eaglesandcycling

I think i need to get my bike properly fitted which I bought a year ago. It’s a gravel bike which i’ve probably put on 5000km so far. I just never really even thought of having my bike being properly fitted. So it’s quite normal for bike shops todo this?

tangerineowl

I wouldn't say it is, beyond a quick size you up by eye and out the door you go!

Worth spending the money on a reputable bike fitter in your area.

Iride01 

Depends on what you mean by fitting. I wouldn't expect a shop to do anything more with the sale of a bike than to make sure I buy the one that is an appropriate size for me.

A real honest to goodness fitting involves a lot of time and information gathering about you and watching how your body functions and moves on a bike. You do them when you need to be the best you can be on a bike and ensure that every watt you produce is turned into power to climb or speed. Professional fits are also done for people that need a better comfort level than they are able to achieve themselves with their bike.

Good professional fittings take more time than anyone should expect a sale of a bike to cover.

Juan Foote

Any time I have purchased a new bike from a shop (and while I worked at a shop) a very BASIC fit was always a part of the sale....IE adjust the seat and maybe offer a stem type thing. Beyond that I have dealt with shops that didn't do professional fitting and the one I worked with did. As stated above a professional fit is a long and laborious process and no one would be giving those away at the price of a bike.
With that said, I think for the average rider doing a spin around the neighborhood paying for a fit probably isn't really necessary.

Iride01 

Maybe I misunderstood what you were getting at. Reading again, maybe you are asking to know if every shop has someone trained as a fitter.

Well that is maybe.... depending on what you need and want. Some shops will have someone that knows from experience what works for most. Some will have a person that has studied and self taught themselves a particular mantra of fitting. Some have actually been trained in a certain fit method. Some may not offer a fitting service at all.

You just have to call them and see what you think of what they offer and how far they go. Some might not want to do anything more than raise your seat or lower it.

philbob57

Are you in pain while or after you ride? If not, what do you expect to get from a fitting?

wthensler 

That is a ready-fire-aim mentality. The absolute best way to approach a bike purchase, especially a significant one, is to get a professional fitting done first. They’ll tell you, among other things, your best stack and reach numbers.

This way you can rule certain bikes in or out, and pretty much zero in on a frame size.

A dealer has a possible conflict of interest in that they want to sell you a bike while assuring the fit is good. The two are not always congruent.

IMO it is money well spent, and in the case of a more thorough fit, will reveal some of your own shortcomings on the bike(as it did me).

DorkDisk

I did a basic KOPS on each bike I sold using a trainer, catalogs to level the front wheel, plumb bob, protractor, and measuring rod-took about 5-15 mins. Set post height, saddle fore-aft, saddle tilt, stem height, bar angle, lever angles, and explained what I was doing. Gave a little tip on posture, "bend the elbows!"

But that was only the boss and I who did that, the other sales people didn't do that. I don't like seeing people on poorly fitted bikes. Some people would return for minor adjustments; sometimes they would even buy something.