i was riding the other day and my training partner noticed that my left knee strays considerably (away from the top tube) at the top of my pedal stroke. i hadn’t noticed this before, but now that its been pointed out to me, its really bugging me. my right knee stays close in no problem, but keeping my left close to the top tube feels completely unnatural. anyone else have this problem?
is it because one leg is stronger than the other? will it just take practice to strengthen/retrain my muscles or is there another way to solve this in short order, say by moving my left cleat position inwards?
Does it move closer to the top tube on the down stroke? Or is it the same distance from the top tube all of the time?
You may be pushing the pedal down with the outside of your foot. Make an effort to find out if you are pedaling different from the right side. Maybe try to pedal with one leg at a time to find any differences.
It’s also possible (but unlikely) that your pedal is bent, shoe is twisted or cleat is damaged.
You also may need your cleats shimmed, check out the other stuff first.
You may also have a flexibility imbalance. Many times the outward knee is caused by tightness on the effected side in the low back, gluteal, and hamstring muscles. You may be too extended in the upper body or the seat is too low for your flexibility capacity at this time.
Your seat could be slightly off center, thus setting your hips off kilter and effecting your knee alignment.
It will take time to retrain the muscle memory and learned biomechanics of your pedal stroke whatever the cause. Use a door mirror when on your indoor trainer to keep an eye on your pedaling mechanics.
I’ve had several training partners with a pedal astroke like that. I think that sometimes it can also be caused bypoor seat alignment, poor taint-to-saddle alignment, or even just a carry over bad habit from your last bike. If you can consiuosly adjust itwithout pain or tightness, you should be able to correct it eventually just through focus. (my 2c)
You should not have to think about your pedal stroke. A single shim may be enough to correct the problem… the best idea is either 1) not to worry about it or 2) go and see a good bike fitter to correct it.
Yes, it moves closer to the top tube on the down stroke. It doesn’t hurt to correct it though it just doesn’t seem natural. I’ll try to pedal one stroke at a time and see if there is a difference between legs. I checked my pedals, shoes, and cleats and they all seem to be straight and properly aligned. How do you go about shimming your cleats?
Yeah, I don’t want to have to have to think about it, but it just feels so unnatural to keep it close to the top tube on the upstroke that I have to–that’s the problem. Any recommendations from bike fitters out there on how to change this?
I had the same thing going on and now ride with my seat a couple cms higher. Yes, that’s a lot.
Messing with shims and cleat offset can get ugly and what happens when you lose a shim, or it slips, or cleats wear out? Tough to get abck to whatever you though was your prime set up.
So, my. 02 - Try the simple stuff first. Seat height would be my first check. If you can raise the seat some and not cause your hips to rock or have to really reach for the bottom of the pedal stroke on either side, that may straighten it out the stroke enough to satsify you.
But for the long term, leg length, inflexibility are worth assessing. The effect of raising the seat will yield some feedback in that regard.
Where are you? for bike fit guru recommendation purposes, a visit to a good one would be the best action.
It seemed counter intuitive but I have the thick part of the wedges on the inside of my cleat (toward the crank). After I had it done I understood it and they work really well for me.
Thanks JaretJ. I think I might try this. How long have you been using the wedge and is it something you still use or does it actually correct your position to the point you don’t have to use it anymore?