Trainer Pain

yoda81269

Hi,

I've recently started using a trainer (Tacx Fortius x 3 sessions) and each time I have had some post session pain in my knee and inside of my ankle. I have used my normal bike with the same setup that I have done over 4000km on this year without any problems.
Has anybody had a similar problem using a trainer, is it unique to the Tacx Fortius ? It almost feels like my upper and lower leg is not aligned but twisted slightly although my cleats & shoes are also the same as I have used all year.
I'm thinking of getting my bike setup checked but I don't have any problems when cycling on the road, any ideas anyone?

DualFrontDiscs

Have you propped the front wheel up so that both wheels are level?

DFD.

blorg

Only a guess as I don't have a trainer but I imagine it is quite different to the road as the bike is strapped in to the vertical plane, on the road you can swing the bike from side to side. I would guess this makes quite a difference in terms of your usual motions.

Kurt Kinetic make a trainer to enable lateral motion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHPpqHlv2NU

yoda81269

DualFrontDiscs wrote: »

Have you propped the front wheel up so that both wheels are level?

DFD.

Yes, I have the Tacx recommended front wheel stand

Beasty

How long have your sessions been?

I have never had any problems with the Tacx. I started around February, and built up from shorter to longer rides (my longest to date has been around 3hrs 15 mins). The only real difference with the Tacx is there is very limited opportuinity to freewheel (although the system is supposed to simulate real riding, I find it quickly comes to a halt when descending). I even had knee surgery (cartilage) earlier in the year, and was able to get back on the Tacx for short sessions within a couple of days without any problem.

yoda81269

My sessions have been 40 mins and two 70mins, all three on VR courses which tend to change gradient a lot

Chips Lovell

I think blorg's comments are worth considering. Having your rear wheel bolted in place makes for a very different sensation. It could be the case that a minor misalignment in your cleats is amplified by the stationary position, in that there is no 'give' in the bike's position.

yoda81269

Could be the stationary position of the bike as I had the same problem when using a spinning bike a couple of years ago with just toe clips.
I would have thought other people may have experienced the same problem if this was the case though ?

Beasty

yoda81269 wrote: »

My sessions have been 40 mins and two 70mins, all three on VR courses which tend to change gradient a lot

I know those courses well:)

Do you find you change riding style at all on the trainer - are you out of the saddle more or less than on the road for example (I tend to stick in the saddle on the trainer)

Also. I wear cleats with quite a lot of float on them (Red Looks), and so may be less inclined to encounter the sort of issues highlighted by blorg and el tonto.

yoda81269

Beasty wrote: »

I know those courses well:)

Do you find you change riding style at all on the trainer - are you out of the saddle more or less than on the road for example (I tend to stick in the saddle on the trainer)

No my style is much the same although my cadence is probably a bit higher

Also. I wear cleats with quite a lot of float on them (Red Looks), and so may be less inclined to encounter the sort of issues highlighted by blorg and el tonto.

My cleats are Grey KEO Looks with 4.5 deg float, same as I have used for 1.5 years

Chips Lovell

yoda81269 wrote: »

I would have thought other people may have experienced the same problem if this was the case though ?

Other people may have their cleats aligned right or just be less sensitve to slight misalignments. I know that even with the grey Keo cleats, if I don't have them spot on, I'd feel it in my knees. Which is why I tend to favour the reds, since there's less chance of getting it wrong.

Anyway, I'm not sure if these kind of issues can be properly diagnosed over the web. If it were me, I'd tweak cleat position a bit and if that didn't work, I'd go looking for a professional opinion.

Murph100

Never had a problem with the Fortius, in or out of the saddle. I think the lads are right about the cleats. I use Time RSX, so I have tons of float.

As for the freewheel issue, pedal or backpedal slowly when 'descending' and it will freewheel like the real thing, the cadence sensor needs to read a value or it stops the system for safety.

Beasty wrote: »

The only real difference with the Tacx is there is very limited opportuinity to freewheel (although the system is supposed to simulate real riding, I find it quickly comes to a halt when descending).