Is a pro bike fit worth it?

Burt25

I posted previously about problems getting my saddle height set as I have a Cannondale Synapse Carbon and once seatpost is cut there's only 15mm of adjustment left. I have been quoted £120 for a pro bike fit (1.5 hours). Is this reasonable / is it money well spent or should I simply follow general guidance on saddle height eg. Greg Le Monde formula, 30 degree leg angle etc. I don't want to cut my seatpost incorrectly, but is £120 a bit steep?

smidsy

A proper bike fit is money well spent IMO. However 1.5 hours seems a little short.

e.g. Adrian Timmis (Cadence Sport) takes 3 to 4 hrs for £150 and that includes custom footbeds.

iPip

If you're having problems (mine was knee pain) it's worth every penny.
If you're competing and need every last watt then it's probably worth it.
If the above don't apply, then I personally wouldn't have bothered.

I got a BG fit earlier this year and it was around 3hrs.

kingrollo

smidsy wrote:

A proper bike fit is money well spent IMO. However 1.5 hours seems a little short.

e.g. Adrian Timmis (Cadence Sport) takes 3 to 4 hrs for £150 and that includes custom footbeds.

Mine at Cadence sport was well under 2 hours. Was blighted by injury before and still am - really not sure about the fit to be honest. Footbeds are pretty good though. - just take the OTT recommendations with a pinch of salt - he almosts comes across as a faith healer by some on here.

themekon

Now I've never had one so I'm not knocking them . However there are only three points of contact on a bicycle and enough written about it.
How on earth did folk manage before bike fitting services ? If you can ride your bike without any discomfort for a fair few hours then there can't be a lot wrong.

giant_man

It's worth every penny to get a (good) bike fit. Look upon it as an investment.

Scotty-Gee

I wish there was a local one here - I consider it an investment for comfort and efficiency.

TakeTurns

Depends on your current fit and how you feel.

If you think there's room for improvement then possibly yes.

Gizmodo

In my opinion you can't do a decent bike fit yourself, you need someone looking at your position, not whilst sitting stationary on the bike, but whilst on a turbo actually pedalling. You need to look for how your knees travel, both from the front as well as the side, how you sit on the bike and how you back feels.

If you've got an experienced friend, a turbo and an hour then go for it. If not then a bike fit is, IMHO, well worth it if you are serious about putting in multiple hours of riding each week.

bahzob

A proper bike fit is probably the best value single investment you can make when cycling.

I had been riding for years and taken all sorts of advice + got a cheap fitting done by a LBS (using just a lookup chart of a few basic measures) before I got a proper one done (by Cyclefit,London though I know others are just as good). It wasn't cheap, around £150 I think but took several hours.

I was gobsmacked by the result. First, despite spending over 40 years in my body it turned out I didn't know it so well. I thought I stood pretty straight, in fact I leaned to one side and have one leg longer than the other.

Pretty much every setting on my bike changed and the result in terms of comfort and performance was like night and day. My only regret is not doing one much much earlier.

TheTallCyclist

Yes. The best value you can get for cycling. I did my Specialized BG fit a year ago. It took about 3-4 hours, i think it cost me EU150, I can't remember exactly though. Here is my experience.
http://www.thetallcyclist.com/2012/01/e ... metry-fit/

You would be surprised how different in a good way riding a bike feels after a PRO fit session!

NickSy

I've never had a bike fitting but was considering it until I saw this excellent webpage:

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

Didn't bother after that and I seem to have found a happy setup. Saddle height is by far the most important adjustment IMHO.

simon_masterson

themekon wrote:

Now I've never had one so I'm not knocking them . However there are only three points of contact on a bicycle and enough written about it.
How on earth did folk manage before bike fitting services ? If you can ride your bike without any discomfort for a fair few hours then there can't be a lot wrong.

This.

It depends on what your bike is and what you do with it. I haven't (yet) had a bike fit; I can't afford one. I'd be happy to 'talk speed' with anybody (a bike fit isn't a prerequisite for going fast!), but nevertheless if your bike is a £350 Carrera or even a £700 Specialized and you ride for fun at the weekends, unless you are having problems (knees/feet/other discomfort) you do not 'need' a professional bike fit; any more than you 'need' Assos bibs rather than DHB. If you bought your bike from a half-decent bike shop you would hope that at the very least they would have made sure that you ended up with an appropriately-sized bike, and if the stem length were inappropriate that they would have at least have informed you. There are also plenty of resources on the internet (and other knowledgable cyclists, bike shops, cycling clubs, books, etc) that can help you to set your seat height, saddle fore-aft, cleat positioning, etc. Use them.

If on the other hand your bike is a £5000 Cervelo and you race/have ambitions of racing that are definitely on course for fruition/otherwise ride at a very high standard such that high end hardware is actually useful to you/aren't a fat knacker, a professional bike fit is indeed worth every penny, I'm sure. (unless of course you are so good at doing it yourself that you don't have much to gain )

So is a pro bike fit 'worth it'? I'd say for most people that it isn't, but only in much the same way that paying for basic bike repairs isn't worth it either; you aren't getting that much for your money and you can do it yourself. On the other hand, it will almost certainly make your cycling more enjoyable. If you are more fortunate than am I and £150(+) isn't an enormous sum of money to you, by all means have a bike fit.

NewTTer

Simon Masterson wrote:

themekon wrote:

Now I've never had one so I'm not knocking them . However there are only three points of contact on a bicycle and enough written about it.
How on earth did folk manage before bike fitting services ? If you can ride your bike without any discomfort for a fair few hours then there can't be a lot wrong.

This.

It depends on what your bike is and what you do with it. I haven't (yet) had a bike fit; I can't afford one. I'd be happy to 'talk speed' with anybody (a bike fit isn't a prerequisite for going fast!), but nevertheless if your bike is a £350 Carrera or even a £700 Specialized and you ride for fun at the weekends, unless you are having problems (knees/feet/other discomfort) you do not 'need' a professional bike fit; any more than you 'need' Assos bibs rather than DHB. If you bought your bike from a half-decent bike shop you would hope that at the very least they would have made sure that you ended up with an appropriately-sized bike, and if the stem length were inappropriate that they would have at least have informed you. There are also plenty of resources on the internet (and other knowledgable cyclists, bike shops, cycling clubs, books, etc) that can help you to set your seat height, saddle fore-aft, cleat positioning, etc. Use them.

If on the other hand your bike is a £5000 Cervelo and you race/have ambitions of racing that are definitely on course for fruition/otherwise ride at a very high standard such that high end hardware is actually useful to you/aren't a fat knacker, a professional bike fit is indeed worth every penny, I'm sure. (unless of course you are so good at doing it yourself that you don't have much to gain )

So is a pro bike fit 'worth it'? I'd say for most people that it isn't, but only in much the same way that paying for basic bike repairs isn't worth it either; you aren't getting that much for your money and you can do it yourself. On the other hand, it will almost certainly make your cycling more enjoyable. If you are more fortunate than am I and £150(+) isn't an enormous sum of money to you, by all means have a bike fit.

Both of these +1
As I have said many times before for the vast majority of us paying out for a bike fit is like seeing "The emperors new clothes", and after paying out that cash you are not going to admit it was wasted!

stronginthesun

i think a good fit comes with fitness

jgsi

Simon Masterson wrote:

If on the other hand your bike is a £5000 Cervelo and you race/have ambitions of racing that are definitely on course for fruition/otherwise ride at a very high standard such that high end hardware is actually useful to you/aren't a fat knacker, a professional bike fit is indeed worth every penny, I'm sure. (unless of course you are so good at doing it yourself that you don't have much to gain )

t.

So , the unfashionable poor are better off with a Taiwanese toolkit from Poundland and sort it out for themselves

LegendLust

NewTTer wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

themekon wrote:

Now I've never had one so I'm not knocking them . However there are only three points of contact on a bicycle and enough written about it.
How on earth did folk manage before bike fitting services ? If you can ride your bike without any discomfort for a fair few hours then there can't be a lot wrong.

This.

It depends on what your bike is and what you do with it. I haven't (yet) had a bike fit; I can't afford one. I'd be happy to 'talk speed' with anybody (a bike fit isn't a prerequisite for going fast!), but nevertheless if your bike is a £350 Carrera or even a £700 Specialized and you ride for fun at the weekends, unless you are having problems (knees/feet/other discomfort) you do not 'need' a professional bike fit; any more than you 'need' Assos bibs rather than DHB. If you bought your bike from a half-decent bike shop you would hope that at the very least they would have made sure that you ended up with an appropriately-sized bike, and if the stem length were inappropriate that they would have at least have informed you. There are also plenty of resources on the internet (and other knowledgable cyclists, bike shops, cycling clubs, books, etc) that can help you to set your seat height, saddle fore-aft, cleat positioning, etc. Use them.

If on the other hand your bike is a £5000 Cervelo and you race/have ambitions of racing that are definitely on course for fruition/otherwise ride at a very high standard such that high end hardware is actually useful to you/aren't a fat knacker, a professional bike fit is indeed worth every penny, I'm sure. (unless of course you are so good at doing it yourself that you don't have much to gain )

So is a pro bike fit 'worth it'? I'd say for most people that it isn't, but only in much the same way that paying for basic bike repairs isn't worth it either; you aren't getting that much for your money and you can do it yourself. On the other hand, it will almost certainly make your cycling more enjoyable. If you are more fortunate than am I and £150(+) isn't an enormous sum of money to you, by all means have a bike fit.

Both of these +1
As I have said many times before for the vast majority of us paying out for a bike fit is like seeing "The emperors new clothes", and after paying out that cash you are not going to admit it was wasted!

Just wondering if you have you ever had a bike fit?

Burt25

Simon Masterson wrote:

themekon wrote:

Now I've never had one so I'm not knocking them . However there are only three points of contact on a bicycle and enough written about it.
How on earth did folk manage before bike fitting services ? If you can ride your bike without any discomfort for a fair few hours then there can't be a lot wrong.

This.

It depends on what your bike is and what you do with it. I haven't (yet) had a bike fit; I can't afford one. I'd be happy to 'talk speed' with anybody (a bike fit isn't a prerequisite for going fast!), but nevertheless if your bike is a £350 Carrera or even a £700 Specialized and you ride for fun at the weekends, unless you are having problems (knees/feet/other discomfort) you do not 'need' a professional bike fit; any more than you 'need' Assos bibs rather than DHB. If you bought your bike from a half-decent bike shop you would hope that at the very least they would have made sure that you ended up with an appropriately-sized bike, and if the stem length were inappropriate that they would have at least have informed you. There are also plenty of resources on the internet (and other knowledgable cyclists, bike shops, cycling clubs, books, etc) that can help you to set your seat height, saddle fore-aft, cleat positioning, etc. Use them.

If on the other hand your bike is a £5000 Cervelo and you race/have ambitions of racing that are definitely on course for fruition/otherwise ride at a very high standard such that high end hardware is actually useful to you/aren't a fat knacker, a professional bike fit is indeed worth every penny, I'm sure. (unless of course you are so good at doing it yourself that you don't have much to gain )

So is a pro bike fit 'worth it'? I'd say for most people that it isn't, but only in much the same way that paying for basic bike repairs isn't worth it either; you aren't getting that much for your money and you can do it yourself. On the other hand, it will almost certainly make your cycling more enjoyable. If you are more fortunate than am I and £150(+) isn't an enormous sum of money to you, by all means have a bike fit.

Simon,
After giving this much thought - I have to say I agree with you. I got a new seatpost for my bike and found that it can be raised and lowered in the frame unlike the original one so I am just going to ply around with the saddle height and position until I find what Im comfortable with. If I start getting pains then I will resort to the bike fit. Hopefully my own body can tell me when Ive got it right!

NewTTer

LegendLust wrote:

NewTTer wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

themekon wrote:

Now I've never had one so I'm not knocking them . However there are only three points of contact on a bicycle and enough written about it.
How on earth did folk manage before bike fitting services ? If you can ride your bike without any discomfort for a fair few hours then there can't be a lot wrong.

This.

It depends on what your bike is and what you do with it. I haven't (yet) had a bike fit; I can't afford one. I'd be happy to 'talk speed' with anybody (a bike fit isn't a prerequisite for going fast!), but nevertheless if your bike is a £350 Carrera or even a £700 Specialized and you ride for fun at the weekends, unless you are having problems (knees/feet/other discomfort) you do not 'need' a professional bike fit; any more than you 'need' Assos bibs rather than DHB. If you bought your bike from a half-decent bike shop you would hope that at the very least they would have made sure that you ended up with an appropriately-sized bike, and if the stem length were inappropriate that they would have at least have informed you. There are also plenty of resources on the internet (and other knowledgable cyclists, bike shops, cycling clubs, books, etc) that can help you to set your seat height, saddle fore-aft, cleat positioning, etc. Use them.

If on the other hand your bike is a £5000 Cervelo and you race/have ambitions of racing that are definitely on course for fruition/otherwise ride at a very high standard such that high end hardware is actually useful to you/aren't a fat knacker, a professional bike fit is indeed worth every penny, I'm sure. (unless of course you are so good at doing it yourself that you don't have much to gain )

So is a pro bike fit 'worth it'? I'd say for most people that it isn't, but only in much the same way that paying for basic bike repairs isn't worth it either; you aren't getting that much for your money and you can do it yourself. On the other hand, it will almost certainly make your cycling more enjoyable. If you are more fortunate than am I and £150(+) isn't an enormous sum of money to you, by all means have a bike fit.

Both of these +1
As I have said many times before for the vast majority of us paying out for a bike fit is like seeing "The emperors new clothes", and after paying out that cash you are not going to admit it was wasted!

Just wondering if you have you ever had a bike fit?

Yes I have, excellent service, and fantastic value for money. I DID IT MYSELF, it really isnt difficult.

CiB

I had one for £80 a couple of years ago after failing to sort my then new bike, and I like to think that I know what I'm doing when it comes to fettling bikes. The fit transformed it from an ok bike that I'd almost considered flogging on Ebay to get something better, to the best bike I've owned. Eighty quid compared to the cost of the bike and the potential loss in selling it and buying another is the square root of sod all.

Is it worth it? Yes, especially if you've run out of options. And you only really need one.

Velonutter

This has been done to death, if you haven't had a bike fit then you are missing out.

Totally transformed my riding worth every penny.

Have a read of my fit with Adrian Timmis: -

viewtopic.php?f=40004&t=12859250&p=17699575#p17699575

themekon

I've just had a read re' your bike fit. I'm sure he does know what he is doing ( I've ridden with him in Majorca on a training camp a few years ago). I just wondered about the fact you moved your saddle two inches back. Must have been set well forwards to move back that amount.

Velonutter

Yep my saddle was right forward as I used to set my bike up at the front and adjust everything backwards, totally stupid I know, but there were loads of subtle things that he did that changed the way the bike handled and indeed all my bikes.

Before I stripped the LOOK down, I took measurements using a Laser Wall aligner and made sure that I knew every single measurement after the fit as advised by Adrian, I then transferred all these settings to every bike and the change was remarkable.

Well worth the money and I love the foot insteps as well.