Will bike shoes and "clip-in" bike pedals alleviate my knee pain?

My left knee has been hurting lately. It hurts when I walk up stairs or when I put any additional pressure on it other than what it takes to walk (ie. lifting, running). The only thing I can attribute it to is that I've been biking relatively a lot more recently. The last couple of weeks I've riden about 30 miles each week. I have regular pedals and I usually have on running shoes. I've heard that this combination can cause my knee to twist while pedaling. Will using bike shoes and clip-ins will keep my rides pain free. What is the reasoning behind this?

Start by making sure the bike is set up correctly. In addition to what the others have recommended, also check the front to back seat adjustment.

If you are riding with platform pedals now, try rotating your left heel inward or outward a few degrees. If that makes the pain go away then you can adjust a set of clipless pedals to keep your foot in that position. In the Look system, that means getting the black "Zero degree float" cleats and then adjusting them to the correct position to eliminate the pain.

This may seem counter to conventional wisdom, but I have seen it work. Usually float is considered a good thing. Some systems brag that they have as much as 25 degrees of float. A friend of mine was having knee pain with the red Look Keo cleats with 9 degrees of float. A switch to the zero degree float black cleats fixed the problem.

HTH

I do long-distance rides regularly (50+ miles) wearing regular sneakers and I've never experienced knee problems because of it.

You might want to note what part of your foot you are using to push the pedal. The best part to use is the ball of your foot (the part of your foot right behind the toes). If you are using the arch or the the heel of your foot, it can cause knee discomfort.

You also might want to check your bike setup. Having the seat too low is the most frequent cause of knee pain. One needs to have the seat high enough to permit comfortable (but not excessive) leg extension on pedaing so it won't feel like all the pedaling effort is coming from your knees.

One might also check the horizontal positioning of the seat and make sure it's not set too far back or too far forward.

Hope this helps a little.

Some clipless pedals have relatively low "float", where there's little to no room for your knee to move-- my Dura-Ace pedals are like this. My friend has knee problems and recently bought some Speedplays because their extra "float" helped his knee soreness.

If you can, you might want to see about trying someone else's out.

However, I will mention that 30 miles weekly is nothing, and probably not enough to cause problems from proper mechanics. I would bet that your seat isn't high enough -- that was my problem when I started riding. You should not be able to touch with your feet when sitting on the saddle. When your leg is at the bottom of the pedal stroke your leg should be at 'almost' straight. Also make sure your hips aren't rocking when you pedal.

I would say it could be one of two things. Firstly as you mentioned, not having "clipless" pedals. Or secondly it could be that your bike dosen't fit you properly. Alot of people underestimate how important it is that your bike fits properly. I would reccomend going to you local bike store and getting your bike adjusted so it fits really well if you already havn't already or buying yourself a pair of clipless pedals and road shoes. If these don't work then it would be a good idea to visit the doctors just incase its something more serious.

Anyway hope that helps

The most common causes are:

Faulty saddle height or position
Crank too long - especially if you have chondromalacia
Pushing excessively high gears (slow cadence in cold weather)
Too much leg work in the gym
Cleat alignment
Individual cyclist anatomy

Check out this link, Lots of Cycling Knee pain info
http://www.cptips.com/knee.htm

Assuming your bike is properly set up otherwise (seat height, etc.), yes, they can help to keep your feet and knees properly aligned.