Not really -the knee thing comes when I lose concentration and let it twist slightly -regardless of how you are pushing, your knee is still bending and if I don't hold it straight it messes it up.
It's recovering, though -each setback is smaller than the last.
I don't do squats.
I find increase in incline and resistance is easier on the knee -less likely to twist. It's not pressure on the knee that's the problem, it's if the knee twists then I apply pressure. backwards is the same. the machine I was on this week got pissy when i went backwards and told me to pedal forwards! WTF? I thought it was going to start reducing the distance travelled