Knee pain whilst on Catbike

[ianrauk]

OK, have had my Catbike for a while now.
What I have noticed is that the more I ride the more confident I become. With the result that I am sitting lower down in the seat rather then a more upright position. ie I'm sliding myself closer to the boom.

I went out for a long ride yesterday (100miles), about 3/4'S the way through the ride I started to get a pain in the right knee. More specifically the right hand side of the knee.

Now I know it's not the cleats (MTB SPD) that are the problems as I have done many rides with them (some long) with no pain. But thinking that the lower riding position may be the problem as I think my leg is not extending enough through the cranks.

Has anyone else suffered from this problem? Would extending the boom out rectify it?

Thanks for any help or input.

 

[markg0vbr]

a lot of people get knee pain on recumbents, you should be spinning, your knees will thank you.
if the boom is the correct length* also you may find putting the cleat as near to your instep as possible helps,


*heel on peddle at farthest part of stroke with a tiny bit of bend in knee, is a good start point, move the boom in or out 1cm at a time until you feel comfortable.

 

[Riding in Circles]

Don't discount the SPD's as nI said when you first had the bike, you can exert a lot of pressure through the stroke so the centering of the SPD can cause an issue, you may need pedals with free float. However you need to set the boom correctly as well.

 

[ianrauk]

a lot of people get knee pain on recumbents, you should be spinning, your knees will thank you.
if the boom is the correct length* also you may find putting the cleat as near to your instep as possible helps,


*heel on peddle at farthest part of stroke with a tiny bit of bend in knee, is a good start point, move the boom in or out 1cm at a time until you feel comfortable.

Cheers
I'm a natural spinner anyway and my cleats are very close to my instep.

 

[ianrauk]

Don't discount the SPD's as nI said when you first had the bike, you can exert a lot of pressure through the stroke so the centering of the SPD can cause an issue, you may need pedals with free float. However you need to set the boom correctly as well.

Ok, am thinking of changing to Time Atacs just for the bent.

 

[Riding in Circles]

That is what I use, or egg beaters.

 

[swscotland bentrider]

If you are sliding down the seat you have effectively altered your leg length and may need to alter boom length. The other factor to investigate is the way your knees articulate. Do you keep them tucked in or splayed? Unlike an upright your knees may tend to splay when tired and I find if I get a bit of an ache in my right knee I can usually alleviate it by keeping my knees tucked in i.e. describing an even circle without wobbling from side to side.

 

[ianrauk]

Cheers Lee. I do remember you saying that I should change over to Time Atacs and Mr Arallsop said the same thing.

So have just ordered these

 

[byegad]

I get knee pain if the boom is short and hip pain if it's too long. Now I know this setting a new trike up is easy.

 

[windmiller]

Not exactly a spinner myself although I do concur with that advice. Knee pain can still occur even with the ideal boom length, float/cleat adjustment. I find one sided peddles such as Shimano PD A530 a solution when the knee pain happens well into a ride. My foot position is then free to naturally float on the peddle stroke where the pain is least likely to be applied. Touch wood I rarely suffer knee pain, I find going bonkers and hammering the peddles before the legs have warmed up is usually the culprit.

 

[Tigerbiten]

One reason I like the hardshell seat on my ICE trike is I slide down a lot less in it.
The slight nose on the front of it means you sit in the seat, unlike the mesh seat where you sit on in.

 

[ianrauk]

One reason I like the hardshell seat on my ICE trike is I slide down a lot less in it.
The slight nose on the front of it means you sit in the seat, unlike the mesh seat where you sit on in.

I actually do like the ability to move myself up and down. For cruising, get down low. For slower and traffic, sit up a bit higher.

 

[ianrauk]

Well with new pedals and cleats. I suppose one had better order a new pair of shoes also...

 

[Riding in Circles]

I found I got numb toe is Specialized shoes.

 

[ianrauk]

I found I got numb toe is Specialized shoes.

Yet I get numb feet with Shimano's as they are too tight width wise.
Spesh shoes fits like the proverbial glove...