The Revolution Report #13: Knee Pain and Pedal Stroke Analysis
Knee Pain and Pedal Stroke Analysis
🚲 Quick Tips For Your Knees 🚲
Thank you for subscribing to our bi-monthly newsletter! 🎉 We’re thrilled to have you as part of our community, and even more excited to be a part of your cycling comfort and performance journey! Twice a month you can look forward to us sharing some information regarding the topics below!
🗒️ Business Updates: Stay informed about the latest news and announcements from our bike fitting business.
💪 Movement Health Tips: Get expert advice to improve your mobility, build strength, and elevate your quality of life.
🚴 Bike Fitting and Performance Education: Gain simple, practical insights into understanding your bike and why an individualized fit matters.
🙌 Community Highlights: Meet our trusted health and wellness partners and discover how they can support your goals.
📆 Workshops & Events: Be the first to know about our interactive workshops and learning opportunities to help you take charge of your health.
🚴♀️ NOW LET’S DIVE IN 🚴♂️
Business Updates:
Business Updates:
We just want to continue to extend a heartfelt and HUGE THANK YOU to our community! We have now received a total of 41 ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reviews! We thank you for your trust on your unique journeys, and cannot wait to continue to hear about your successes ahead!
👉 Book online now: Schedule Here!
Or reply to this email to learn more about which service fits your needs.
Movement Health Tips:
🚴♀️ Strength & Knee Pain Beyond the Saddle 🚴♂️
Why Knee Pain Happens
Your knees act as the middleman between your hips and ankles.
When either of those joints isn’t doing its job - due to weakness, stiffness, or poor control - the knee takes the hit. Common culprits include:
Glute weakness → overloads the quads and patellar tendon
Limited ankle mobility → reduces force absorption and changes knee tracking
Core instability → shifts power away from the hips and into the knees
The result?Pain around the kneecap, tightness after long rides, or discomfort climbing or standing out of the saddle.
Building Strength That Protects the Knee
Knee pain prevention starts with how you move! Here are key movements we coach to restore control, strength, and resilience:
✅Single-Leg RDLs or Step-Downs– Train balance and control through the hip and knee
✅Glute Bridges & Hip Thrusts– Reinforce posterior chain engagement for power and stability
✅Split Squats– Build tolerance and strength in cycling’s most functional range
✅Core Bracing & Anti-Rotation Work– Create a stable foundation for efficient pedal mechanics
Consistency in these patterns builds load tolerance, improves knee alignment, and enhances performance mile after mile.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this newsletter is for educational purposes only, and is not a substitute for individualized professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please seek a qualified healthcare professional when it comes to your unique pains, case, findings, health, etc.
Bike Fitting and Performance Education:
Over the next few months of this newsletter, I will be diving into separate pain-points that I commonly see as a Bike Fitter and give you some tips on how to start addressing them to keep you moving forward on your cycling journey!
🚴Knee Pain and Pedal Stroke Analysis🚴♀️
In a study of active cyclists, the overall 12-month prevalence of knee pain was ~ 25.8% (amateurs had higher rates)
In a UK study, 48% of cyclists reported having experienced knee pain at some point, and 26.1% in the past month.
Knee pain is the most common overuse injury in cycling — and it often sneaks up after a small change in training, bike setup, or movement quality. The good news?Most causes are identifiable and correctable!
Common Causes of Knee Pain in Cyclists
✅ Bike Fit Issues
Saddle height:Too high = overextension and pulling on hamstrings/IT band; too low = excessive knee bend and anterior knee stress.
Saddle fore/aft:Too far forward increases patellar compression; too far back increases hamstring and posterior chain strain.
Cleat placement/rotation:Misaligned cleats twist the knee, stressing ligaments and tendons.
✅ Training errors
Sudden jumps in mileage or climbing volume.
High-gear “mashing” without enough cadence.
✅ Rider-specific factors(something I see quite often and can help identify even further with having a background in Physical Therapy!)
Muscle imbalances (quads vs. glutes/hamstrings)
Limited hip/ankle mobility forcing the knee into poor tracking
Quick Fixes You Can Try to Address Your Knee Pain
Check saddle height: Place the pedal at the very bottom of the cycle and put your heel on the center of the pedal. If your knee is all the way straight and you don’t have to reach for the bottom, you are going to be close to the correct height.
Pedal smooth: Use lighter gears and maintain cadence >80rpm to reduce joint loading.
Mobility & strength work: Hip mobility, glute activation, and quad/hamstring balance reduce tracking issues.
Ice & rest if irritated: Acute flare-ups usually settle faster if addressed early.
How I Analyze Knee Tracking with Laser Assessment
One unique tool I use at Revolution Bike Fitting is laser alignment analysis:
By projecting a laser line along the rider’s femur and tibia, I can visually see how the knee tracks in the frontal plane.
This reveals whether the knee collapses inward, flares outward, or moves cleanly in line with the pedal stroke.
From there, I adjust saddle height, setback, and cleat position to reduce excess torsional stress.
We can often see immediate changes in pressure and rider comfort when alignment is dialed in and acting more like a “mechanical piston.”
Knee pain isn’t something you have to “just live with” as a cyclist. With the right fit adjustments, strength/mobility, and load management, most cases resolve quickly. My process blends clinical knowledge + precision bike fit tools (like laser analysis) to target the exact cause — so you can ride stronger, longer, and pain-free
Community Highlights
We have some amazing people around us in the surrounding communities, and we cannot wait to start highlighting our partners! Check out our Partners Page to see who we collaborate with, and if you want to learn more about someone not sponsored in this month’s newsletter please reach out to us and we will connect you to more information…or to them!
Check Out Our October Spotlight! 🎉
You'll be welcome at Bicycle Garage Indy, no matter where you might be on your journey.
Sales: BGI has a vast selection of the very best gear in bicycling and fitness.
Service: Our staff is well- trained, focused on quality, and ready to offer friendly, expert advice.
Sure, we often work with high performance athletes and technical equipment, but we also strive to be the best choice for beginners, casual riders, aspiring enthusiasts, and everyone else.
Come on in, you're invited.
Workshops and Events
If you, your team, or your community are interested in virtual or in person workshops, just REPLY TO THIS EMAIL!
If you have topics you would like to learn more about, or have questions you want us to address in this newsletter… REPLY AND LET US KNOW!
The more we can provide what you want, the better the experience will be for everyone!
Thank you for trusting us on your unique health journey!
To your health and success,
The Team at Revolution Bike Fitting
LIKE WHAT YOU READ?
The Revolution Report only reaches more people when you share it. So if you know anyone who could benefit from the information being shared forward them this email!
SUBSCRIBE HERE
Ready to Work With Us??? Click Below!
Copyright © 2025 Revolution Bike Fitting, All rights reserved.
403 Industrial Drive, Carmel, IN 46032
Our e-mail address is:
[email protected]
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can unsubscribe from this list.
