Situation: I don’t want to ignore knee pain that may get worse, but I really like my bike and n+1 bikes. What is having a bike fit like for an ex Bike?
Background: Left lower lateral 3/10 intermittent knee pain since riding a big e-Bike with a wide Q factor for a couple months.
My thoughts: I’m on a budget. I bike 15 miles round-trip three days a week. Pain starts around mile four. I may ride my wife’s bike for a couple days to see if a different bike makes it better or worse.
Your rec? Was a bike fit worth it? If I needed something else, I would buy used. Would I walk away with enough knowledge to buy the right used bike if needs be, or would that be throwing away the bike fit? What about the next n+1 bike on marketplace?
Thanks all.
What does a bike fit mean to your budget build? To the n+1 bike?
byu/ManDadNurse inxbiking
by ManDadNurse
7 Comments
I’d look at saddle height and setback first and foremost.
Edit:looking at the angle of your foot in the bottom position, id say you’re probably compensating for having your saddle too high
Neil Stanbury has good resources on YouTube for saddle height and placement, I’d start there then think about crank length if you can’t improve it?
15 miles x 3 per week is a lot of bike riding. More than around 99% of the population in my area. It is worth investing in a great fitting bike for that level of riding. Biking pain past an initial acclimation period generally does not resolve on its own.
It generally does not take a professional bike fitting to get a great fitting biking. you are thinking in the exact right direction— ask reddit, ask your friends who bike, talk to a local bike shop/coop, and most importantly talk(or listen) to your body.
The bike you are on is not a great fitting bike the way you are riding. Have you tried varying seat heights? Does higher or lower seat height affect your pain? How about varying arm positions?
Learn about comfortable form, stretches, and mobilizations that help you transfer power from your body to your bike in even and controlled ways. Consider that the pants you are wearing, or having a phone in one pocket, could contribute to pain over the course of miles and miles.
N+1 is the same as any other bike… assess how you expect to use the bike and then go from there. You could ride a children’s tricycle if you only need to go a few yards.
So the pain was perhaps caused by the ebike? Or did you also increase the total distance you’re biking at the same time?
Agree with others I would lower your saddle a bit on this bike, like 1/2″ / 1.5cm or so for a starter.
Could also post up a video of the ebike fit, and can make use of r/bikefit
I also agree with others that pain is unlikely to resolve on its own if it isn’t just “getting used to riding a bike” lack of fitness type stuff.
I agree with a lot of what the other comments say. I have dealt with general bike fit issues and knee injuries a lot. In my experience trying different things and keeping track of your changes goes a long way. Sometimes you’ll know something is better or worse right away, but sometimes you’ll need to do a ride or two. Doing knee/hip rehab, strengthening, and flexibility work can also help a lot.
Some other changes you can play with are cleat position (or trying flats if your cleats don’t have enough adjustment range) and saddle angle. Most people say a saddle should be level. I think this is a good place to start, but saddles and human bodies are all different and interact in different ways, so some tilt forward or back can be a fine thing to explore.
It looks like your hips are rocking. Whenever my hips are rocking, that tells me that my saddle height is too high. I drop in small increments until the rocking goes away.
I’m not sure this is a bike fit issue since it seems like you fit quite nicely on this bike. Your pedalstroke looks healthy and your reach is natural and not overextended.
The knee pain could be coming from gearing, decision-making during the rides or other health related factors.
How do you climb? What’s your pedaling-style? Are you a spinner or a grinder? Are there a lot of elevation changes on your commute? All of these things are part of the equation.
As far as what you could do bike fit wise, you have quite long limbs in relation to the bike, so you could probably make-do with raising the saddle a half CM. See if the longer leg-extension could alleviate your knee pain, as too low of a saddle height can lead to front knee pain. You have plenty of leg real-estate so don’t be afraid to experiment.