Have you had a thorough fitting? Worth it?

[jh_on_the_cape]

I am considering going in for a $200 2 hour fitting session. To date with road bikes I have just started with the typical size and tweaked it from there. I have never been on a bike that felt right until I one trip I rented a trek Madone and it felt great. I then purchased a bike with very very similar numbers because the trek was too much $$$$. But I know it could be better. So do you think a fitting will result innjust the right slide of the seat rails and the right stem length? Or at least telling me my bike is just all wrong?

Sorry for the babbling but I am just a little apprehensive about spending the money well. The fitter just fit a friend for a custom IF and he is SO happy with the result.

I have had one custom bike made just for me. The builder shall remain nameless but he has been doing a long time and has good reputation. This is a steel mountain bike. I visited his shop for a fitting. He basically measured my inseam and old frame and that was it. I was a little dissappointed with that fitting.

How many people here have had a fitting session? Was it worth it? There was a thread a little while ago about frame sizing 1 or 2 cm off if it made a difference. That's what I am getting at.

Should I spend $200 on a pile of stems and bars and hunt and peck?

Should i shut up and ride and spend the $200 on hookers and whiskey?

What would Sheldon do?

[G-Reg]

Have you had a thorough fitting?

Worth it?

Should i shut up and ride and spend the $200 on hookers and whiskey?

What would Sheldon do?

Yes

No

Hell Yes!

Fit Per Sheldon (http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-sizing.html)

[Smiley]

find a good fitter with good reviews and spend the freaking money, its worth every penny :)

Smiley

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . know of such a person, Smiley? :rolleyes:

BBD

find a good fitter with good reviews and spend the freaking money, its worth every penny :)

Smiley

[AngryScientist]

Should i shut up and ride and spend the $200 on hookers and whiskey?



jh, regardless of what you do with the fitting, the hookers and whiskey is money well spent, trust me on this one.

[dhoff]

I totally agree with the previous posters

Now this may not be true for everyone. I mean some of us might actually be built like the people bikes are designed for, but I am not. The subtle adjustments have made a world of difference in comfort and performance. Even a millimeter can matter.

[ryker]

Go with your gut. You know your fit could be better so why not make it better? Can you do it on your own or do you need help? Personally I'm in the $200 of components camp. I tend to think your body will tell you what to adjust if you listen to it but YMMV.

[yakstone]

I am not sure where you are getting your hookers from but $200 for both whiskey and hookers won't go very far. Unless of course you have minimal expectations.
However, if you can get both for that and the quality is decent, pass on the fitting.

[Peter P.]

Having a/multiple fittings will give you KNOWLEDGE, which is what you lack now; that's why you're unsure of whether to be fitted.

NO FITTING will guarantee a perfect fit because 1: there's no such thing as a perfect fit, and 2: While different fit systems can lead to SIMILAR results, no 2 systems will result in the same position. So which is right and which is wrong (rhetorical question)?

And you'll also second guess yourself if you choose one system over another if say, you're influenced by price or a satisfied friend.

I recommend all cyclists interested in gaining a knowledge of fitting have at least on fitting done so they can compare it to all that they've known so far. You'll start to see patterns in what is trying to be achieved regarding even simple things like seat height.

Since you're trying to be thrifty, I'd recommend as an alternative to a $200 fitting that you spend your money on several cycling books that have sections on bike fit. Once you've read and applied the principles of each book you'll start to see the patterns emerge and you can use your own experience to throw out what you think doesn't make sense. It really helps to have a friend who's willing to help follow the instructions in each book's chapter.

For starters, Andy Pruitt's Book, Complete Medical Guide for Cyclists, is about the most comprehensive tome available for self-bike fitting. If you want even more info, download a copy of Bike Fit (http://www.roadbikerider.com/e-books/bike-fit-4th-ed) from roadbikerider.com. Both are worth every penny and likely all you'll ever need.

I've gone through all I've suggested above so no; I haven't been fitted to my current bike. I've used all the principles I've learned and applied them myself and I'm very happy. Cycling is a technical sport and we as consumers/ athletes feel more confident if we are told by a so-called expert what's right for us. This is true for bike fit as well so your initial question is understandable. The knowledge is out there, for much less than $200, if you choose to learn.

[572cv]

I had a fitting from Fitwerks over in Waitsfield vt. It took about a week to adjust to. I'd estimate it improved my climbing power about ten percent right off. It was so worth it.

[jh_on_the_cape]

I had a fitting from Fitwerks over in Waitsfield vt. It took about a week to adjust to. I'd estimate it improved my climbing power about ten percent right off. It was so worth it.

did they work with your current bike? What kinds of changes did you make as a result of the fitting?
Do you think you ever could have arrived at this result through informed trial and error?

[Charles M]

It was, is and will be the best cycling money spent.

[572cv]

did they work with your current bike? What kinds of changes did you make as a result of the fitting?
Do you think you ever could have arrived at this result through informed trial and error?

Maybe I could have figured it out, but at the cost of the trial-and-error time factor. Somewhat to my surprise, I've become an older cyclist. It took time. The impetus for getting the fit was to maximize my comfort, my power, and to reduce the likelihood for injury from repetitive motion where muscles were being unduly strained. The fit was skilled, involved changing my position, there was computer feedback, it considered the rotation of my knees... I was very impressed with the thoroughness of it. I have been very pleased with the durability of the fit, and the transferability of the measurements to additional bikes. In the end, I would have to say that the process was worth it to me, in spades.

And yes, they did do it on my current bike. It cost me a new stem, primarily. Otherwise the adjustments could be handled with moving the seat, adjusting the seat height. I wasn't off on my crank length and the bike was close enough to make the fit on it possible.

[deanster]

I had always tweeked a frame that fit my riding style. Over the years I had many different bikes from my first Allegro Special in the 1950's (racing) to my latest "modern" rides. I always managed to make the bike fit, or so I thought, until recently.
I am approaching 69 and wanted to get a bike fit for a cross frame...a style of bike I had ridden only over the last several years. Because of the differences between the cross and road geometry the cross bike never quite fit as well as the road bike. Being old and stubborn and of course knowing better than anyone how a bike should fit ME, I resisted for a long time. Finally deciding on wanting a good steel cross bike for all my riding on and off road I decided what the heck I'll give it a try.
This was new for me. I went for a fit at a very good bicycle shop and it opened my eyes. They not only got me on a good steel frame (stock) but knew all the best associated gear to have the bike fit very well without going custom frame.
I must say I am very pleased that my new Gunnar is a one of the best riding XC bikes on the road or off...and fits like a glove. I've managed one 60 mile ride and all the little bothersome twinges had disappeared especially the lower back. I am planning on extending the touring that I started a couple of years ago on a more comfortable bike.
So yes it is worth a fitting but, get some references from the shop and talk to several people who have had it done. Make sure your are comfortable with the fitter. Good Luck

[Bruce K]

Phil Wong in Newburyport, MA is a really good fitter. You can reach him through Riverside Cycles.

Worth the trip from the cape and worth the money.

BK

[victoryfactory]

It's not the process, it's the practitioner!!!
a good fitter can do more for you with a glance than a
jerk with power meters and laser beams can do for $300.

Go with experience. Talk to their customers.

IMO a good fitter will spend as much time talking to you as
measuring. The measuring is just confirmation of what he
already knows.

Bike fitting is not as complicated as we uninformed civilians
like to think.
Bike geometry has not changed much in 100 years.
A lot of the fine tuning is done at the contact points. Pedals,
bars, seat can all be adjusted after the fact too.

Go with experience, then relax. Sometimes less is more.

VF

[Climb01742]

a fit is only as good as the fitter.

[rugbysecondrow]

jh, regardless of what you do with the fitting, the hookers and whiskey is money well spent, trust me on this one.


Nick is right, just keep a few bucks for the copay on the shot of penicillin
you will need.


Seriously though, get the fitting, money well spent IMO. If you are near Washington DC, go see Smiley or see who he would recommend. Some of the best money you can spend on cycling

[Ti Designs]

I am considering going in for a $200 2 hour fitting session.

Before you do, ask the fitter what takes 2 hours and what the fitting really offers in the long run. I've been at this fitting game for a while, I see two hour sessions in our fitting schedule and I have to question how much I have to offer in that time. Often it's the client who's just had knee or hip surgery and I know they'll be back, so part of the expense is checking up on rehab later on. We always schedule 2 hours for aero bars 'cause it's a complicated fit and they've made sure that no aero equipment is compatible with any other aero equipment. I don't really think it takes two hours to fit a bike to a rider (this from the guy who never seems to get his one hour fittings done in less than 1:15).

The real reason I question the time is how I do fittings and what I've seen out on the roads. It's not good enough for me to just adjust the bike to the rider, there are too many really bad habits that people have on the bikes. I have a custom bike that fits well, I can do all sorts of things wrong and the same bike fits like crap - it's not just about adjusting the rider, there's a coaching aspect to it as well. In the winter I teach a 4 week intro class. Everyone laughs at the idea of taking a 4 week class to learn how to ride a bike, but those who do send all their riding friends to take the same class - maybe there's something to this... Anyway, I can't teach everything from that class in an hour, so I hit the basics of posture on the bike, and the secret to getting the body weight on the pedals and off the handlebars. It's like teaching someone how to juggle, you can't do it all at once 'cause it just doesn't work. Each part has to become second nature before you add them together. An hour is almost enough time to teach most people what they need to understand to make a good fitting bike ride well. Two hours is enough time to confuse the hell out of people.


Beyond the question of time and expense of a fitting, there is the real test - did it work? Real world testing is a subject that's been bothering me while working in the bike industry for years. My first experience with doing fittings was a bad one, I adjusted bikes based on our method at the time, and charged them the going rate. Then I made the mistake of riding with some of my clients and realized that the bike was less than half the picture. The real learning for me came in the form of coaching a team. I get new riders in September, and we're racing in March. Somewhere in there I need to fit my riders on their bikes and make them good riders. It's a test I think every fitter should take and pass - take a single new rider, fit them, teach them the skills and techniques to become a good rider. If they can't do that, why are you spending $200 for their claims to make you more comfortable and efficient on the bike? It comes down to a question of time and ability. It takes a lot of time to make one good rider and nobody wants to invest that much time into the fitting process. Most fitting schools are a long weekend. Ability is another big question, the fitter would have to be a good rider in order to produce a good rider...

I tell my clients I want feedback. Fitting isn't an exact science, we make changes that we hope are in the right direction and the body adapts to them over time. In a lot of cases I know the position I put them in in March isn't going to be right in July - and I tell them that, along with an explanation of why and what needs to move. I've also been making an effort to ride with more of my clients to see what's working and what's not. I don't understand how fitters can charge what they do and never see the results of their work. I'm not saying that fitters should ride with every client, and I'm not suggesting that it should be a free service (I happen to enjoy riding my bike), but to do a job and never see or know the true results is wrong.

I'm not saying you should come to me for a fitting, I'm saying you should expect way more from a fitter than just two hours and $200.



What would Sheldon do?

[rnhood]

My fit was 4 hours and $200. I agree that 2 hours seems it would leave him on the short side of things.

[William]

I've had good fittings (actual frame builder), and I've had really bad fittings (from a "certified" fitter). Just because someone is "certified" in X fitting system does not mean they know what they're doing. Ask around and go with someone who has a good rep that can be corroborated by more then a couple of people .... like Ed or Smiley.

It's not the number of hours, it's the experience and understanding that counts.





William

[rounder]

I had previous doubts about what a good fit could offer and whether it was worth the money. But, i decided to get one when deciding on a custom bike. I had read too many postings here about how the poster loved his bike(s) but had to get rid of it because it did not fit. I decided to go through the fit process (Smiley) and it was worth it.

[Fixed]

200 for 2 hours is he an associate at a law firm
i bet you will still have to buy stems and bars maybe a saddle a crank the right length etc.
i was fitted by a serotta fit tech it was 50 dollars ,ok i was a few years ago
cheers

[Germany_chris]

The money would be better spend on hookers and booze..2 hookers and and some Mezcal and you won't be worrying about the fit ;)

[jh_on_the_cape]

Interesting input. No clear answer.

I find it interesting to see folks dropping routinely dropping thousands of dollars on a bike in the classifieds that is a close fit. Yet will not shell out a couple hundred bucks on at least an attempt at making it fit.
I have a bike worth between $1 and $2k, so the fitting is a significant investment.

I had expected an overwhelming response of 'Get fitted'!!!

Now I am thinking to ride a bit more with the idea of fit in mind. Start messing with it a bit myself? Problem is that I just go ride and don't tinker. No time.

Hmmm...

[Fixed]

Interesting input. No clear answer.

I find it interesting to see folks dropping routinely dropping thousands of dollars on a bike in the classifieds that is a close fit. Yet will not shell out a couple hundred bucks on at least an attempt at making it fit.
I have a bike worth between $1 and $2k, so the fitting is a significant investment.

I had expected an overwhelming response of 'Get fitted'!!!

Now I am thinking to ride a bit more with the idea of fit in mind. Start messing with it a bit myself? Problem is that I just go ride and don't tinker. No time.

Hmmm...
move next to me i like to tinker and can't ride
cheers

[Ahneida Ride]

It was, is and will be the best cycling money spent.


Amen !

[Z3c]

Amen !
+1 assuming a competent fitter.

[killacks]

$200 for both whiskey and hookers won't go very far

+1

[Fixed]

+1
you could do it with an old hooker and new whiskey ..
cheers

[jh_on_the_cape]

you could do it with an old hooker and new whiskey ..
cheers

I think there may be a niche market here for a combo liquor store/brothel/pro bike fitter.

[old_fat_and_slow]

.

[br995]

I've had a 1 hour, $75 fit that didn't really help at all, and another that worked WONDERS.

I have to echo what everyone else has said - the fit doesn't mean a thing if it's not done by someone good. Rely less on a high-tech fit and more on someone that has been doing it for a long time with proven results.