My Front Derailleur broke on a 37mile tour today. It was stuck in high gear so I had to really stomp the peddles to get up some pretty massive hills. Occasionally while stomping I would get this really sharp stabbing pain in my left knee. It happened maybe five or six times on the ride.
Right now it feels like a very light dull ache.
Question #1: Do you have any ideas what the pain could be?
Question #2: Should I worry?
Question #3: I was planning on riding sixty miles on my other bike (which is not broken) tomorrow. Do you think that’d be safe?
had something similar today while trail riding on my MB - it’s because my seat is too low, so my knee is bent too much when applying all the force i can muster on the pedal between 1 and 3 o’clock. hurts just above the kneecap, on the medial side of my left leg, which is coincidentally the leg i use to begin pedaling (so it takes the brunt of the force required to break inertia’s hold).
never happens on my tri bike, because the saddle on it is much higher.
had something similar today while trail riding on my MB - it’s because my seat is too low, so my knee is bent too much when applying all the force i can muster on the pedal between 1 and 3 o’clock. hurts just above the kneecap, on the medial side of my left leg, which is coincidentally the leg i use to begin pedaling (so it takes the brunt of the force required to break inertia’s hold).
never happens on my tri bike, because the saddle on it is much higher.
cheers!
-mistress k
That worries me because I have never experienced the same pain on my road bike.
My road bike is a Specialized Allez Elite XXL (61cm) frame.
My Time Trial Bike is a Specialized Transition XL (58cm) frame.
Both are the biggest frames Specialized makes for the respective bikes. My road bike’s seat is MUCH higher, but my Transition has the seat maxed out on height.
IF that were the issue, do you know if it could cause any permanent damage?
repetitive stress on a ligament? probably…i’m not a doc, but if something hurts and you do it a lot, it’ll probably have some kind of unpleasant consequence.
could the seat post be swapped out for a longer (aftermarket?) one?
I have had similar pain and yes most likely due to your seat being too low and pushing a big gear.
I would have someone look at your fit to make sure that you are in a good position.
I was training for an IM and riding a lot. My knee hurt a bit sometimes but I thought probably because of all the miles I was putting in. Kept riding and it just kept getting worse over time. Went in and got my bike checked and they said you seat is way too low which is putting pressure on your knee on every pedal stroke and I was mainly using my quads. In the end my quad was pulling my kneecap out of alignment and I developed the cycling version of Patela tendonitis. I ended up being off the bike for 6 months with recovery and rehab. Running and walking were painful as well.
I don’t think you are close to getting to this point but I recommend that you get your fit checked out and if the pain continues go get checked out by a doctor.