Bike Fitting

sketchley
sketchley Posts: 4,238
edited September 2013 in Commuting chat
Having just got over a trapped ulnar nerve, I need to go see a bike fitter and get properly fitted and adjusted on both bikes. Some of you where recommending someone on here the other day, any suggestions welcome.
--
Chris

Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5

Comments

  • cyclingprop
    cyclingprop Posts: 2,426
    Cadenceperformance.com - Cadence cycling at Crystal Palace.
    What do you mean you think 64cm is a big frame?
  • rubertoe
    rubertoe Posts: 3,994
    The Bike Whisperer is always mentioned
    "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

    PX Kaffenback 2 = Work Horse
    B-Twin Alur 700 = Sundays and Hills
  • meanredspider
    meanredspider Posts: 12,337
    rubertoe wrote:
    The Bike Whisperer is always mentioned

    Definite +100
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,052
    Try anyone other than BW you'll be wasting your time and money.
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    Email sent to BW. Looks expensive hope it worth it, I need to stop the knee pain and hand pain asap.
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • meanredspider
    meanredspider Posts: 12,337
    Sketchley wrote:
    Email sent to BW. Looks expensive hope it worth it, I need to stop the knee pain and hand pain asap.

    Well worth it. Think I was there for 4 hours. The proof (rather than "the poof" which is what I first wrote) of the pudding for me was the London to Edinburgh ride: my 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries on consecutive days (440 miles) and nothing to report but a tight Achilles
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH
  • bobinski
    bobinski Posts: 570
    Sketchley wrote:
    Email sent to BW. Looks expensive hope it worth it, I need to stop the knee pain and hand pain asap.

    My experience suggests it will be well worth it. I was late 40's with a history of 2 prolased discs and persistent lower back and leg pain when cycling for more than an hour. And right knee pain.Sherrat spent a lot of time with me checking flexibility, laughing uncontrollably at my left calf muscle for some reason ( :) ), and sorting out my position on the bike so that I honestly have no recurrence of these issues. I ride a Planet x slpro and really didnt want anything other than a low down racey position and I just could not sort it. I actually feel indebted to him for increasing my pleasure cycling and thats despite him finding my calf so funny. Cadence at Crystal palace pretty much came up with he same position on my commuter 2 and 1/2 years later but I suspect my position was pretty much sorted by then.
    The only negative thing I would say is that the coffee at BW is not as good as they think it is :wink:

    Good luck!
  • Ben6899
    Ben6899 Posts: 9,686
    I had a Retul fit by Tom at Swift Cycles in Spitalfields.

    Quite a revelation, to be honest, and I feel great on the bike.
    Ben

    Bikes: Donhou DSS4 Custom | Condor Italia RC | Gios Megalite | Dolan Preffisio | Giant Bowery '76
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ben_h_ppcc/
    Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/143173475@N05/
  • wandsworth
    wandsworth Posts: 354
    Ben6899 wrote:
    I had a Retul fit by Tom at Swift Cycles in Spitalfields.

    Quite a revelation, to be honest, and I feel great on the bike.

    Same here.
    Shut up, knees!

    Various Boardmans, a Focus, a Cannondale and an ancient Trek.
  • I just had a fit on my TT bike at Bridgtown Cycles near Cannock. Mike is excellent and spends ages assessing you e.g. flexibility (hamstrings, hip flexors), taking time to understand what you're looking to achieve etc. I'd never ridden a TT bike before but went straight out the next morning and spent 3+ hours in the saddle, no soreness at all (and annoyingly quick according to my mates on road bikes that day). I now feel like my quads are working better (instead of getting tight calves before). He could quite easily have persuaded me I needed this and that to make it fit... total spend? £16, on a plate to adjust my right cleat to compensate for my hip alignment. Brilliant.
  • I was just thinking about my recent Retul bike fit the other day, and although I have no regrets and feel it was good value for money, it occurred to me that beyond the cleat fit (revolutionary) I could have made all other adjustments myself by listening to my body and trusting what it seemingly wants rather than accepting common internet based wisdom that, as I am X height, I should use X sized frame/stem/saddle etc. I think the best thing I got out of it was a casual analysis of my pedalling technique and advice on how to improve it.

    I would definitely recommend a bike fit to anyone who can afford it, but if money's tight I'd suggest a pro cleat fit, time fiddling with different positions, and then chats with experienced riders.
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 58,167
    I was just thinking about my recent Retul bike fit the other day, and although I have no regrets and feel it was good value for money, it occurred to me that beyond the cleat fit (revolutionary) I could have made all other adjustments myself by listening to my body and trusting what it seemingly wants rather than accepting common internet based wisdom that, as I am X height, I should use X sized frame/stem/saddle etc. I think the best thing I got out of it was a casual analysis of my pedalling technique and advice on how to improve it.

    I would definitely recommend a bike fit to anyone who can afford it, but if money's tight I'd suggest a pro cleat fit, time fiddling with different positions, and then chats with experienced riders.
    Was that at Cadence in Crystal Palace? I know they do Retul fits.
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • Stevo 666 wrote:
    I was just thinking about my recent Retul bike fit the other day, and although I have no regrets and feel it was good value for money, it occurred to me that beyond the cleat fit (revolutionary) I could have made all other adjustments myself by listening to my body and trusting what it seemingly wants rather than accepting common internet based wisdom that, as I am X height, I should use X sized frame/stem/saddle etc. I think the best thing I got out of it was a casual analysis of my pedalling technique and advice on how to improve it.

    I would definitely recommend a bike fit to anyone who can afford it, but if money's tight I'd suggest a pro cleat fit, time fiddling with different positions, and then chats with experienced riders.
    Was that at Cadence in Crystal Palace? I know they do Retul fits.

    Yes it was. Really great experience.
  • Stevo 666 wrote:
    I was just thinking about my recent Retul bike fit the other day, and although I have no regrets and feel it was good value for money, it occurred to me that beyond the cleat fit (revolutionary) I could have made all other adjustments myself by listening to my body and trusting what it seemingly wants rather than accepting common internet based wisdom that, as I am X height, I should use X sized frame/stem/saddle etc. I think the best thing I got out of it was a casual analysis of my pedalling technique and advice on how to improve it.

    I would definitely recommend a bike fit to anyone who can afford it, but if money's tight I'd suggest a pro cleat fit, time fiddling with different positions, and then chats with experienced riders.
    Was that at Cadence in Crystal Palace? I know they do Retul fits.

    Me Retul was at cadence. Has been great.
    What do you mean you think 64cm is a big frame?
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 58,167
    @Jonny and Cyclingprop - ta, good to know for future reference.
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    Does the Retul bike fit at cadence include cleat set up?
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • I had a Retul fit and they didn't change anything at all but was useful at finding out an issue with my shoulder/back that was causing me to sit a little to one side of the saddle which I'm trying to resolve with a few exercises my physio has given me.
  • Sketchley wrote:
    Does the Retul bike fit at cadence include cleat set up?

    It did, yes. Totally sorted my knee twinges and I only now get tingly toes after many, many miles when I let technique slip. I also feel I have a much more powerful, constant cadence now, but that came more from Des watching my technique and showing me how to adjust it. It's £140 for almost 3 hours and you get a follow up session included. Cadence is a nice place to grab a coffee in too. I should be on commission.
  • Sketchley wrote:
    Does the Retul bike fit at cadence include cleat set up?

    Yes.

    The eye opener for me was swapping out to a 2cm shorter stem.
    What do you mean you think 64cm is a big frame?
  • Wrath Rob
    Wrath Rob Posts: 2,918
    Velosport on Putney do the Retul fit too.

    Re. Bike Whisperer, they're great but have a correspondingly long waiting list
    FCN3: Titanium Qoroz.
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    Hmm what to do...

    I had bike fitting as part of Enigma purchase, due to issue with seat clamp, now resolved, found out on Friday saddle was 1cm to low. That's now sorted. Hopefully with everything else the bike is setup correctly is certainly is from the point of view of bikefitting.com..... I do feel like I have too much weight on the handle bars though....

    Next problem is pain on inside of knee, I think this is cleat positioning so going to have a play and read up on it.

    Option are

    Do it myself through research and trial and error
    Cadence and a Retul fit (£100 - £150)
    Bikewhisperer and (£200 - 250)

    Is bikewhisperer worth the extra £100? Are there thing they will do that Cadence won't, thinking things like shims in shoes....
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • +1 for Bike Whisperer. I'm not familiar with Cadence, but BW will do wedges and shims for shoes if this needs adjusting.

    They do have a long waiting list. I think it was a couple of months when I used them 3 years ago, however I live in London and was able to come at short notice when they had a cancellation so only needed to wait a couple of weeks.
  • styxd
    styxd Posts: 3,234
    How do your knees look whilst pedalling? Do they move in toward to toptube/brush the toptube?

    Get some angled cleat wedges and have a play. You'll probably be able to solve the issues yourself, it's worth having a go at least, and it'll cost you next to nothing, only your time.
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    Made some progress. I think the problem is to do with shoe and pedal choice and q factor having gone from a compact on the genesis to the tripple on the Enigma. I've moved cleats so shoes are as narrow as possible and it's much better but not perfect. This was following working out my left foot felt like it was pushing over the outside edge of the pedal. I also adjust float on speedplays to force heals out which in turn is keeping my knees in. Next I'm going to try some shoe inserts I had made a few years ago by a podiatrist following a 3d scan of my soles.

    The combination of higher saddle and different (less padded and loser) gloves have help the hand pain. With a higher saddle I don't feel like as much weight is over the front, not sure how that works but it seems too. The less padded gloves followed going back on Genesis and working out handle bars were not as thick as on Enigma which has lots more padding.

    Not sure where to go next mind I still think a bike fit is good idea, but I'm also questioning my shoe and peddal choice, going to take bike for longer ride and see if changes have helped when I do 50 miles. Might order a pair of those fiziks from planet x. Any recommendation for pedals from those with wider feet would be welcome.
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • bigmat
    bigmat Posts: 5,134
    JamesFree wrote:
    I had a Retul fit and they didn't change anything at all but was useful at finding out an issue with my shoulder/back that was causing me to sit a little to one side of the saddle which I'm trying to resolve with a few exercises my physio has given me.

    I thought they changed your cleat position and you ended up knackering your legs which you only resolved when you changed them back? And Ben had similar issues - put me off the idea of a bike fit!
  • BigMat wrote:
    JamesFree wrote:
    I had a Retul fit and they didn't change anything at all but was useful at finding out an issue with my shoulder/back that was causing me to sit a little to one side of the saddle which I'm trying to resolve with a few exercises my physio has given me.

    I thought they changed your cleat position and you ended up knackering your legs which you only resolved when you changed them back? And Ben had similar issues - put me off the idea of a bike fit!

    Yeah I forgot about that, I got new shoes at the same time and they positioned my cleats much further back than my usual position and felt odd from the off but gave it a few weeks to adapt to the point I actually started to get an injury in my quads (mainly my left one) that went away after I changed back to my preferred position.