Cycling UK Forum

Thanks for the suggestion of your guide Colin. Will have a read.
Thanks for other replies too.

Debs wrote: ↑27 Nov 2022, 8:48pm Five years ago i experienced pain and weakness in one knee joint while cycling.

After medical evaluation GP - MRI scan - tumour specialist - the cause turned out to be a very old injury which over time developed into an osteochondral defect in the top of the tibia just below the knee joint. This is a benign cancer of the bone, and fortunately not that serious.
I have had no treatment for it, just a repeat MRI scan every other year to check, and it doesn't seem to be getting any worse.

My cycling concern issue became improved greatly by reducing the crank length from 172.5mm to 170mm. Although this doesn't seem a huge difference, in practise it made cycling a lot easier simply by using higher cadences and lower gears up hill.
Also, as we age it's probably a good idea to not stress the knees with low cadence power pushing.

Check you crank length, and consider replacing with shorter crank chainset if over 170mm.
If the pain persists consult your GP.

hi Debs, i'm probably being thick but why his crank length an issue - can't i just look at lowering or increasing height of saddle rather than getting new cranks? thank you for your answer - sounds awful

thanks Ian, of course - internet diagnosis is not to be relied on, so quite right of you to reinforce that.

interesting - never heard of vmo weakness, will take a look at this.

I've been cycling 12 weeks and no change to bike - same bike, a bike i purchased brand new, just suddenly got knee problem.

11 weeks pain free and last week, just appeared.

Don't use clip shoes- new to cycling and don't feel experienced enough.

Thanks for reply.

Can anyone suggest anything or provide anecdotal information? Pain in one knee, knee-cap front area.

I have been cycling for 12 weeks and I do no other activity like running or weight/gym etc but i walk 4-7 miles daily. Absolutely no knee problems until a week ago. Have been sensible and building up distance and speed gradually. Started do 5-10 mile rides at 8 mph and have been building up to current rides of 23-30 miles at 11-13 mph. I do about 65 miles a week on average and cycle on alternate days.

I have made no changes to bike set-up recently but for the last week, i get 20 - 30 minutes into a bike ride and suddenly start getting discomfort on one knee and then the pain level ramps up quite quickly making it hard to pedal home,

It's at the front of the knee, going towards the middle. Hurts only one one knee and only when cycling. Fine when walking and moving about normally.

My knee felt ok yesterday so i foolishly hedged a bet that extending my ride would work out. I had to cycle 10 + miles home very slowly as the pushing down action was sharp and hurt when making peddling motion.

I can find lots of information which describes knee pain but i can't find any on how to avoid it and how to fix the problem.

Any experience of this? Thank you.

Will bow out gracefully from this thread!

Thank you all for the constructive, useful suggestions and perspectives.

there you go - my question is why do the Strava summary figures (i'm looking at you average speed) vary so much from the graph? I was thinking i was sh*t hot at speed (not really, see earlier posts) and now i can see im pootling at 8mph

Simon - i told you i was clueless

why does "overview" on strava average vary so much from the "analysis" chart?

lol, i think i mis read.

i've gone in to stats analysis and my average speed is 8.9 mph

Thanks for all the discussion on junctions etc - very helpful. I will see if i can find a suitable mirror

Before i go off and read more about Strava and plan routes etc, here is my Strava summary from today.

It says i have an ave km per hour speed of 29 or something. I do not feel that I was going fast at all, in reality, there were a lot of times where i was crawling and tired (from HIIT i did yesterday too). I feel like i was cycling a lot longer than 38 minuites too

Is it possible that at quite a few points, I was going far too slow for Strava GPS to register movement and the app auto- paused?

I've never been inclined to have a training app before, so I definitely need to look at how it measures etc

Thanks for the further posts, it's all very helpful.

I've just loaded free Strava up to my phone and went on a relaxed bike ride this morning and it's telling me that I've had an ave speed of
18.1 mph, so that was better than expected but at some parts, i was VERY slow and getting a bit tired.

Worried about irate motorists - if i feel I'm getting irritatingly slow eg up hill on an A- road, can i signal to stay i'm stopping and let traffic overtake? I have no common sense sometimes!

Thanks. I served quite a chunk of detail - some great little tips already from all that!

I've just looked at Breeze group - that might be best rather than a cycling club with the big boys and girls until I get speed and stamina. I'm in the WS12/13 area so I'd have to pop the bike in the back of the car and then get to the nearest group start location which i think is 14 miles away.

I think it's road safety I need some practical help with even though i've been driving since 18. I mean, moving into the centre of the lane to turn right worries me a bit, roundabouts too. I live in quite a built up area and can't think of many quieter roads/junctions.

I guess early on weekends might be the best time to practice on the roads?

Stupid question but at 10 miles - 15 miles into the session I have found i'm getting quite tired and a bit slower.

Do motorists get a bit impatient, I mean I'm tolerant but is it "off" to go 10 mph for stretches?

I guess I'm asking should I build up fitness before using roads and stick to cycle paths? it is quite limiting on the cycle paths.

I'm 40, fitness is really the priority as I was so unfit on a sport holiday I went on recently, it was kind of a wasted opportunity. I'm also looking for something lower impact as i'm one of those people who look healthy as i don't carry extra weight but actually can't run the length of themselves.


Paris sounds amazing!

I hope I'm in the right place for some help and have been browsing other conversations in relation to beginner cycling.
can i provide a bit of detail and ask for suggestions?

I- I have never really cycled on roads and am unskilled at roundabouts/ moving across lanes to turn right/road positioning etc
2- I have a 37 year old bike inherited from my mother in law, Raleigh Chiltern town bike - i think. Do i need a new bike?
3- I don't know anyone who cycles and my older high school aged child doesn't want to give it a go with me.
4- I want to be able to cycle longer distances, maybe 30-50 miles but also just pootle around town on a bike with husband and kids.
5- I am not fit at all but over the last 3 days have done 2 separate 16 mile cycles which i'm pleased about.
6- I'm taller than average for a woman- 5ft 9, so no idea about bike sizes/frames/wheel sizes.
7- Reading Halfords guides online and have no idea what bike, if any, i might need to upgrade to.
8- Have a modest budget for a new bike if or when needed (around £500).
9- Don't think I'm fit enough/able to join a local group due to zero road skills and not being able to go 14 mph - think I do about 10-12 mph but haven't properly recorded it.
10- Won't have time cycle every day but wonder what I should be doing to gain speed and be able to cycle for longer.

Any suggestions on how to move forward with beginner cycling