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Form fundamentals

Knee Over Pedal

Whether your knee stacks over the pedal spindle in the power phase — the fore/aft check.

Healthy range: Knee within ~2.5 cm of the forefoot at 3 o'clock

What good looks like

Elbow angle150–165°Back angle40–55°Hip angle45–55°Knee extension30–40°Ankleinformational

What it is

KOPS (knee over pedal spindle): with the crank at 3 o'clock, the knee should sit roughly above the ball of the foot. Knee well ahead = saddle too far forward (more knee shear); knee well behind = saddle far back (less quad leverage).

Why it matters

Fore/aft position changes which muscles carry the load and how much shear the knee sees. It's the second saddle adjustment after height, and the two interact — every fore/aft change shifts effective height.

How we detect it

At each detected power phase we measure the horizontal knee-to-forefoot offset and convert to centimeters. MediaPipe's toe landmark stands in for the pedal spindle, so treat it as directional rather than millimeter-exact.

How to fix it

Slide the saddle in 5 mm steps toward knee-over-forefoot, re-checking saddle height after each move. Confirm cleat position before chasing saddle numbers.

Recommended drills

  • •Slide saddle toward knee-over-forefoot
  • •Re-check saddle height after
  • •Confirm cleat position first

Run these 2-3x per week. Expect to feel a change in form 4-6 weeks in.

Common symptoms when this is off

Front-of-knee pain (knee forward)Hamstring overuse (knee back)