Bike Fitting with the Bike Whisperer

foxydan

Had my fitting today and if anyone is thinking about doing this then do it with these guys.

I had searched about a bit for bike fit and read reviews from different sites but something drew me to this place. Not close, the other side of London for me, but worth the travel and time it took (around 5 hours). They are obviously busy as I had a 5 week wait but the bike already feels more comfortable to ride.

Bike Whisperer are not the cheapest bike fit you will find, but the attention to detail and quality of service is second to none. Scherrit, a man who knows his stuff about bikes, is very friendly and I can't imagine anyone more passionate about bikes and cycling. They also have a great follow up service if there are any problems which is important considering some recent posts I have seen on here.

Overall - excellent and would recommend to anyone.

jouxplan

+1 for The Bike Whisperer

I've had numerous bike fits over the years, and as is being discussed currently in another thread, there are some shockingly poor or misinformed fitters out there. My experience at The Bike Whisperer was different in every way from all the other fits I have been through (which includes flying out to USA for a fit - I was so desperate to solve my problem pedal stroke / ankles). Scherrit at the Whisperer is a man who knows what he is doing, and he is one of only 3 or 4 people in the world who has been trained and approved by Steve Hogg, the Australian bike fitting guru.

There are other great bike fitters out there - as has been said by others in these forums. Don't assume all fitters are charlatans, as is being suggested by some. Do your research, and choose carefully. My vote would always be to go to see Steve Hogg - and assuming like me you don't live in Australia, the next best thing to do is travel to London and visit The Bike Whisperer.

marcusjb

I'll add another vote for The Bike Whisperer.

I had a fitting back in 2011 as I started getting into longer distances. Scherrit took everything I wanted to achieve on board, and got me a position that has been exceptionally comfortable on everything I have tackled since. He's a great chap. Enthusiastic (can talk bikes and cycling for many, many hours!) and very knowledgeable.

If I need any more fittings for new bikes etc., he's the only person I would consider talking to.

drlodge

+1 for Sherrit @ thebikewhisperer

Great service, good coffee and tasty pizza (I was there for 6 hours). Just like my bike fitting, this was a day to be enjoyed.

kingstonian

Good news. I have a fitting booked with them for July so great to hear of so many happy customers.

topcattim

And you can add me to the list of happy customers. I had had some knee pain and was unsure whether I could make it through a week long Alps trip, but the Bike Whisperer (Scherrit) fixed me up with a whole load of minor tweaks. I really appreciated the care and time that he took. Two years after the fitting, I emailed them with a question about my handlebars (Scherrit fitted some short drop bars for me as I was overstretching on the previous bars), and Corinne was back in touch almost immediately. Great couple to do business with - in fact, the tone of the whole experience was much less "business" and much more "expert support because we love what we do and we just want to help other people love their bike more".
Thoroughly recommended. I live in Winchester and would drive the 1h 15 minutes up there again at the drop of a hat if needed.

savethemamil

+1 for the Bike Whisperer

I spent a lot of time researching bike fits and the thing that stood out from the reviews was that people said Scherrit spends most of the time figuring out how you are put together, and works on the bike setup from there, rather than trying to fit you into some pre-set formula. I had a fitting with him about a month ago and it matched the reviews exactly. The result is that the back pain I had been troubled with for some time has completely gone away. I can't recommend him highly enough.

bobinski

+1 too.
Though Scheritt did laugh a lot at my weedy calf muscles !

abondncfc

+1 again.

They are excellent and the whole process is really interesting as well

itboffin

another +1

After a couple of years of painful riding I had a full fitting no pain since, although I have changed riding style, weight and shape since then perhaps its time for a new fitting.

If you spend that much money on a bike(s) and kit the least you can do make sure it fits.

ga1

I am considering using this service. I have had a bike fitting previously but it only lasted about 3 1/2 hours for both me and my son, and they did not look at our shoes / cleet fitment.

How much does it cost for a fitting at the bike whisperer?

topcattim

GA1 wrote:

I am considering using this service. I have had a bike fitting previously but it only lasted about 3 1/2 hours for both me and my son, and they did not look at our shoes / cleet fitment.

How much does it cost for a fitting at the bike whisperer?

Google Bike Whisperer and then go to services>bike fitting.

drlodge

£235 http://www.thebikewhisperer.co.uk/servi ... e-fitting/

gabriel959

:shock:

That is 3 times more (£80) than having one with Tim Williams who has coached Emma Pooley, Lucy Gossage, Will Clarke.

drlodge

But not all fittings are the same. Yes its expensive but for me was good value.

Most of the fitting is actually looking at the shoe/pedal interface. Sherrit take alot of time to understand your physical setup, how you're put together and how you react to certain movements and stresses and this utilises his knowledge and experience. The set up of the bike itself is almost secondary, once he has setup the "person" if you like.

ga1

Thanks for the replies, obviously going mad as I looked at the site and didn't see the price

As has been said it sounds expensive as I paid a similar price for both my son and myself, however, this did not involve shoes / cleat fitment.

I have completely flat fleet and actually took up cycling after a knee operation, the one area that I always suffer pain, irrespective of the ride length, is my feet, so getting the shoe / cleat set up right is important to me.

I think I will try and get an appointment

Thanks again

Alan

drlodge

One of the more interesting exercises he'll get you to do:
- with your eyes closed, march "on the spot" for about 30 seconds. Then open your eyes and see how much you've rotated!

I rotated a bit, some have rotated about 180 degrees. There are lots of tests like this to see how you've been put together.

marcusjb

It really did surprise me (not in a bad way) at how much time was spent NOT on the bike during the fitting.

Scherrit spent a lot of time on shoes and feet and generally looking at how my body works.

The actual tweaks to my bike were really fairly minimal - it was all about the feet.

Works perfectly though.

drlodge

marcusjb wrote:

It really did surprise me (not in a bad way) at how much time was spent NOT on the bike during the fitting.

Scherrit spent a lot of time on shoes and feet and generally looking at how my body works.

The actual tweaks to my bike were really fairly minimal - it was all about the feet.

Works perfectly though.

+1 This ---^

chrisaonabike

drlodge wrote:

£235 http://www.thebikewhisperer.co.uk/servi ... e-fitting/

Quite a bit less if you don't have the cleat fitting part - check their web site.

I had one with them a few weeks back and since I have MTB shoes which Corinne thought weren't stiff enough, I just had the bike part of the fit. Although having said that, Scherrit did move one of my cleats, and thereby fixed a problem I'd had whereby one foot was much harder to clip in than the other.

Even without the cleat shimming and wedging part, I came away with a much more comfortable bike.

Note: they're intending to move out to Newbury, I believe, so those that want the fit in Ealing had best do it sooner rather than later.

redhanded

I had a fitting with Sherrit 2 years ago and +1 to all the positive comments about the service.

I wanted to get back in touch with Sherrit to clarify something from my original fitting, however their website domain seems to have expired and my emails bounce back.

Does anyone know if they are still in operation? The previous poster mentioned they were planning to move out of London... have they shut down while moving?

drlodge

I know they moved their "workshop", since I was the last person to be fitted in their front room of 185 Pitshanger Lane. The new workshop is at Northumberland House – Oasis Ealing 11 The Pavement, Popes Lane London W5 4NG

I found these number using google and the cached entries - give them a ring. I suspect they simply failed to renew the domain registration and they might not even know!

07976 897 069
0208 998 7271

redhanded

Thanks for that - the new address is less than a mile from where I live so I may just swing by to see if they are there.