I know the old common knowledge was pain in the back of the knee=seat too high and pain in the front of the knee=seat too low?
Is this advice worth giving a shot for an easy ride to see if discomfort might be relieved? I have a little IT Band/front of the knee pain. Not so much pain, just annoying and uncomfortable. Should I try raising my saddle? Moving it forward or back? How much?
Thanks.
probably raise it. go for a bike fit, my position was aggravating my IT pain for over a year, and the position change cleared it up QUICK. Spend the $150 or whatever for a good fit from a legit place.
I am no expert just relaying what I was told. Recently I moved the seat forward a fraction (it was a temporary adjustment until my replacement saddle came in). A cycling coach and fit expert told me to be careful with moving it too far forward as it would result in exactly the pain you are describing.
Definitely a professional fit is a good investment but you could make slight adjustments and see if the pain goes away.
Thanks, what’s the recommendation when raising the saddle? 1/8" at a time? 1/4" at a time?
I did have a good fit done at the beginning of this season and will probably go back and get reevaluated in the off-season. I am very comfortable in the aerobars. Since my fit though I know my bike fitness has come way up (not sure how that effects things if at all) and I have also probably over-cooked the run training a little.
So for right now I am going to back off on the running a little but was wondering if a bike position adjustment might help as well.
Interesting, my saddle is pretty far forward.
So maybe instead of raising it I should slide it back a little (which would also give it a relatively small effective raise). I believe when you slide the saddle forward you are suppose to raise it a little and when you slide it back lower it a little. So if I slide it back but don’t lower it, it should be a small effective raise and maybe some relief from the move backwards as well.
Before you adjust anything see how tight your hamstrings are. If they are really tight spend a few days really working on stretching them and see if that gets rid of the front of knee pain on the bike. This happened to me and it took a long time to figure out but my hamstrings were so tight they were causing front of knee pain on the bike.
I’d second the stretching. I increased volume a bit too fast, and my left knee gave me some low-grade aggravation for awhile. It felt better whenever I stretched, and finally just went away- took about 4 weeks. Stretch really well post-exercise and warm it up slowly, and that may do the trick.
Move the saddle back, maybe 1/2 cm. I had that problem and the pain originated from my glute all the way to my lower leg. It’s all good now.
Did you make any height adjustment? Theoretically when going back you are supposed to lower the saddle a little as well.
I am thinking of sliding the saddle back, maybe even a touch more than you suggested as it is pretty far forward and I ride on the nose. But I think I may leave the height as is.
Before you adjust anything see how tight your hamstrings are. If they are really tight spend a few days really working on stretching them and see if that gets rid of the front of knee pain on the bike. This happened to me and it took a long time to figure out but my hamstrings were so tight they were causing front of knee pain on the bike.
I have similar situation, my right hammy is very tight, I am stretching 3X day and icing knee and hammy but it only gets worse, I have not been doing any strong workouts, just short runs on treadmill and short, high cadence bike rides. Should I be thinking of adjusting my seat back as I read above to help on top of the stretching and ice?
Before you do anything else…please get professionally fitted. I can refer you to somebody in altlanta (are you near)? I have it band issues and I don’t recall an association of the frontal pain you are describing. Yes, when it syndrome gets severe it can pull the kneecap though. Sounds like you need to find more of a pull with your hamstrings. When I am cycling and I feel the pain in the front…it is usually b/c I am using my quads too much. Try more pulling with the hams.