Bike fit & then choose bike, or other way around?

Thigh_burn

I'm in the market for a new bike - going from my current steel Condor Fratello to something light and sprightly.

I've been lusting after a Cervelo R3, but when I went into the bike shop earlier, their recommendation was do a bike fit first then choose what bike works for you. This seems eminently sensible, especially when spending that sort of money. But I was wondering how many people actually do it that way, or just go with their heart?

Obviously, they did say that they'd be happy to sell me the R3 and fit it for me if I had my heart set on it.

cyclenutnz

With the disclosure that I train bike fitters and create fit systems out of the way...

That the store advised you to fit first shows they're a good one. Either do a fit on an adjustable bike or your existing one so that you can test on the road. Then it is easy to choose a bike that most closely matches your position. It is always possible to orient the fit towards certain bikes to a small degree, but you'll be far happier on a bike that suits you than if you choose based on random appeal factors.

jewbs

You could try somewhere like Epic Cycles in Ludlow , they will do a bike fit then let you test ride 2 or it may be 3 bikes i can't remember exactly. They are very good and helpful, i went to them after trying bikes from a couple of bike shops who just confused me and i ended up buying my bike from them, very happy with their service.

sloppyschleckonds

This could of been the shops polite way of saying an aggressive geo frame may not be the best way to go. Most decent shops usually offer a free or discounted bike fit if you buy a bike from them.

grahamcp

I used to go with my heart. In fact thinking back, I never even really considered that different road bikes might have different geometries - I simply found something I liked, and went for it in "my" size.

In more recent years I have seen the error of my ways. I find it really useful now that most brands now publish stack and reach measurements, making it much easier to compare different models against my existing setup.

This has meant that I have eliminated several bikes that I was initially attracted to - on the basis that they are too aggressive in their geometry, i.e. long and low. I'm into my 40s now and a prefer a little more comfort!

Interesting you mention the R3. That is one that is still high up on my shortlist for my next bike (2018 model). Geo is actually different to the R5 and is slightly less aggressive. There are probably lots of sportive geometry bikes out there with higher front ends but the R3 looks to me as though it is a good balance of comfort without being too upright.

Obviously lots depends on your personal body shape/proportions/flexibility/preferences etc. Absolutely take the advice of you bike shop who sounds like they are saying exactly the right things - but fingers crossed the bike you like is the one that fits :-) Are you happy with your Condor fit? If so it should be fairly straightforward to see if that setup could be replicated sensibly on any potential new build.

Grill

jewbs wrote:

You could try somewhere like Epic Cycles in Ludlow , they will do a bike fit then let you test ride 2 or it may be 3 bikes i can't remember exactly. They are very good and helpful, i went to them after trying bikes from a couple of bike shops who just confused me and i ended up buying my bike from them, very happy with their service.

+1
Bought my first new bike from them and they did an excellent job. I'd been feeling as though bike size charts were doing my wrong by recommending larger frames than I was comfortable with, and they identified that right off the bat.

Thigh_burn

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

This could have been the shops polite way of saying an aggressive geo frame may not be the best way to go. Most decent shops usually offer a free or discounted bike fit if you buy a bike from them.

I know - crossed my mind as well. And frankly I'd take their advice but frankly any bike of the kind I'm looking at is going to be a big departure from where I'm at at the moment.

Grahamcp wrote:

Interesting you mention the R3. That is one that is still high up on my shortlist for my next bike (2018 model).

Yup, it's the 2018 I'm looking at and I was particularly interested that on the new models the R3 is a bit more relaxed than the R5. Although I think in fact, it's just that the R5 is more aggressive - the R3 is much the same geo as the 2017 model, but different tubes etc.

deano802

cyclenutnz wrote:

With the disclosure that I train bike fitters and create fit systems out of the way...

That the store advised you to fit first shows they're a good one. Either do a fit on an adjustable bike or your existing one so that you can test on the road. Then it is easy to choose a bike that most closely matches your position. It is always possible to orient the fit towards certain bikes to a small degree, but you'll be far happier on a bike that suits you than if you choose based on random appeal factors.

I'm new on here so hi everyone!

+1 for this

I got fitted at superdomestique in London as I wanted to buy a Canyon and was inbetween sizes. It was not cheap but invlauable to get fitted perfectly on the rig and then given a diagram of all your measurements. They can set the rig to any bike you are interested in or just generic to find your best fit and you can use those measurements to find the best geometry for you.

Elliott the owner mentioned he gets a lot of people in with new canyons that can sometimes be two sizes out.

Thigh_burn

Deano802 wrote:

I got fitted at superdomestique in London as I wanted to buy a Canyon and was inbetween sizes...Elliott the owner mentioned he gets a lot of people in with new canyons that can sometimes be two sizes out.

Hello and welcome

Interesting point re Canyons - and this is going off topic on my own thread so I hope that's ok - but speaking to the guys at Shorter Rochford, they're mulling doing the same. They're considering whether to offer to do fittings and then advise on which Canyon would work best. I assume they'd do other direct to customer brands like Rose as well.

It's an interesting model. In Cyclist this month there's a profile of Canyon incl an interview with the CEO and he alludes to the fact that they can help LBS's rather than destroy them. This may be wishful thinking, but perhaps it's this kind of approach he's thinking of. Would make sense if some of the really big brands like Trek, Cannondale start going direct to consumer as well.

darkhairedlord

if your existing bike fits well just measure it off of that.

deano802

Thigh_burn wrote:

Deano802 wrote:

I got fitted at superdomestique in London as I wanted to buy a Canyon and was inbetween sizes...Elliott the owner mentioned he gets a lot of people in with new canyons that can sometimes be two sizes out.

Hello and welcome

Interesting point re Canyons - and this is going off topic on my own thread so I hope that's ok - but speaking to the guys at Shorter Rochford, they're mulling doing the same. They're considering whether to offer to do fittings and then advise on which Canyon would work best. I assume they'd do other direct to customer brands like Rose as well.

It's an interesting model. In Cyclist this month there's a profile of Canyon incl an interview with the CEO and he alludes to the fact that they can help LBS's rather than destroy them. This may be wishful thinking, but perhaps it's this kind of approach he's thinking of. Would make sense if some of the really big brands like Trek, Cannondale start going direct to consumer as well.

As I was looking at Canyons online, the superdomestique advert popped on on facebook offering Canyon fittings, it is really smart of them. They are selling custom built Colnagos etc etc which I would never be in the market for if I value my marraige. But while they are waiting for people to walk in and spend big money they still made £120 out of me just for an hour of their time, why not do it. It was a really good service and they offer much more like shoe and cleat fittings etc etc. and a service to set your canyon up.