Hi, I've been riding a for a few years now, and would like to ask a question about Cleat position Bike setup.
I'm getting a real ache in my thighs, just above my knee (About 2-3 inches above my knee I suppose where my quadriceps tendon and muscle meet I could be wrong biology was never my strong point) Anyway when Riding it kind of feels like I'm doing all of the work with this area of my leg. I would have thought the main power should be coming from futher up my thigh??
As a result this area of my leg seems to get fatigued very easily and as a result I don't ride as much as I would like.
Could the position of my cleats cause this (they are at the moment directly over the ball of my foot) IE would moving them further back or forward direct the force to a different area of my leg, or is it more fundmental to my riding style, I try to spin as much as poss.
I know absoulutely zip about cleat position. But, there is an article in this months Bicycling Magazine on knees that may help answer some of your questions. Good Luck!
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Hi, I've been riding a for a few years now, and would like to ask a question about Cleat position Bike setup.
I'm getting a real ache in my thighs, just above my knee (About 2-3 inches above my knee I suppose where my quadriceps tendon and muscle meet I could be wrong biology was never my strong point) Anyway when Riding it kind of feels like I'm doing all of the work with
this
Quoted message said:
area of my leg. I would have thought the main power should be coming from futher up my thigh??
As a result this area of my leg seems to get fatigued very easily and as a result I don't ride as much as I would like.
Could the position of my cleats cause this (they are at the moment
directly
Quoted message said:
over the ball of my foot) IE would moving them further back or forward direct the force to a different area of my leg, or is it more fundmental
Hi, I've been riding a for a few years now, and would like to ask a question about Cleat position Bike setup.
I'm getting a real ache in my thighs, just above my knee (About 2-3 inches above my knee I suppose where my quadriceps tendon and muscle meet I could be wrong biology was never my strong point) Anyway when Riding it kind of feels like I'm doing all of the work with this area of my leg. I would have thought the main power should be coming from futher up my thigh??
As a result this area of my leg seems to get fatigued very easily and as a result I don't ride as much as I would like.
Could the position of my cleats cause this (they are at the moment directly over the ball of my foot) IE would moving them further back or forward direct the force to a different area of my leg, or is it more fundmental to my riding style, I try to spin as much as poss.
It's unlikely your cleats would cause you muscle aggravation. My first guess would be that your saddle is too low.
Could the position of my cleats cause this (they are at the moment
directly
Quoted message said:
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over the ball of my foot) IE would moving them further back or forward direct the force to a different area of my leg, or is it more fundmental
to
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my riding style, I try to spin as much as poss.
It's unlikely your cleats would cause you muscle aggravation. My first guess would be that your saddle is too low.
Thanks Bomba, I thought that at 1st, but my Saddle height is by the book pretty much. Bottom of the pedal stroke my leg is just short of locked. When riding in your most used postion, where abouts on your thigh does it feel like the power is coming from? Mick
It's unlikely your cleats would cause you muscle aggravation. My first guess would be that your saddle is too low.
Thanks Bomba, I thought that at 1st, but my Saddle height is by the book pretty much. Bottom of the pedal stroke my leg is just short of locked.
Hmm. Despite this you still have too much strain going through the wrong part of the leg. I suggest playing around with your saddle position, height and fore / aft to try and find something more comfortable.
If it were cleat position, you'd more likely find discomfort to the sides of your knees in the cruciate ligaments.
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When riding in your most used postion, where abouts on your thigh does it feel like the power is coming from?
"bomba" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
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mick said:
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It's unlikely your cleats would cause you muscle aggravation. My first guess would be that your saddle is too low.
Thanks Bomba, I thought that at 1st, but my Saddle height is by the book pretty much. Bottom of the pedal stroke my leg is just short of locked.
Hmm. Despite this you still have too much strain going through the wrong part of the leg. I suggest playing around with your saddle position, height and fore / aft to try and find something more
comfortable.
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If it were cleat position, you'd more likely find discomfort to the sides of your knees in the cruciate ligaments.
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When riding in your most used postion, where abouts on your thigh does
it
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feel like the power is coming from?
Higher up, pretty much the middle of the quad.
Could it be a problem with the crank length? I noticed that on my little sisters kiddie bike, they use regular length cranks, so that even though her legs are the right length when at full stroke, they come way back up to her gut when she is pedalled up... her cranks are definitly too long.
It's unlikely your cleats would cause you muscle aggravation. My first guess would be that your saddle is too low.
Thanks Bomba, I thought that at 1st, but my Saddle height is by the book pretty much. Bottom of the pedal stroke my leg is just short of locked.
Hmm. Despite this you still have too much strain going through the wrong part of the leg. I suggest playing around with your saddle position, height and fore / aft to try and find something more comfortable.
If it were cleat position, you'd more likely find discomfort to the sides of your knees in the cruciate ligaments.
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When riding in your most used postion, where abouts on your thigh does it feel like the power is coming from?
Higher up, pretty much the middle of the quad.
How is your KOPS? ( knee over pedal something) You might want to have your bike fit checked out by a knowledgable LBS person.
Could the position of my cleats cause this (they are at the moment directly over the ball of my foot) IE would moving them further back or forward direct the force to a different area of my leg, or is it more fundmental to my riding style, I try to spin as much as poss.
The position of your cleats may be involved in this as may other factors like saddle height and angle. I'm no expert but I'd try moving the cleats around. Mainly 'cause you suggest this yourself and you probaly have a hunch where it's at. Moving the cleats back will minimize the amount of muscles involved and how much your ankle will move. Susanne Ljungskog that recently won the womens roadrace at the worlds in Hamilton has built a special shoe where the cleat is almost in the middle of the foot. Needless to say she is a strong spinner. Moving the cleats forward will accentuate your ankling motion. This may give you achilles tendon pain instead.
> It's unlikely your cleats would cause you muscle aggravation. My first guess would be that your > saddle is too low.
Thanks Bomba, I thought that at 1st, but my Saddle height is by the book pretty much. Bottom of the pedal stroke my leg is just short of locked.
Hmm. Despite this you still have too much strain going through the wrong part of the leg. I suggest playing around with your saddle position, height and fore / aft to try and find something more comfortable.
If it were cleat position, you'd more likely find discomfort to the sides of your knees in the cruciate ligaments.
Quoted message said:
When riding in your most used postion, where abouts on your thigh does it feel like the power is coming from?
Thanks for all the answers people. I got out Zinn last night and had a read through the bike fit section, and made a few measurements, it seems my seat was a good 1.5 inch too high which may have been it, now that I've lowered it my leg still locks at the bottom of the stroke so go knows how I set it higher :0). I'll test ride for a few days and see... Cya Phil
Thanks for all the answers people. I got out Zinn last night and had a read through the bike fit section, and made a few measurements, it seems my seat was a good 1.5 inch too high which may have been it, now that I've lowered it my leg still locks at the bottom of the stroke so go knows how I set it higher :0). I'll test ride for a few days and see... Cya Phil
Hmmmm. 1.5 inches to high sound a little suspicious. I'm not so sure that you could peddle at all if it really was that high. You'd be liable to break your lower back in two as your hips would be going up and down like pistons. Besides when the saddle is to high your knees usually hurt on the back side. Maybe you should recheck this. A very simple method to get you on track is to put your *heels* on the pedals and raise your saddle until you can almost not pedal any more. This can be done by pedaling backwards on a static bike that somebody is holding for you. This will have you in the ballpark for riding on asphalt. Slight modifications may need to be done, but usually very small. Your hipbones shall not move up and down when you are done. Once you go off road you start lowering your saddle depending on the terrain. This I'm experimenting with myself at the moment. For normal XC riding it seems I'm pretty comfortable with my saddle about 4-8 cm lower, depending on terrain, than on the road.
