Bike fit - a book version, anyone used it?

daniel_b

So as some of you will be aware, I buy a lot of stuff, and so was desperately hunting around for some cycling related gear to put on my Christmas list for the OH and assorted family members.

Froomes autobiog and David Millars book have made it on there, and then I saw this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bike-Fit-Optimise-performance-avoidance/dp/1408190303/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417035762&sr=8-1&keywords=bike+fit+book


I know reviews are not everything, and have not read them in depth, but it attains a fairly, on the face of it, decent 4.8/5 from 32 reviews.

The one 3 star review is meaningless, and the 4's seem generally positive.

Anyway, it has made it onto my list, thought it might make interesting Christmas reading.

daniel_b

I think that's a definitive NO! then

UndercoverElephant

Nope, not read it. That said, I'm starting to think that bike fit is something that's pretty difficult to do on yourself.

daniel_b

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Nope, not read it. That said, I'm starting to think that bike fit is something that's pretty difficult to do on yourself.

Thanks for the reply UE, I thought someone on here might have read it, but I guess not, but I thought it might have created a bit of discussion about whether a book version might work - I have now read all of the reviews, and unless they are all rigged, it sounds like a hugely informative book, so I shall be very dissapointed should Father Christmas not bring it to me on Christmas day!

JackPozzi

I have got it, but only flicked through it so far no had a proper in depth read. Looks good though and I've heard good things about it from some knowledgeable people. There's also an app for apple devices call bike fast fit that is supposed to be very useful for getting your fit right, again recommended by some knowledgeable people, sadly not on Android so I can't comment on how good it is....

daniel_b

JackPozzi wrote:

I have got it, but only flicked through it so far no had a proper in depth read. Looks good though and I've heard good things about it from some knowledgeable people. There's also an app for apple devices call bike fast fit that is supposed to be very useful for getting your fit right, again recommended by some knowledgeable people, sadly not on Android so I can't comment on how good it is....

Thanks JP, that all sounds encouraging - alas I am on Android as well, so we are in the same boat.

One of the reviews seemed to suggest that the best way to carry out the fit was with someone else to measure angles, and this that and the other, and I guess if there are 2 of you, you can stick the bike on the turbo and help each other out.

I have several bikes I will want to be trying the books methodology on, and will be intrigued to see if my 'shot in the dark' efforts, that feel like an improvement to me, are what the book would have suggested.

As I have a short upper body and long legs, my alterations have been along the lines of shorter flipped stems, inline seatposts and compact bars etc etc

It might also be useful for building the CR1 (I will get there eventually!) as I have both types of seatpost, and some different stems to try.

JackPozzi

Yes, having a helper would be the ideal, or some method of recording video and then running it through some motion analysis software which will work out the angles for you, although that is a more time consuming method...

veronese68

Sorry, I meant to reply to this but couldn't be fagged when I was on my phone.
A colleague of mine bought it and I had a look at it and read a couple of bits that seemed relevant. To use it to do a complete fit you would need someone to help you. I don't think it would be quite the same as getting a bike fit done, but there was definitely some useful information in there and I would say it's worth buying.

UndercoverElephant

Veronese68 wrote:

Sorry, I meant to reply to this but couldn't be fagged when I was on my phone.
A colleague of mine bought it and I had a look at it and read a couple of bits that seemed relevant. To use it to do a complete fit you would need someone to help you. I don't think it would be quite the same as getting a bike fit done, but there was definitely some useful information in there and I would say it's worth buying.

Yeah, I think ideally you'd need to find someone who's willing to read the book seriously and fit you using the information therein. I'm sure that there's loads of use there (just like the Steve Hogg bike fitting blog http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/), but it's difficult to put it all into practice on yourself.

veronese68

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Veronese68 wrote:

Sorry, I meant to reply to this but couldn't be fagged when I was on my phone.
A colleague of mine bought it and I had a look at it and read a couple of bits that seemed relevant. To use it to do a complete fit you would need someone to help you. I don't think it would be quite the same as getting a bike fit done, but there was definitely some useful information in there and I would say it's worth buying.

Yeah, I think ideally you'd need to find someone who's willing to read the book seriously and fit you using the information therein. I'm sure that there's loads of use there (just like the Steve Hogg bike fitting blog http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/), but it's difficult to put it all into practice on yourself.

Also prepared to get up close and personal with a tape measure.