Was your bike fit worth the money??

bikemanspen

I've got a bike fit booked for this week for my first bikefit! I feel ok on my bike but was really wondering (as we do) will it be worth the money? And Were you impressed ect.. As it's not cheap!

So come on fellas what are your thoughts???

danlikesbikes

Think you have asked 4 questions, so my answers are;
Yes
Yes
Yes
Was a bloody good choice I made and worth it in terms of comfort and cost.

sloppyschleckonds

If your not having any issues, and can put out enough power its a waist of money

matt-h

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

If your not having any issues, and can put out enough power its a waist of money

Horseshit! i put out 'enough' power to get over my local climb, does that make a bike fit a waste of money?
What if i want more power, more comfort or possible reduce future injuries?

Matt

philbar72

Yes. Got mine done by Alex at cadence. Very helpful, and I'm more comfy and able to spin more efficiently.

alphacharlie

Yes it was, plenty of communication prior to the fit, good assessment of my physical condition, took on board my needs, set the bike to suit what I want and achieve any gains on the way, didn't have any injuries or niggles prior and happy that I wont cause any with my set up.
Cheers
AC

Serious Cat

The £150 I spent for a retul fit was a total waste of money for me. The fit was all done by angles on a computer and the resulting position was absolutely abysmal . That's my experience , some may have gotten great fits but mine was money well and truly wasted.

Mikey23

Mine was done by the NHS physio who did my rehab after my accident and is a keen cyclist and bikefitter. Was done at home and absolutely worth every penny of not very much. Also looking for body issues that might lead to injury andsuggesting preventative exercises. First class

Serious Cat

The main issue with asking the original question on an internet forum is that for every rave review and endorsement there is a stinker of an experience and would never do it again frame of mind.

kajjal

You need to understand what you want to get out of it and do some research first. Attempting your own bike fit first will help as well.

LegendLust

Serious Cat wrote:

The £150 I spent for a retul fit was a total waste of money for me. The fit was all done by angles on a computer and the resulting position was absolutely abysmal . That's my experience , some may have gotten great fits but mine was money well and truly wasted.

Retul is only as good as the guy using it.

matt-h

LegendLust wrote:

Serious Cat wrote:

The £150 I spent for a retul fit was a total waste of money for me. The fit was all done by angles on a computer and the resulting position was absolutely abysmal . That's my experience , some may have gotten great fits but mine was money well and truly wasted.

Retul is only as good as the guy using it.

Agree with LegendLust.
Did you give the fitter an opportunity to rectify your problems after?

Matt

W12_Lad

I had a great day (7+ hours, I kid you not) with the bike whisperer.
Before the fit, two thoughts came to mind and the reality is I and most people would be much closer to the first.
1. I hope he makes loads of changes so I haven't wasted my money.
2. I hope he makes no changes which shows my understanding of fit is correct.

My saddle was raised 6mm, that was it.
That was due to my left cleat being 'shimmed' 5mm (left leg shorter than right after being broken).
So, I was 1mm out on my saddle height pre fit.

To be fair, the shoe changes definitely make a difference (some wedges in both feet) but I still felt as though I'd dropped a lot of money with not much to show for it.

If I'd known before, that so few changes were to be made, I definitely wouldn't have bothered, but that's impossible to know.

I'm glad I did it though, mainly because now I don't worry about it.

To be fair to him, it's not his fault that no changes were really required.
I'm sure a more dodgy fitter may have invented a couple of changes to justify his
payment..... maybe.

Grill

Serious Cat wrote:

The £150 I spent for a retul fit was a total waste of money for me. The fit was all done by angles on a computer and the resulting position was absolutely abysmal . That's my experience , some may have gotten great fits but mine was money well and truly wasted.

I had the same experience when I went for a TT fit from a well renowned Retul fitter. Sloppy is spot on when he says if it ain't broke, don't fix it until it is.

jordan_217

LegendLust wrote:

Serious Cat wrote:

The £150 I spent for a retul fit was a total waste of money for me. The fit was all done by angles on a computer and the resulting position was absolutely abysmal . That's my experience , some may have gotten great fits but mine was money well and truly wasted.

Retul is only as good as the guy using it.

+1. The majority of shops and fitters gain Retul accreditation and don't necessarily know anything about bike fitting, other than what they picked up on a n week course. The problem is that once the feedback from the rider contradicts the recommendations of the Retul program the fitter doesn't have the knowledge or experience to fettle further with the position. You're then in the into time/money wasting territory.

There's a guy in Cambridge who will use the exact same set-up for every rider, regardless of flexibility, fitness, type of riding, etc; long stem and relaxed, up right position, low saddle height and cleats as far back as possible. He basically turns everyone into a student commuter. He also charges £150+ for the privilege. Criminal.

I had a bike fit with Adrian Timmis earlier this year and it definitely was not a waste of money! I would have paid the money for the custom footbeds and cleat adjustments alone. No more knee pain and I instantly felt much more efficient when turning the pedals.

When you walk into the shop and hand Adrian your bike and he instantly makes 'ah ha' noises, you know he is already doing the bike fit. He knew by looking at me and then grabbing the hoods on my bike that my levers would need adjusting; and they did. My main issue was my saddle was too low and I was wasting energy pushing my legs over the top of the pedal stroke, as if I was stepping over an obstacle. Adrian made incremental changes and made observations at every stage. Communicating what he needed to and crucially listening to my feedback all the time.

Just to quantify how effective the fit was in terms of numbers (mainly for Sloppy ) my power output was increased by 20 watts. Having never worked with power I asked Adrian "is that good?" he responded by saying he could train me 1:1 for a few months and he'd be making really good progress to get anywhere near that amount.

So bike fits are worth it if the fitter knows his/her onions. I personally think it's worth taking the time to research it and be prepared to travel further than your local Retul or Specialized whatever they call it fitter.

jordan_217

If people are hell bent on a Retul fit then John Dennis is the best in the UK:

http://www.physiohaus.co.uk/retul/meet-the-team/

styxd

No, it was not worth the time or money. Mine was done by a so called respected fitter aswell. I've since sorted my issues myself. I now have three wedges under my right cleat (the fitter did not install any, only two under my left cleat) and my saddle height has dropped 20mm from where the fitter set me up. I also use heel wedges in both shoes which the fitter did not install.

typekitty

Got a retul done by Tom at Swift Cycles. Walked out of there with brand new parts (stem, seatpost, bars, new tape) and what felt like a brand new bike.

5 months on, I still don't get the crippling lower back pain I once had. Was spot on with my cleat positioning (which I was rather chuffed about nailing) but everything else had to move.

wongataa

I had a fit with Adrian Timmis and I thought it was worth it. There were a few adjustments made and I do feel more comfortable on the bike. I could well have made the same adjustments my self but it would have taken a long time with a lot of trial and error.

epo.wks

I had knee pain, the fit got rid of the knee pain. Was £200 worth it for a wedge to be fitted under my cleat? Not in the slightest.

prhymeate

philbar72 wrote:

Yes. Got mine done by Alex at cadence. Very helpful, and I'm more comfy and able to spin more efficiently.

I had mine done at Cadence by Alex too. I actually went for the New Bike Purchase Consultation, because I'd never had a bike fit and was buying my new bike from Rose which are only based online. It was really useful in making sure I ordered the right size and components for my new bike. They also offered a quick fit of the bike once it arrived, so it wasn't the full Retul deal, but it helped with overall comfort a lot. It was £100 in total and I was totally worth it.

epo.wks wrote:

I had knee pain, the fit got rid of the knee pain. Was £200 worth it for a wedge to be fitted under my cleat? Not in the slightest.

I don't really understand the logic here. Is a wedge worth £200? Obviously not, but the expertise needed to spot the problem and fix it and stop the pain is surely worth £200?

jordan_217

epo.wks wrote:

I had knee pain, the fit got rid of the knee pain. Was £200 worth it for a wedge to be fitted under my cleat? Not in the slightest.

You must have knew before going what the price would be? AND you clearly state you don't suffer any more knee pain. I don't understand your logic here.

Also, how much would you have paid for a physio appointment? Well, it wouldn't of been a single appointment as physio's are notorious for stringing things out…..

MountainMonster

jordan_217 wrote:

There's a guy in Cambridge who will use the exact same set-up for every rider, regardless of flexibility, fitness, type of riding, etc; long stem and relaxed, up right position, low saddle height and cleats as far back as possible. He basically turns everyone into a student commuter. He also charges £150+ for the privilege. Criminal.

Which fitter is this, so I know to avoid. My Christmas present this year is a bike fit, and being Cambridge local i'd be hell bent to avoid them!

jordan_217

MountainMonster wrote:

jordan_217 wrote:

There's a guy in Cambridge who will use the exact same set-up for every rider, regardless of flexibility, fitness, type of riding, etc; long stem and relaxed, up right position, low saddle height and cleats as far back as possible. He basically turns everyone into a student commuter. He also charges £150+ for the privilege. Criminal.

Which fitter is this, so I know to avoid. My Christmas present this year is a bike fit, and being Cambridge local i'd be hell bent to avoid them!

http://www.perfectcondition.ltd.uk/index.htm

AVOID. My experience of him and that of multiple local cyclists and triathletes doesn't stack up with the blurb on his website. He tries to set up everyones bikes to his 'one size, fits all' mentality. I think he believes his own hype WRT Emma Pooley and tries to set everyones bike up like hers (she's about 5 ft and a dot).

Admittedly, I got his pricing wrong looking at his website. Regardless, it's not worth it - trust me.

It might be worth trying this guy in Peterborough. I know a few local Elite, 1st and 2nd cat riders that work with him and feedback is really positive:

http://www.corecyclingsolutions.com

I have no first hand knowledge though. HTH.

MountainMonster

jordan_217 wrote:

MountainMonster wrote:

jordan_217 wrote:

There's a guy in Cambridge who will use the exact same set-up for every rider, regardless of flexibility, fitness, type of riding, etc; long stem and relaxed, up right position, low saddle height and cleats as far back as possible. He basically turns everyone into a student commuter. He also charges £150+ for the privilege. Criminal.

Which fitter is this, so I know to avoid. My Christmas present this year is a bike fit, and being Cambridge local i'd be hell bent to avoid them!

http://www.perfectcondition.ltd.uk/index.htm

AVOID. My experience of him and that of multiple local cyclists and triathletes doesn't stack up with the blurb on his website. He tries to set up everyones bikes to his 'one size, fits all' mentality. I think he believes his own hype WRT Emma Pooley and tries to set everyones bike up like hers (she's about 5 ft and a dot).

Admittedly, I got his pricing wrong looking at his website. Regardless, it's not worth it - trust me.

It might be worth trying this guy in Peterborough. I know a few local Elite, 1st and 2nd cat riders that work with him and feedback is really positive:

http://www.corecyclingsolutions.com

I have no first hand knowledge though. HTH.

Thanks for that. Do you know any reviews for the Primo Cycles fitting? That's where all be going, as the guys there are class!

epo.wks

jordan_217 wrote:

epo.wks wrote:

I had knee pain, the fit got rid of the knee pain. Was £200 worth it for a wedge to be fitted under my cleat? Not in the slightest.

You must have knew before going what the price would be? AND you clearly state you don't suffer any more knee pain. I don't understand your logic here.

Also, how much would you have paid for a physio appointment? Well, it wouldn't of been a single appointment as physio's are notorious for stringing things out…..

I'm not querying the price though? The question asked is "was it worth the money?". My answer is no.

The fitter could've sat me on a bike, saw my right leg was pointing out a bit more than it should be and then said "try this" and charged less. The end result of the fit was your position on the bike is perfect as is your cleat position.

On the plus side though, his name was Stephen Roche and it turned out we had a lot of friends & past employers in common so that part was nice

jordan_217

MountainMonster wrote:

jordan_217 wrote:

MountainMonster wrote:

jordan_217 wrote:

There's a guy in Cambridge who will use the exact same set-up for every rider, regardless of flexibility, fitness, type of riding, etc; long stem and relaxed, up right position, low saddle height and cleats as far back as possible. He basically turns everyone into a student commuter. He also charges £150+ for the privilege. Criminal.

Which fitter is this, so I know to avoid. My Christmas present this year is a bike fit, and being Cambridge local i'd be hell bent to avoid them!

http://www.perfectcondition.ltd.uk/index.htm

AVOID. My experience of him and that of multiple local cyclists and triathletes doesn't stack up with the blurb on his website. He tries to set up everyones bikes to his 'one size, fits all' mentality. I think he believes his own hype WRT Emma Pooley and tries to set everyones bike up like hers (she's about 5 ft and a dot).

Admittedly, I got his pricing wrong looking at his website. Regardless, it's not worth it - trust me.

It might be worth trying this guy in Peterborough. I know a few local Elite, 1st and 2nd cat riders that work with him and feedback is really positive:

http://www.corecyclingsolutions.com

I have no first hand knowledge though. HTH.

Thanks for that. Do you know any reviews for the Primo Cycles fitting? That's where all be going, as the guys there are class!

I don't sorry. Luke might he used to work there, PM him (madasahattersley on here)

Pituophis

Yes.
I thought my riding position was pretty good, and very comfortable.
The fitter raised my seat by almost an inch (which I thought was mental) moved it forward to suit, and lengthened my stem.
It felt a little odd for the first ride but after that was fine.
What it did do was quickly cured the strange, nagging pain that I had been carrying for almost 8 months in the middle of my left thigh, that I would never in a million years have put down to cycling. It just did not seem to be related to riding my bike, so I never mentioned it to the fitter.
Well worth the long drive and the £30.

joshvoulters

Spent quite a lot of money with Scherrit, a.k.a. the bike whisperer- hands down best money I've spent in cycling

bianchimoon

Serious Cat wrote:

The £150 I spent for a retul fit was a total waste of money for me. The fit was all done by angles on a computer and the resulting position was absolutely abysmal . That's my experience , some may have gotten great fits but mine was money well and truly wasted.

i had a retul fit, worked a treat for me for a couple of years, when my bike had to be replaced under warranty for a different frame, it went all to pot no matter how we tried to get exactly the same measurements. After tinkering with seat position finally got it back to just as it felt after retul fit, with the power coming from the thighs rather than just above the knees.
Although a friend had a LBS fit and wasn't very impressed, so all down to the skill of the fitter/and or system

VmanF3

Thinking of using these guys in Amersham, has anyone any experience of this outfit?

http://www.ten-point.co.uk