Form fundamentals
Knee at Top
How tightly your knee compresses at the top of the pedal stroke.
What good looks like
What it is
At the top of the stroke (12 o'clock) the knee is at its most closed. Excessive compression there points to saddle height or fore/aft issues and can crowd the hip.
Why it matters
A very closed knee at the top often accompanies a saddle that's too low or too far forward, and can contribute to hip and front-of-knee discomfort on long rides.
How we detect it
We find the top of each stroke from the ankle trajectory and measure the hip-knee-ankle angle there (median across strokes). ~105-115° is typical.
How to fix it
Confirm saddle height first, then adjust fore/aft to open the top of the stroke. Persistent extremes may call for a different crank-arm length.
Recommended drills
- •Adjust saddle fore/aft
- •Re-confirm saddle height
- •Consider crank length
Run these 2-3x per week. Expect to feel a change in form 4-6 weeks in.