Bike Fit

kagemusha

I've a couple of shops near me that offer a bike fitting service for between £100-150. I've just started 'serious' cycling in the last month and half or so. However I've been ill for two weeks and still not 100%. This first week back on the bike has felt like hell. I only do 4miles each way to work, I'm also trying to build from 8 miles on a weekend and turbo training when I can but it really takes its toll on my legs and my speed has dropped by ~2mph over the 4 mile commute.

I feel like I should take this opportunity to get my bike propoerly fitted to me together with my cleat and shoe position. I've used an online bike fit calculator and honetly I'm not sure what to do with the results. Its seems its more like sizing a bike for me i.e. before purchase. If that makes sense...

For an amatuer cyclist who aspires to ride a sportive in 2014 is there much benefit to getting a pro fitting or should I just tinker with everything until it feels right?

Cheers

getnoticed

Go for a bike fit. Much better getting it setup right by a professional than DIY.

Gizmodo

In my personal opinion, and there will be others who come along to disagree, a bike fit is a sound investment. As a beginner one it's really difficult (even with the help of all the YouTube videos and web sites available) to look at yourself whilst riding a bike and determine the best position. It is much better to have an experienced 3rd party take a look at your position.

Now whether that service is worth £100 to £150 is another question. You could start cycling with some more experienced people and ask them their opinion for free for example. My first bike fit I negotiated as part of the purchase price of a new bike. I have just had a 2nd bike fit for another new bike and I gladly paid for that one.

So yes, a bike fit is (IMHO) worth while, but it's a lot of money - if you can afford it then treat yourself.

Daz555

£150? Sod that. I'd only consider that sort of money if I was trying to fix a problem which I felt was being caused by my position.

Also, if you are coming from being a relative non-cyclist, and are now "serious" then your body is likely to change so much in the coming months that a bike fit now will not reflect your more long term requirements when perhaps you are stronger and more flexible etc.

Personally I'd leave it for now and consider it a little later when I had a better feeling for the bike and my position. Keep an eye on those aches and pains though as they can give you a clue if something is not right.

PS - I'm assuming that the bike you bought does "fit" you though - many people out there are simply on the wrong size bike to start with which they then spend money on trying to put right.

kagemusha

Thanks for the replies. I've done some additional looking around and found a fitting service for £80 - a little further to travel though.

I'm 5'8" and have a 54cm frame which was bought 2nd hand, 54cm seems to fit me based upon my height/in-seam measurements and I don't currently have any major problems as such. I'd just prefer to get a fitting to maximise my enjoyment on the bike and as you say not incur potential injuries from an incorrect riding position.

djm501

kagemusha wrote:

Thanks for the replies. I've done some additional looking around and found a fitting service for £80 - a little further to travel though.

I'm 5'8" and have a 54cm frame which was bought 2nd hand, 54cm seems to fit me based upon my height/in-seam measurements and I don't currently have any major problems as such. I'd just prefer to get a fitting to maximise my enjoyment on the bike and as you say not incur potential injuries from an incorrect riding position.

I'd echo the comment about waiting. I've cycled 7500 miles in the last 14 months and not needed one yet (well until now anyway). I will get a fit on my next bike because I have received some mild nerve damage in my hands from riding a 600 km ride. Probably I'm leaning too heavily on my hands, but... it was 600 k, that's a long time on the bike. I will get it from cyclopedia in Cardiff who will deduct the £80 fee from the price of the new bike I shall order.
It doesn't sound like you're going very far at all to be frank so unless you start cranking up really long mileage (I do about 600 miles a month on average) I wouldn't fret about it. If you do start getting things like knee pain then yeah, consider it seriously.
My brother has cycled for over 20 years and has never had a bike fit until last month when he decided he wanted to see if he could use it to squeeze a little more time out of his time trials. Last I heard it was causing problems rather than fixing ones that were never there.

PhunkyPhil

I had a bike fit when I bought my custom built S-Works and if i'm honest its not worth it. People rave about getting position nailed on but you aren't there long enough or putting enough effort in to get a feel for if a change has worked. A lot of the parts on my bike couldn't be change like the frame size and crank length. If they had of sized me up prior to these decisions being made then the fit would be worth while.

If you look at your bike what are you realistically going to do if they say you need to replace a load of parts and the bill will come to say £400. if your not going to buy the parts there is no point having the test unless you have a specific issue you want to adjust.

kagemusha

Again, thanks for the replies and opinions.

PhunkyPhil wrote:

If you look at your bike what are you realistically going to do if they say you need to replace a load of parts and the bill will come to say £400. if your not going to buy the parts there is no point having the test unless you have a specific issue you want to adjust.

Realistically, if it was £400 to replace parts I would buy a new bike and get a reduction on the fitting. I was hoping enough could be done with the bike 'as is' to not need replacement parts, or at the very most a replacement stem/seat post - this sounds like going to a main car dealer and recommending I replace the air freshener and re-pressurise the A/C!..just well - because.

noiseboyfeetman

I recently had a bike fit and have to say it was a complete waste of time and money. Just set the bike making sure saddle height and for/aft position are correct and make sure the front end is comfortable, that's all I did prior to the bike fit and it was literally spot on. The only semi useful thing that came out of mine was cleat position on my shoes.

However, my brother had the same bike fit not long after he got his bike and said it was money well spent.

Peoples experiences vary and it depends on how well the bike was set up when you bought it.

NewTTer

Bike Fit = Emperors new clothes.

Refreshing to see some honest comments now starting to creep in from people saying it was a waste of their time and money. This will still not stop the politically correct brigade flaming the beggary out of me.

iPete

I've a mate who recently trained in bike fitting, the shop charges a nice sum per hour, could actually do it in 5 minutes, the rest is chit chat. On a plus side he said I'd nailed it.

Personally its money spent on stems/bars etc. and learning myself but I'd consider it if I had a persistent injury.

Lee540

My LBS are giving me a free Bike Fit tomorrow afternoon as I purchased my Merida from them.. usual price £150. I'll let you know if it makes any difference.

drlodge

There's a big difference between:
- a "simple" bike fit, where the person is altering the bike to best fit the rider, as is typical at a LBS
- a "comprehensive" bike fit where physiology is taken into account, an assessment of the foot/pedal interface, consideration of shims, wedges etc.

drlodge

Lee540 wrote:

My LBS are giving me a free Bike Fit tomorrow afternoon as I purchased my Merida from them.. usual price £150. I'll let you know if it makes any difference.

A free "simple" bike fit should come with a new bike anyway IMHO. £150 for a "simple" bike fit is way over the top.

Lee540

drlodge wrote:

Lee540 wrote:

My LBS are giving me a free Bike Fit tomorrow afternoon as I purchased my Merida from them.. usual price £150. I'll let you know if it makes any difference.

A free "simple" bike fit should come with a new bike anyway IMHO. £150 for a "simple" bike fit is way over the top.

Erm.. I can only assume its a comprehensive one. It takes an hour, I had to book 2 weeks in advance..

drlodge

Lee540 wrote:

drlodge wrote:

Lee540 wrote:

My LBS are giving me a free Bike Fit tomorrow afternoon as I purchased my Merida from them.. usual price £150. I'll let you know if it makes any difference.

A free "simple" bike fit should come with a new bike anyway IMHO. £150 for a "simple" bike fit is way over the top.

Erm.. I can only assume its a comprehensive one. It takes an hour, I had to book 2 weeks in advance..

£150 for an hour :shock:

A comprehensive bike fit at thebikewhisperer costs £235 and takes up to 4 hours. I had both bikes done and was there for 6 hours.

Lee540

drlodge wrote:

Lee540 wrote:

drlodge wrote:

Lee540 wrote:

My LBS are giving me a free Bike Fit tomorrow afternoon as I purchased my Merida from them.. usual price £150. I'll let you know if it makes any difference.

A free "simple" bike fit should come with a new bike anyway IMHO. £150 for a "simple" bike fit is way over the top.

Erm.. I can only assume its a comprehensive one. It takes an hour, I had to book 2 weeks in advance..

£150 for an hour :shock:

A comprehensive bike fit at thebikewhisperer costs £235 and takes up to 4 hours. I had both bikes done and was there for 6 hours.

Am a newbie.. so would be silly for me to comment any further. I shall update tomorrow afternoon.

slowbike

Last year my brother did a basic fit for me - just getting the saddle position right really ...

I could not tell the difference from when he started ..

I'm not racing, I'm comfortable on the bike and I have no specific pain - so a bike fit for me probably wouldn't make a huge difference - but I'd have one if someone else was paying!

Lee540

So, did my bike fit today on my new Merida. I'm 100% newbie, never riden road bike before.. first thing I went in and asked for shoes and new pedals.

Once fitted, started the bike fit. They put my Merida onto a training machine. Showed me how to use cleats and set those up. Watched me pedal and measured various lengths and angles of my legs and hips etc. Adjusted seat positions, bar positions etc.

Helped me pedal correctly, use gears..

Took 2 hours and thought well worth it as it was free with the bike.

johnny25

I'd certainly recommend a bike fit if you're having issues with saddle position and bar position etc and the associated problems that incorrect positioning causes - numbness, knee issues, neck pains, wrist pains etc etc.

I spent months fannying around with saddle position, bar position and cleat position. When I thought I'd sorted them all out, I began to suffer aches and pains that I didn't suffer beforehand. In the end I went for a bike fit at Bike Dynamics.

This was a comprehensive fit with all elements of the correct bike set up considered. A revelation to say the least!

Prior to the fit I could just about manage 30 or so miles before the pain in various parts of my anatomy became too much. Now correctly set up, I've just cycled a 47mile and a 55 mile the other day with no issues. Body is far more relaxed and cycling efficiency appears to have noticeably improved.

Of course a bike fit isn't for everyone. If you're competent enough to set your bike up adequately then I wouldn't bother. For people like me who have no clue, then it's a small price to pay

Kingsmill1

I have been riding since September 2012 done about 2500 miles so far, I now have two bikes endless jersey's and a smaller bank balance but I am 2.5 stone lighter than I was so cant complain. I got my new bike a few months ago and after about 20 miles, have a really bad pain in my right shoulder blade and at the end of say 30,40 miles my neck is really stiff. I dont have this on my other bike and I to I'm now considering a bike fit to sort out the pain and find out why my right cycle shoe on the heel is constantly wearing away in the inside. My LBS does a fit for about £150.00 and after giving it some thought going to the plunge in October as I want to ride a long sportive next year of about 100 miles. With that sort of distance really dont think I could manage the neck and shoulder for several hours in the saddle. Ive had custom insoles fitted in my shoes which has helped with some foot pain and now think the bike fit is the only way to find out if its the bike or me (45 so aches & pains are setting in)

kajjal

NewTTer wrote:

Bike Fit = Emperors new clothes.

Refreshing to see some honest comments now starting to creep in from people saying it was a waste of their time and money. This will still not stop the politically correct brigade flaming the beggary out of me.

For most you are probably right, reading the web, talking to experienced riders and experimenting a bit is all that is needed. For people with more specific issues it can be very useful.