night and after about 8 miles my knees started to feel pain....mainly in the top of my knee/knee cap.
.....about 8 miles later i arrived at my destination and it was a good job as the pain was becoming very uncomfortable...anyway....does anyone know what this could mainly be down to?.....i've dangled my feet when in my saddle and they turn outwards a fair bit so I've moved the cleats to the furthest point on the shoe towards my toes and angled the cleats outwards slightly....i hoping this will help but my knees need a good rest for a couple days....odd thing was I got back on my bike this morning and my knees didn't hurt very much, intact my usual 4.5 mile cycle each way everyday hasn't caused me any problems at all....its just that longer ride last night gave my knees a battering!....any advice would be really appreciated....i will persevere with them but i fear i may be fighting a losing battle!!!!

 

[byegad]

It's more likely to be the angle you have the cleats at, too much toe out. Try adjusting that a fraction at a time on one side until that side is pain free.That'll give you a comparison, one knee to the other.

 

[hero of valour]

ok i'll give that a go - but what do ya mean by too much toe out?

 

[CopperCyclist]

Also - do you grind or spin? Using a higher cadence made a massive difference to my knees, zero ache now after any length ride!*

*any length up to 100k which is my longest thus far

 

[ianrauk]

Move the cleats back rather then to your toes.

 

[hero of valour]

i usually go low cadence but will try peddling my legs faster in a lower gear and see how that goes - thanks for the tip....

ianrauk - why does that ,ake a difference? not questioning you just wondering why that will help?

 

[newfhouse]

I experienced this when I first started using cleats. An extra centimetre of saddle height compensated for the additional leg length when using my new shoes. No knee pain since. (Not an expert but it worked for me....)

 

[wisdom]

I had the same trouble and also moved the saddle up a bit.My pain went away instantly.

 

[slowmotion]

hov, dangle your legs off the kitchen worktop. The direction that they naturally point should be the same as that when you are clipped in on the pedals. Adjust the angle of the cleats on your shoes so that you mimic the natural angles. It might work, but if it doesn't, YouTube is your friend.

 

[Hacienda71]

Check your saddle height as well, a low or high saddle can cause knee pain.

 

[Berties]

More lightly saddle adjustment ,depends on the clets but you have up to 9% tolerance in movement side to side,night should be correct and also the reach ,I spent a fair bit of time with the lbs to get mine spot on