Does the general rule still hold true for proper tri fit? Everything you read with respect to standard bike fit (road geometry) says that if you drop a plumb line from the front of your knee (pedal at 3 o’clock), it should intersect your pedal axle. So does this still matter for tri geometry? Or is it just the 90*, 90*, <=155* angles that must be met?
The reason I ask is that I recently steepened my relative seat angle, and lowered the front end (keeping the proper angles). This has my front knee (at 3 o’clock) about 5-6cm in front of the pedal axle. On the last couple of long rides, I have had some front, and front-inner knee pain. I don’t think it is a seat height issue as my leg/knee angle as measured in Dan’s bike fit article is right about 150*. The other problem that is generally suggested for this type of pain is your knee being too far forward relative to the pedal. Could it be that it just take some time for my knees to get used to, or is this as issue? The last thing I want to do is have to shut it down for a while because I screwed up my knees. Any suggestions?
knee over pedal spindle does not apply to tri bike fit. of course you may have something amiss about your fit, or with your riding style, but the simple fact that your knee is not over your pedal axle at 3 o’clock is not in itself the culprit.
Thanks for the quick response, any suggestions as to what else may be amiss as to fit or riding style? I plan to have Perry at Landis check everything out in the next week or two.
Yeah, for tri bike fit, KOPS was busted years ago.
So to answer about your knee… Are your body angles the same? Or did you close up the hip angle at all? Thinking that if you did, you might be tracking your knee outward a little to compensate. That might show up as pain in the knee or ankles. Try a frontal video to check it out.
Did you ease into your new position, making minor adjustments over a period of time, or did you do it all at once?
5-6 cm in front of the pedal spindle seems like a lot to me, regardless of tri-bike fit theory. Lots of stress on the patellar tendon (which is probably the source of your pain).
knees? could be lotsa things. mine hurt right now. no telling. could be just a temporary thing (one hopes). maybe something canting would fix. or a faster cadence. but it’s hard to say.
one thing: lots of people who go forward, and low, have an uncomfortable saddle. so they point the nose down. then, with every revolution of the cranks you’re not only making the bike go forward, but you’re pushing yourself back up into the saddle. that’s a recipe for knee problems.