[MinskyBA]

I'm not in great shape to start, probably about 22% body fat. I recently went about a month without riding too. I got my new bike 2 weeks ago and have been riding a lot more than I used to. 2 rides 2 weekends ago, 4 last weekend, and yesterday after work. I was going to go again today, but when I went to get dressed I noticed that my knee was bothering me. It's a bit swollen, sore, and feels a little tight. I'm not limping or anything.
I decided not to ride today, I have it up with ice and I'll probably hold off on my ride tomorrow as well.

Did I just over stress it? Someone please tell me I don't have to give up my SPD's for something with (more) float...

 

[coop27]

Float is your knees' friend

Float helps your knee assume its most natural position rather than causing it to be abnormally rotated one way or the other. You can try adjusting your cleats and see if minor changes help if you want to keep the pedals tight. The other friends of your knees are proper seat positioning, easy gears and stretching.

 

[presslab]

With SPDs they have some float but they actually tend to self center when you are really pushing down on it. The cleat angle becomes very important. After I injured my knee I was able to easily find the ideal cleat angle because the pain feedback was immediate.

With other pedals the float is better so the cleat angle is not so critical; however with the right cleat angle I believe the SPD pedals are just fine.

 

[MinskyBA]

You can't change the cleat angle on the SPD's though... as far as I know anyway...

I'm thinking it's not the pedals because the problems are isolated to my right knee, not both.

If it is: does anyone know a pedal with float between that of the SPD's and CrankBro's? I rode Egg Beaters for a few weeks and hated them because I constantly felt like I was slipping all over the place. Even came out a few times when I shouldn't have.

 

[presslab]

If you don't know how to change the cleat angle than that is most likely your problem... Just loosen the bolts on the bottom of your shoe and turn the cleat.

It's only my right knee too, although that's the one I messed up in a dirt bike crash. Maybe you damaged your right knee at some point in your life.