Bike Fits - Elite Cyclists Only?

[McBain_v1]

Being a relative new comer to these forums I've noticed a few people recommending that you get "fitted" for a bike, and that it can cost anywhere from £25 to £75.

Is this something that only those who are actually racing need bother with, or is it something that ideally everyone should do?
How does this differ from just applying one of the myriad of "bike fit" formulae that are out there?
Does a bike fit give you the ideal stem length, crank length, frame size etc. or is it more about adjusting your ride position?
Which bike shops offer this service?

Would be interested in the views of someone who has had a "bike fit", or whether the whole thing is just to "fit you up" with unnecessary expenditure

 

[Michael MacClan]

On Wed, 03 Mar 2004 12:10:52 GMT, McBain_v1 wrote:

> Being a relative new comer to these forums I've noticed a few people recommending that you get
> "fitted" for a bike, and that it can cost anywhere from £25 to £75.
>
> Is this something that only those who are actually racing need bother with, or is it something
> that ideally everyone should do? How does this differ from just applying one of the myriad of
> "bike fit" formulae that are out there? Does a bike fit give you the ideal stem length, crank
> length, frame size etc. or is it more about adjusting your ride position? Which bike shops offer
> this service?
>
> Would be interested in the views of someone who has had a "bike fit", or whether the whole thing
> is just to "fit you up" with unnecessary expenditure

My wife and I both had bike fits when we bought new bikes about 12 months ago. We bought the bikes
in the shop that did the fitting and they took the price of the fitting off the bike prices and
adjusted the bikes to the fitting. Neither of us has had any discomfort whatsoever with these bikes.
I also applied the fitting measurements to our other bikes and these are now substantially more
comfortable.

For me it's a no-brainer. If you're spending a lot of money on a bike you'd better make sure it
fits properly.
--
Michael MacClancy Random putdown - "He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr
www.macclancy.demon.co.uk www.macclancy.co.uk

 

[2LAP]

Originally posted by McBain_v1
Being a relative new comer to these forums I've noticed a few people recommending that you get "fitted" for a bike, and that it can cost anywhere from £25 to £75.

Is this something that only those who are actually racing need bother with, or is it something that ideally everyone should do?
How does this differ from just applying one of the myriad of "bike fit" formulae that are out there?
Does a bike fit give you the ideal stem length, crank length, frame size etc. or is it more about adjusting your ride position?
Which bike shops offer this service?

Would be interested in the views of someone who has had a "bike fit", or whether the whole thing is just to "fit you up" with unnecessary expenditure

Any decent cycling shop should do it for free for you when you buy the bike. Most coaches will do this for free as well. You could also get another cyclist to look at your position.

I'm not sure that people in this news group beleive in the formulae for bike fit as in another thread people responded with comments such as set it up for "safety", "comfort", "fit for purpose", etc. For me though, these comments have very little value as they are hard to design and the resulting position could be very far from the optimum position. I would start with the formulae and then get an expert eye to help with 'tweeks'.

 

[2LAP]

Originally posted by McBain_v1
Being a relative new comer to these forums I've noticed a few people recommending that you get "fitted" for a bike, and that it can cost anywhere from £25 to £75.

Is this something that only those who are actually racing need bother with, or is it something that ideally everyone should do?
How does this differ from just applying one of the myriad of "bike fit" formulae that are out there?
Does a bike fit give you the ideal stem length, crank length, frame size etc. or is it more about adjusting your ride position?
Which bike shops offer this service?

Would be interested in the views of someone who has had a "bike fit", or whether the whole thing is just to "fit you up" with unnecessary expenditure

Any decent cycling shop should do it for free for you when you buy the bike. Most coaches will do this for free as well. You could also get another cyclist to look at your position.

I'm not sure that people in this news group beleive in the formulae for bike fit as in another thread people responded with comments such as set it up for "safety", "comfort", "fit for purpose", etc. For me though, these comments have very little value as they are hard to design and the resulting position could be very far from the optimum position. I would start with the formulae and then get an expert eye to help with 'tweeks'.

 

[Velvet]

McBain_v1 wrote:

> Being a relative new comer to these forums I've noticed a few people recommending that you get
> "fitted" for a bike, and that it can cost anywhere from £25 to £75.
>
> Is this something that only those who are actually racing need bother with, or is it something
> that ideally everyone should do? How does this differ from just applying one of the myriad of
> "bike fit" formulae that are out there? Does a bike fit give you the ideal stem length, crank
> length, frame size etc. or is it more about adjusting your ride position? Which bike shops offer
> this service?
>
> Would be interested in the views of someone who has had a "bike fit", or whether the whole thing
> is just to "fit you up" with unnecessary expenditure
>
>
>
> --
>
>

Worked a treat for me, confirmed my suspicions that the frame was the right size in one dimension
but not another, and went some way to helping lessen the problem. Also set me some goals to work to
regarding saddle height (nervousness=lower than it should be).

Well worth it for the increase in comfort.

I'm a very occasional cyclist, and to even consider the term 'elite' and me in the same sentance is
to provoke much rolling around laughing ;-)

The bike fitting helped tell me how the stem length/height needed adjusting (my top tube is too long
for me), crank length wasn't something that needed addressing, frame size was checked, ride position
checked and adjusted.

Yes it can provoke additional expenditure, depending on what they determine - but it's all optional,
and you can choose to ignore what they say if you feel you are already comfy on the bike, or take
away a list of suggestions and gradually implement them over time.

Personally, I'd highly recommend it - but some people just get on a bike and it's fine, that wasn't
the case with me. I think more experienced cyclists are perhaps less bothered by things not quite
being right, and adapt, novices can pick up on things very fast and it hinders them, whilst the
elite really do want to hone things to the very pinnacle of efficiency.

Velvet

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, McBain_v1
('[email protected]') wrote:

> Being a relative new comer to these forums I've noticed a few people recommending that you get
> "fitted" for a bike, and that it can cost anywhere from £25 to £75.
>
> Is this something that only those who are actually racing need bother with, or is it something
> that ideally everyone should do?

Well, if you're going to spend a lot of time on a bike (particularly an upright), it's pretty
important to be as comfortable as possible whether you're racing or not. If your rides are a maximum
of twenty minutes at a time this may not matter very much, but if you're spending hours at a time on
the bike, whether racing or touring, it will.

Of course for many people stock bikes will fit adequately well with a bit of tweaking but getting
expert advice on doing that tweaking will help a lot.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/ ; ... of course nothing said
here will be taken notice of by ; the W3C. The official place to be ignored is on www-style or ; www-
html. -- George Lund