Icculus21

Everybody says a fitting is a necessity... according to my LBS a simple fitting is done by standing over the top tube. However, I always read about more advance fittings when the stem length, rise, handlbars, cleat position, etc is all adjusted for the optimal fit.

For those of you who have actually done these fittings, have you changed out components on a bike to make it a better fit? Should the LBS swap out different size components for no cost? Did you really feel a significant difference?

Going from a hybrid to a road bike, of course I feel the difference in body positioning, but I'm wondering what kind of benefit I will gain from paying extra money for a 'real' fitting, and possibly having to shell out even more for different components...

bt

only if it's professional.

mshred

i got a "professional fitting" a while back. i was having knee pain prior to the fitting.

the fitter was very experienced and very thorough. he made quite a few adjustments to my shoe/cleat/pedal set up as well as adding shoe inserts. minor adjust ments to seat fore/aft as well. no seat height adjustments.

after the fitting...no more knee pain...ta-da! i feel like my power has increased (no power meter, so cant say for sure). the primary benefit is comfort on the bike and i dont have any fear that if i really push myself my knees will be screaming at me post-ride.

it's worth noting that adjustments he made, specifically in the shoe/cleat/pedal set up, are not adjustments i would have known to make by just tinkering on my own and "listening to my body".

for me, it was money well spent.

Icculus21

Yeah, I would only do a 'professional' fitting, and by that I mean a fitting by BG FIT trained staff at the shop or somebody like Felix from R&A, who most people with experience rave about.

Looigi

What exactly does professional mean in this context?

spectastic

My bg git didn't do jack for me. same foot problem before and after

SirHustlerEsq

I read https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/ , made adjustments (stem length, pedal position, , had some lingering knee pain but was happy with the fit. Then I went to a fitter that sold me a 0-setback post for $150 on top of the $300 fitter fee and told me I needed to buy a smaller frame, the knee pain persisted. Finally I went to an osteopath who told me to move the seat all the way back on my original 25mm seat post, told me to totally disregard KOPS, and told me to put an additional 2-3* of wedge in my pedals. Zero knee pain.

I'm sure there are good fitters out there, but I don't know how anyone finds one and how you get your money's worth. I burned almost $500 when I should have just persisted with what I read on the website for free. I think the best fitter is an athlete (cyclist or tri) that happens to have an education related to the muscular/skeletal system.

Icculus21

What is pedal wedge?

As to your second point, there's a pretty well known shop here in Brooklyn called R&A, and one of the pro athletes who works there is Felix something... he first comes in for a consultation, and then does fits on your own bike based on look and feel, and most reviews say that he's fantastic, and no need for all the fancy expensive fit equipment etc.

calyth

Provided the guy is good, sure.
Mine fixed the sprawl that I had when I was using the old stem, where the bars are too far to reach. He moved the saddle a bit back to adjust for my knees. As to bar tilt, it's a bit of a toss up at the moment. Either I have a good on-the-hoods position, or a decent drops position, or half way for both. I suspect a different bar might be in my future.

calyth

My guess is these are wedges to tilt one edge of the foot up. I get flat feet, so my arches fall inwards. Insoles for my feet would prop it back up. I suppose the wedges are for people with similar issues?

kcollier5

If you are new to road cycling and you think you may be upgrading your bike at some point, you may want to wait for that, but yes, a fitting can make all the difference and if you've got someone nearby with a great reputation, go for it!

Bandera

When doing a "frame up" build for a customer every component from the frameset, groupo, bars, crank length, gearing and a whole mess of stuff is spec'ed and assembled for that individual. Not an inexpensive process but the customer, usually an experienced rider who wants a particular build (velodrome, road, cyclo cross, randonneur, touring, etc.), gets what they pay for in exact component spec and individual fitting expertise. Having a custom frame built is required by some riders and is even more involved in time, $ and thought.

Off the rack factory bikes are something else. The mfg specs to suit the flavor of the season, margin requirements and an "average" customer.
Fine tuning to better fit an individual is best negotiated up front with the selling shop. Having a clear understanding of the cost of time, value of "take off" and cost to you of replacement components is essential in the relationship.

Considering that there is no such thing as a Free Lunch and it does take time and miles to get a true feel for a new machine ride what you have and get used to it while keeping an open dialogue w/ your LBS. That said if the bike is sized correctly having a Pro fit is a good idea but all good things in life will cost. As you gain experience and mileage your requirements will also change and so the feedback loop goes around.

PS

"Did you really feel a significant difference?"

Not really, unless my customer bought beers for the shop.


-Bandera

jrobe

I gained more from this article than from bike fits I paid for in the past.

https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

halfspeed

Whether an expensive pro fit will be a benefit depends upon what kind of issues you have, how much you ride, and how competent the fitter is. Fit systems are just tools and are useless in the hands of dolts. If you're new to road cycling, don't spend the money yet. Let your LBS get you on a reasonably sized bike and ride it for a year first.

mihlbach

A professional fit is sort of like chiropractry...its probably a lot of pseudo-scientific hocus pokus that may sometimes help, but mostly tricks you into thinking you have achieved a better fit than you could possibly achieve by yourself. I've never had a pro fit, but thats my impression from reading and talking to people about it. Ymmv.

pdedes

I was fortunate to have a coach in my early race career that taught me a philosophy of fit. I used this information throughout my cycling life.

TromboneAl

My fit procedure, carried out a few years ago, consisted of reading articles like the one referenced above, and discussing things on threads here, then doing careful experiments. I got an adjustable stem, for example, and I could try a particular handlebar location on a 60 mile ride, and then make a small (as in 5 mm) adjustment based on how it felt.

I was only interested in comfort, and it was a matter of adjusting things until all neck, shoulder, butt, arm, and wrist discomfort went away. I was successful in that I've gone for centuries with no pain [get it?].

Trying for maximum efficiency is an entirely different matter, and more difficult to measure.

SirHustlerEsq

Angles the foot inward or outward (under the cleat) for pronation in my case.

Six jours

I'd say there are two schools of thought on fitting.

The first is that if you are not experienced and are not interested in putting in the effort to learn, a bike fit can be very helpful. It won't be a miracle, but it can make you comfortable and more efficient.

The second is that bike fit cannot be learned without many years of experience and cannot be done without lasers and other exotic tools, and that finding the right guru will result in unbelievable gains in your riding.

If the first category sounds reasonable to you, then you probably will not be disappointed. You may try some of the free online software (I'm pretty impressed by the Competitive Cyclist fit calculator) first and see if that is satisfactory.

If the second category sounds reasonable to you, then you should probably ignore anything I post on the topic.

iim7v7im7

All I can say is that I visited 5 LBS before recently purchasing a new road bike. I was shopping the shops as opposed to the bikes because I became more and more convinced at the price range that I was looking at the bikes from Cannondale, Giant, Jamis, Specialized and Trek were all fairly comparable. What was different were the shops and their fitting philosophies and level of rigor. My fitting (which was included for free with my bike included)

- body measurements and a formula to establish effective top tube length which established a choice between to frames
- gauging my ankle angle and placing shims beneath my shoe clips
- use of a laser gage to establish my saddle height and fore/aft position evaluating my leg extension and position
- they evaluated my back angle and arm angle and changed out my stem for a longer one
- I pedaled and looked forward to see if my neck and shoulders became tense (they did) and flipped the stem to increase the upward angle

This process took a few hours. They told me to go ride a few hundred miles and come back with some feedback to adjust my starting set up which probably got things >90% right with the rest requiring empirical experience and feedback.

Was it worth it?

To me a big YES

chaadster

Bike fittings are worth it if you don't know WTF you're doing. Yes.

halfspeed

I pretty much disagree all around. First, the competitive cyclist fit calculator is pretty poor for a number of reasons, most obviously because in 2013 they're still using seat tube length as a proxy for front end height.

Secondly, neither of your "two schools" really gets it. See, people are physically different and have different objectives which means that broad statements without the right context are rather empty. So, for example, if you're relatively healthy without special physical needs and don't put in a large amount of miles, a fit is likely overkill. Get on a bike that's close enough to your size, and you'll be fine. However, as your mileage increases and if you start competing, you'll stress your body more and any issues you might have been able to ignore previously become magnified. You may find an experienced pro can do something for you. Further, as you age and if you have physical limitations or unusual proportions, you may also find a fitting can bring a great deal of relief.

So my advice is, if you're new to the sport and don't have known physical limitations, just ride your bike for a while. Eventually, you'll figure out when and if it becomes time to see a fitter. When you do, look for someone experienced, preferably with a background in biomechanics. Talk to your peers about who they trust. Ignore whatever branded fit system they use.

I think part of the reason results vary so much is that there's really no regulation of what it means to be a "fitter". There are people advertising themselves as "pro fitters" who bought a fit system and went to a weekend seminar and there are people who are trusted by hundreds of riders with decades of experience.

unionmade

Yes, without a doubt.

bt

and after that year op should be able to fit himself.

halfspeed

Not necessarily. Read my other post.