Background: I am new to cycling, started in September 2017 when I bought a good road bike (Cervelo) and got a professional fitting. I rode it outside a few times that fall, then bought a smart trainer and moved inside for the winter. Spring rolled around and suddenly I started having knee pain in my left knee when I biked. This continued all summer. I did 4 triathlons in that condition, but the knee pain was really limiting how much power and how long I could bike. The only correlation to the time frame of when the pain started was that I swapped out my Shimano pedals for a set of PowerTap P1's in early April before heading back outside. I also did go to an ortho doc (who is also a triathlete) and he doesn't think there is anything structurally wrong with my knee, but we never did any imaging to confirm that.
This past fall, I bought a tri-bike (QR) and again got fitted. Road that bike on the trainer all winter with the shimano pedals and had knee pain all winter. I even went back for a fitting specific to this issue and we adjusted the cleats some but no help long term. Finally in an act of desparation, my coach suggested that I just put flat pedals on the bike. So I went to walmart and bought a set of $10 flat pedals and within a few rides the pain was gone. I could now ride for an hour pain free.
I looked at how my feet were sitting on those flat pedals and I tended to be a bit toe out. I rode on the flat pedals for 2 months and last night I put the PowerTaps's on my tri-bike on the trainer, adjusted the cleat so that it was a bit more toe out and rode for 45 minutes. Almost immediately the pain was back in my knee.
Summary: Left knee pain when clipped in, no pain when using flat pedals. Bike or type of pedal (shimano or powertap) doesn't matter.
As you can imagine I am frustrated and looking for suggestions.
This past fall, I bought a tri-bike (QR) and again got fitted. Road that bike on the trainer all winter with the shimano pedals and had knee pain all winter. I even went back for a fitting specific to this issue and we adjusted the cleats some but no help long term. Finally in an act of desparation, my coach suggested that I just put flat pedals on the bike. So I went to walmart and bought a set of $10 flat pedals and within a few rides the pain was gone. I could now ride for an hour pain free.
I looked at how my feet were sitting on those flat pedals and I tended to be a bit toe out. I rode on the flat pedals for 2 months and last night I put the PowerTaps's on my tri-bike on the trainer, adjusted the cleat so that it was a bit more toe out and rode for 45 minutes. Almost immediately the pain was back in my knee.
Summary: Left knee pain when clipped in, no pain when using flat pedals. Bike or type of pedal (shimano or powertap) doesn't matter.
As you can imagine I am frustrated and looking for suggestions.