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Did You Get a Bike Fit?

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Fifty Plus (50+) Share the victories, challenges, successes and special concerns of bicyclists 50 and older. Especially useful for those entering or reentering bicycling.
View Poll Results: Had a bike fit?
Yes and it was worthwhile
41
41.00%
Yes and it was snake oil
5
5.00%
No never
47
47.00%
Have never even thought about it
7
7.00%
Voters: 100. You may not vote on this poll

Did You Get a Bike Fit?

Old 04-23-21, 11:08 AM
  #51  
indyfabz
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My last two road bikes were custom frame jobs, so yes in the sense that I got measured/fit before they wee made. The shop through which I bought the first one didn't do so hot a job. Another issue was that I transferred the stem and bars from another bike. I eventually went somewhere else to get a fitting. It was an improvement.
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Old 04-23-21, 12:35 PM
  #52  
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As an obese 56 year old, I tried to get back into cycling Nov 2019.
I soon discovered I was unable to bike back-to-back days due to left knee pain.

Totally self conscious, I booked a bike fit not knowing what to expect.

It was a fantastic experience, extremely informative, fixed the knee pain, and set me off in the right direction.
Now 5,500 miles later, I've been back for two " fit tune-ups" and i'm having a ball.

Original fit $300
Tune-ups $100-150 each
Parts required Zero offset seat post and shorter stem.
Oh, and the fitter didn't even try to sell me the parts, I sourced them. NO high pressure sales.

Given the price of a bike, paying to have to adjusted correctly for fit is not really a bad idea!

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Old 04-25-21, 06:14 AM
  #53  
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I had a bike fit yesterday.. it was very interesting. Since this thread is still alive I thought I would ago over some things that came up.
  1. I was doing a little side-to-side on my butt when pedaling. My seat was ever so slightly angled up so he adjusted that. It was surprising how much better it felt to make that nearly imperceptible change. This change plus some of the adjustments below seemed to solve the side-to-side motion (which I didn't really notice until he pointed it out - it was not a lot).
  2. My frame is a bit on the big side; by size charts it is accurate, I have an 86cm inseam so I "should" be on a 58cm, but in practice he said it is on the big side. He put on a shorter stem and flipped it.
  3. Due to the too-long reach I had my elbows too straight and this was in turn causing tension in my upper back and neck. This tension would always come on after an our or so into a ride and was most annoying and was limiting how long a ride I wanted to do. Anyway with the shorter/flipped stem I can put my elbows lower, and when I do that adjustment I can literally feel the tension leave my upper back.
  4. For my shoes I have very high arches which are not supported fully by the insoles in the shoes. I have had problems with tingling feet and numbness, pretty much always after an hour on the bike my toes are tingling. He suggested a model of insoles to buy and I will be getting some of those.
  5. My knees want to be wider than my feet; he moved the cleats to as wide as possible, but feels I should look into some longer pedal axles since I need even more width there.
  6. In looking at my knee angle the cranks are too long. They are 175's, he suggested I go a lot smaller (165 or 170, forget what he settled on). He also lowered the seat a small amount.
Overall going in I thought my fit was pretty good and he would find a minor thing or two. Going out I don't think I had the greatest fit to begin with, and wished I had gotten the bike fitting a lot earlier! I have not gone on a long ride yet but will soon know if any of these changes will help. I'm going to chew on the shorter cranks, along with the cranks cost I also have a crank power meter so it will be an expensive change.
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Old 04-25-21, 07:49 AM
  #54  
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Did my own trial and error after some rides and realized I am overstretching. The frame might have been 1 size bigger for me. Played around with the saddle position, deciding what stem length would fit me best. After that it feels comfortable on long rides. Even my friend asked if I went for a proper bike fit,
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Old 04-28-21, 01:31 PM
  #55  
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I did, early in my riding 'career', when ordering a new bike; when it came in, it felt too small. Subsequent years I bought larger sized bikes- found out later that was a mistake.
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Old 04-30-21, 07:42 AM
  #56  
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I’ve just augered in on the right fitting by carrying a wrench with me and adjusting when it seemed needed.

After that, matching new bikes to the old.
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Old 05-06-21, 10:16 AM
  #57  
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I use the trial-and-error method. Once you determine the correct frame size, buy the bike and begin riding. Stem length and height, saddle height and other adjustments will make themselves known. After a few rides, I'm usually very comfortable with how things fit.
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Old 05-06-21, 09:03 PM
  #58  
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My physical therapist has offered to do a bike fit and specifically she mentioned a stem extension to help my neck when cycling. Was your stem extension added for back or neck comfort or something else?
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Old 05-06-21, 10:42 PM
  #59  
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For me, my fitter/PT recommended a shorter stem to relieve the stress on my shoulders. Too long a stem was loading my shoulders and neck.
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Old 05-07-21, 12:53 AM
  #60  
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200 bucks = NO. Now if you a a professional your sponsor would pay for it. With carefully measuring your anatomy you should fit yourself correctly. After a few miles you can tweak your bike to your specifications. You will be OK
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Old 05-07-21, 11:09 AM
  #61  
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To be specific, I have never had a bona-fide "bike fitting," but I did purchase my bike from a shop that was fortunate to have a young college student on staff who sized me up perfectly without all the bells and whistles.

I hadn't been on a bike in about 15 years, and my previous one was just something I picked up at a garage sale. The ones before that were hand-me-downs from my older brothers. This kid could have sold me anything and then gone on break for the rest of the afternoon. Instead, after asking me all sorts of questions about the type and amount of riding I planned to do, he had me stand over the top-tube of several bikes and didn't say a word until, finally, he asked "How does THIS one feel?"

Apparently, it was the first one he considered a good fit for my size and build, and I knew right away that it felt better than all the others. I have owned that bike for 25 years, have ridden all kinds of dirt trails on it, have toured through several states, and ride it to work every day. I didn't have an actual "bike fitting," but the fact that a bike salesman had the knowledge and good conscience to match me up with the right frame has paid off manyfold.
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Old 05-08-21, 04:15 PM
  #62  
brownrider
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My physical therapist is the bike fitter person for the hospital PT practice. It's $100 for initial fit. Probably worth it after reading these posts.
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Old 05-09-21, 02:38 PM
  #63  
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I'd like to try one, but doubt I ever will actually do it.
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