Sorry for the late reply folks. I wanted to make some tweaks to the bike and get a solid ride in tonight before posting back.
But first some responses to some comments:
Are you on a road bike or a 29'er, and, how long do you ride? Are you climbing?
I, too, am thinking you are going too hard/too long/too soon. Early in the season, I limit riding to an hour with no knee stress and it takes a while for my knees to acclimate. I've never had knee issues other than some minor tweaks. I returned from Colorado this season with some minor discomfort and cycling actually helped strengthen the knee. Just ride in easy gears and spin more. I use Harb's foot pull-back thought in the bottom half of my cycle to reduce the push-only power stroke used by untrained riders.
Mike, I only have a 29er....no road bike (yet). The riding this spring has been a mix of flat hard packed gravel rail trail, upon which I have been doing about 20 to 30 km per ride; as well as trails in the woods, which is pretty much constantly up and down hills....some long, gradual; some short, steep. As for the pull on the upstroke, that is slowly getting burned into my cranium and becoming instinct. Just like some ski moves don't come instinctively to me yet, neither has this way of pedaling. I'll get there......
...and dont become a cycling only athlete IE hike/jog/swim play basketball elect whatever to stop over use from cycling injuries.
BW -- yeah, I gotta do something different every now and then. It's just that mountain biking is so darn fun
But, good advice.
OK, so I made some adjustments pre-ride and on-trail, and hit the flat rail trail tonight for an easy, no stress on the knees, one hour ride....about 25 km or so. Here are the changes:
1) Lowered seat about 3/4 inch = good move; smoother pedaling; no more hip wobble; better tracking of front wheel (more stable steering) due to more balanced pedaling, less bike weave.
2) Moved seat back ~1 inch = good move; knees now just slightly forward of pedal axle; far more power; smoother pedaling; really noticeable reduction in stress on the knees.
3) Inclined seat more forward (just a titch) = good move; body weight sits more on pelvic bones, rather than soft tissue; allows hips to move more freely; smoother pedaling.
(FYI: I didn't do these all at once, but made one change after another, with about 20 min. riding in between, to see what the effect of each change was).
Finally, I checked this after the ride, and adjusted (won't know the effect until my next ride):
4) Moved shoe cleats to place foot further back on the pedal, so that ball of foot is directly over pedal axle; and moved cleats so that feet are more outboard. Hope this helps too.... BTW, lateral alignment (toe-in / toe-out) was good.
So, it seems that the pain was perhaps caused by a combination of two factors: some alignment/fit problems; and, as you all confirm, doing too much/too soon/too fast/ low cadence, plus stressing the knees on the hill climbs in too high a gear. Yes Jim, I've done the same as you, thinking I was doing my body a favour, building strength and getting more exercise.
It'll probably take some time for the inflammation to subside (hopefully not too long). Time for a break from the bike, and play some soccer and football with the kids.
Thanks all, for your advice. Much appreciated! It's been a great help.
Cheers....
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