Get the bike that fits???????

Scott2468 said:

G'Day,

Many times we see questions on which bike is best to buy. Nearly as often we see the answer, get the one that fits best".

In the old days a young racer would enter the shop of a master builder. The master would talk with the rider, show some of his work, and visually estimate his height and proportions, often without a measuring tape. The master would either pull down an unfinished frame from the rack and ask, "Shimano or Campagnolo, and how do you want it painted?" or say, "Your new bike will be finished in two weeks. Shimano or Campagnolo, and how do you want it painted?" And the bike would fit perfectly after the rider tweaked a few things like saddle position and stem height.

Most bike salesmen aren't quite that astute, but if you go in with an idea of how the sizes of your body parts relate to each other and how you want to sit on the bike, you can come up with a rough-in fit that will get you started and will only need tweaking and possibly a new stem.

When I'm doing a rough-in fitting, these are my considerations. Everybody should be able to straddle the top tube comfortably. Long-torsoed riders need long top tubes. Short-torsoed riders need short top tubes. Inflexible riders and riders with short arms need higher handlebars and longer head tubes. Flexible riders and riders with long arms are often happier with lower handlebars and shorter head tubes. And nearly every rider who takes a bike right out of the carton has a saddle that is set too far forward.

I gotta get ready for work. Check out this site for a fitting philosophy that I happen to agree with: cyclefit centre. Good luck.

Scott2468 said:

G'Day,

Many times we see questions on which bike is best to buy. Nearly as often we see the answer, get the one that fits best".

Yes, this is obviously sound advise. Yet it has always bounced around my empty noggin, how do you achieve this?

Please don't simply reply, find a LBS that will accommodate. I have two really great shops but there is no way they are going to allow me their bikes for a week or two test riding (bike after bike after bike). A lap around the block is all I reckon I can get. This is obviously not enough, let alone a bit of adjusting and tinkering.

If you have shopped around until you found the one that is "just right" how did you go about it? How long did you ride each bike for? How many bikes did you test ride? How did you go about tinkering on the tester?

I would love to know. I ride a Giant TCR and have been really happy with it over the years. I plan to update to my dream bike in 18 months time. Specs are fine but I've already started dwelling on this question and I have no answer. Please help.

If your current bike fits you and you don't want to change anything then just duplicate it. Seat angle, head angle, TT and head tube... Also use the online calculators and compare the results to your current bike, it may shed some additional light...
It took me two bikes and one year of riding to find the correct fit for me (even though, the first bike was "fitted"😉. I think the best fit sessions are those where the bike is a stationary bike with everything adjustable, then measurements of the bike device are taken and then traslated to a bike. Those are expensive though... Otherwise the standard fit is just a body measurement, print an optimal computer frame configuration and you try a bike that fits those parameters

I have to agree with bobcat on this one. An experienced bike salesman will be able to get a rough idea of what will fit you the best based off of your body's build and a few simple questions (normally related to your flexibility, any type of muscular or joint injuries that you've experienced in the past, and the type of riding that you do.) Since many companies usually offer 1-3 different geometries in their bike lines, and a lot of local bike shops will not stock more than 2-4 brands it is fairly easy for said salesman to narrow it down to 2 or 3 bikes at which point they shouldn't mind setting you up for test rides.

ToffoIsMe said:

I have to agree with bobcat on this one. An experienced bike salesman will be able to get a rough idea of what will fit you the best based off of your body's build and a few simple questions (normally related to your flexibility, any type of muscular or joint injuries that you've experienced in the past, and the type of riding that you do.)

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I might add that sometimes an ethical salesman lets a customer walk out the door because nothing he carries seems to fit right. I remember one tall woman with upper back and neck problems who came into our shop. We tried a Roubaix (too long), a Ruby (too short), a men's Madone (not tall enough), and a WSD Madone (just too small). Well, the Ruby might have fit with an 11 or 12 cm stem, but I think she had a thing about riding a bike that said WOMAN all over it.

As she walked out the door, I thought, "Look 566, large, or Cervelo RS, 56." We don't carry them, anyway.

oldbobcat said:

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I might add that sometimes an ethical salesman lets a customer walk out the door because nothing he carries seems to fit right. I remember one tall woman with upper back and neck problems who came into our shop. We tried a Roubaix (too long), a Ruby (too short), a men's Madone (not tall enough), and a WSD Madone (just too small). Well, the Ruby might have fit with an 11 or 12 cm stem, but I think she had a thing about riding a bike that said WOMAN all over it.

As she walked out the door, I thought, "Look 566, large, or Cervelo RS, 56." We don't carry them, anyway.

Do you mean the madone headtube wasn't tall enough? Or the woman wasn't tall enough for the madone? If you're referencing the headtube, why not a pilot (or now a performance fit madone)?

My philosophy is I'd rather not sell the bike than sell something they won't be happy with. Constantly seeing it at the end of the year when people are trying to force that final left over bike thats 4cm too small to fit themselves just to save $100. I just can't allow myself to let them buy it...

ToffoIsMe said:

Do you mean the madone headtube wasn't tall enough?

The Madone performance fit headtube was too short. Or was the top tube too long. My memory is fading--all I can remember is that it was a 56.

What makes the Look and Cervelo attractive to certain customers is that they shorten the top tube as they extend the head tube. I think Felt does this to some extent with the Z series, too.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by Scott2468 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

G'Day,

Many times we see questions on which bike is best to buy. Nearly as often we see the answer, get the one that fits best".

Yes, this is obviously sound advise. Yet it has always bounced around my empty noggin, how do you achieve this?

Please don't simply reply, find a LBS that will accommodate. I have two really great shops but there is no way they are going to allow me their bikes for a week or two test riding (bike after bike after bike). A lap around the block is all I reckon I can get. This is obviously not enough, let alone a bit of adjusting and tinkering.

If you have shopped around until you found the one that is "just right" how did you go about it? How long did you ride each bike for? How many bikes did you test ride? How did you go about tinkering on the tester?

I would love to know. I ride a Giant TCR and have been really happy with it over the years. I plan to update to my dream bike in 18 months time. Specs are fine but I've already started dwelling on this question and I have no answer. Please help.

Bump.

Any more ideas?

So it's been over a year and you're still wondering how to buy a bike that fits well?

If you're not confident with the staff at your LBS then you could learn a bit about bike fitting from sites like these:

http://bikedynamics.co.uk/index.html
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-sizing.html

Then go to the shop with a basic understanding of what you're trying to accomplish and start from a 'neutral' position such as:

- Seat mounted mid rail and adjusted such that your heel just brushes or just misses brushing the pedal at full extension without 'reaching'
- Hands up on the brake hoods with elbows relaxed and comfortably bent, back straight.

You shouldn't feel either cramped up tight nor have to go to great lengths to stretch forward to get your hands on the hoods nor should you have to hold your arms straight and unbent to reach far enough forward. IOW, you should be able to simply relax into position that places your hands at or very near the brake hoods while sitting centered on the saddle with your back relatively straight.

If you can achieve a position like that or like those shown on the linked websites with a fair amount of seat post showing and with a nominal mid length stem then you're probably close and have room to fine tune your position over time. A 'fair amount' of seat post is pretty vague but I'd generally want to see at least 10 to 15 cm of seatpost above the clamp but with plenty still in the frame so you have room to both go up and down as necessary. Similarly I'd be looking for that fit with a stem in the 9 to 12 cm range for most adult men, perhaps a bit shorter for folks that aren't that tall and for many (but not all as in the example posted above) women. If it takes a 6cm or 14cm stem to get a comfortable 'neutral' position then you're probably on the wrong frame.

If the basic position seems reasonable then you take the bike out for a test ride or two, hopefully more than a parking lot ride but definitely get the bike in motion and have the shop move things around and ride again if it doesn't feel right. You don't need to go out for several hours or take the bike home to get a feel for it but you do want to actually ride it.

The basic advice is usually to choose an LBS that knows how to fit and allows you to test ride. That's still good advice but if you're not certain how strong their fitting skills are then you basically have the choice of finding another shop or learning about bike fit yourself. The latter can be useful regardless of where you buy the bike especially since appropriate fit and positioning tends to change over time as riders become more experienced and their fitness and flexibility changes.

Good luck,
-Dave