Dynamic fit Monday

[George M]

I'm really looking forward to the 3 hour fit just to see how far I'm off. I think my biggest problem is posture. Because I have neck pain sometimes and other times none at all.

I hurt pretty much from my ride yesterday, because I went pretty hard for 2 hour without letting up. No real reason to do it, besides wanting to. The small of my back hurt some, but I think it was from riding harder than I normally do. A lot harder, for me anyhow.

Do you think it was fit, or just not being use to that type of riding?

I'm also wonder what the fitter could do, where it would take 3 hours, to do what they do.

[Ti Designs]

That's four 45 minute fittings and lots of time between them to go ride! Makes a lot of sense to me, if you make one big change, you know by riding what's going on. If you make a bunch of changes you can't really isolate the issues. So, who's doing fittings this way???


The alternative is 45 minutes of fitting, the rest of the time futzing with a computer...

[HenryA]

A thorough and complete fit can take this long.

As to your back hurting, sure - riding extra hard and/or long might make anything hurt!

[Ken Robb]

I'm really looking forward to the 3 hour fit just to see how far I'm off. I think my biggest problem is posture. Because I have neck pain sometimes and other times none at all.

I hurt pretty much from my ride yesterday, because I went pretty hard for 2 hour without letting up. No real reason to do it, besides wanting to. The small of my back hurt some, but I think it was from riding harder than I normally do. A lot harder, for me anyhow.

Do you think it was fit, or just not being use to that type of riding?

I'm also wonder what the fitter could do, where it would take 3 hours, to do what they do.

You may be developing arthritis which can make previously comfy positions unusable. It's worth seeing a doctor because physical therapy can help.

[Ti Designs]

A thorough and complete fit can take this long.

And as long as you don't ride the bike, nothing will change!

[tannhauser]

Do you think it was fit, or just not being use to that type of riding?

I'm also wonder what the fitter could do, where it would take 3 hours, to do what they do.

Yes to the question.

3 hrs...tells me the fitter isn't super experienced and/or super focused.

I like the idea of one price, including tune ups, over time.

[kgreene10]

I had a mind-blowing fit experience a few months ago that has transformed the way I ride my bike. I have been riding for about five years and racing for four. I also had professional fits (ha!) before getting this one, yet I had some problems with my hips and an on-again, off-again pinch in the saphenous nerve (offshoot of the femoral, runs down the inner thigh and wraps around the knee).

So I went to a guy who spent three hours with me and has a great reputation in Austin -- David Wenger. Here's what he did: 1) swapped my 100mm stem for a 130mm, 2) slid my saddle back 2.5cm (not mm, cm), 3) pushed my saddle up 1.4cm and then another 5mm in a subsequent tune-up.

I thought he was insane. The first day on the new fit felt ridiculous, the second day felt just a bit awkward, the third day felt pretty good, and by the fourth day I felt amazingly good. I had done a power test a couple of weeks before my fit and then did one a couple of weeks after. An improvement of 19 watts over 20 min!!

The best part is that my PT said that I made more progress on my hip and nerve issues in the week after the new fit than I had in the prior three months working with him. The old fit was actually aggravating my problems.

Now before you imagine that my old fit must have been wildly off, it wasn't. It was done by an accomplished professional fitter who was trained by Andy Pruitt. And there was nothing obviously weird about the old fit.

The new fit is obviously much more aggressive and it was perfectly reasonable for my prior fitter to think that my flexibility limitations wouldn't allow so much stretch. I didn't think it would work for me either, hence my absolute amazement at how well it does work.

This process has been a really eye-opening experience for me and now I am a huge believer not just in finding a quality fitter but in the possibility that different high-quality approaches can yield dramatically different results.

[tannhauser]

I had a mind-blowing fit experience a few months ago that has transformed the way I ride my bike. I have been riding for about five years and racing for four. I also had professional fits (ha!) before getting this one, yet I had some problems with my hips and an on-again, off-again pinch in the saphenous nerve (offshoot of the femoral, runs down the inner thigh and wraps around the knee).

So I went to a guy who spent three hours with me and has a great reputation in Austin -- David Wenger. Here's what he did: 1) swapped my 100mm stem for a 130mm, 2) slid my saddle back 2.5cm (not mm, cm), 3) pushed my saddle up 1.4cm and then another 5mm in a subsequent tune-up.

I thought he was insane. The first day on the new fit felt ridiculous, the second day felt just a bit awkward, the third day felt pretty good, and by the fourth day I felt amazingly good. I had done a power test a couple of weeks before my fit and then did one a couple of weeks after. An improvement of 19 watts over 20 min!!

The best part is that my PT said that I made more progress on my hip and nerve issues in the week after the new fit than I had in the prior three months working with him. The old fit was actually aggravating my problems.

Now before you imagine that my old fit must have been wildly off, it wasn't. It was done by an accomplished professional fitter who was trained by Andy Pruitt. And there was nothing obviously weird about the old fit.

The new fit is obviously much more aggressive and it was perfectly reasonable for my prior fitter to think that my flexibility limitations wouldn't allow so much stretch. I didn't think it would work for me either, hence my absolute amazement at how well it does work.

This process has been a really eye-opening experience for me and now I am a huge believer not just in finding a quality fitter but in the possibility that different high-quality approaches can yield dramatically different results.

I think Wenger put you in a "race fit" vs. the other "normalized, perhaps comfort/power-balanced fit". I found out both work for their intended purposes and one only works if you are fit and have done some work on your (my) body.

The other thing is fitters, ime, are reluctant to do gross adjustments like the ones you experienced due to the increased possibility of injury due to less time for the body to adapt, is why I'm generally in favor of incremental changes over time but...

YMMV!

[George M]

Thanks for the replies everybody.
kgreene10, I hope I have the luck your having. I've been playing around with my fit for 6 years now and I think I'm really close, but I just want to see how close I am.

I'm getting my fit at the Bike Barn studio in Houston. I've known Andres Gonzalez for about as long as I've been riding and I heard from other people that he's pretty good. I really getting excited about getting the fit. Almost as a kid at Christmas, LOL.

I'll fill you guys in later.

[kgreene10]

Good luck George. if you decide you want a fit later on, I just can't recommend Wenger highly enough and he's within driving distance of you. I'm not a rampant endorser, but his knowledge and skill really impress me. BTW, he's not cheap!

[George M]

Good luck George. if you decide you want a fit later on, I just can't recommend Wenger highly enough and he's within driving distance of you. I'm not a rampant endorser, but his knowledge and skill really impress me. BTW, he's not cheap!

I'm paying $300.

[fuzzalow]

Here's what he did: 1) swapped my 100mm stem for a 130mm, 2) slid my saddle back 2.5cm (not mm, cm), 3) pushed my saddle up 1.4cm and then another 5mm in a subsequent tune-up.

Getting an appropriate fit is the most important aspect of getting comfortable and capable in this sport. So I'm always interested to read about each person's process in achieving that end. I do not use a fitter and am agnostic about them. Whichever way works for you is what is important.

I am astounded at the large changes made by your fitter in one whack. Changes this sweeping would, to me, essentially have you relearn a new pedal stroke all over again which takes time to ingrain so the new firing sequence is reliable under load and velocity. That you saw results and improvement as quickly as you did may be illustrative of the base with which you started.

Two factors that can mitigate the shock of such large changes to your position: age-wise you may be young which makes you more resilient and height-wise you may be tall which makes disperses the centimeter sized changes differently and less drastic than if done on a smaller sized rider. For any other type of rider, those changes are extremely unorthodox.

Bike fit is made out to be more mysterious than it needs to be IMO and there are many ways to skin a cat. My only suggestion if using a pro fitter is to have him explain what he's doing and why so the rider/client can incorporate the precepts into his own thinking and feedback loop in riding. Also serial monogamy from fitter to fitter is a bad idea.

[kgreene10]

I am astounded at the large changes made by your fitter in one whack. Changes this sweeping would, to me, essentially have you relearn a new pedal stroke all over again which takes time to ingrain so the new firing sequence is reliable under load and velocity. That you saw results and improvement as quickly as you did may be illustrative of the base with which you started.

Two factors that can mitigate the shock of such large changes to your position: age-wise you may be young which makes you more resilient and height-wise you may be tall which makes disperses the centimeter sized changes differently and less drastic than if done on a smaller sized rider. For any other type of rider, those changes are extremely unorthodox.


Yeah, I did have a good base when I went in for the fit and although I'm not so young (43), you're correct that I'm fairly tall -- 6'1" with a 35" inseam.

[George M]

The fit was not as I expected, but if it works that's all that counts. My cleats were right on, but he put inserts in my shoes with a higher arch. Raised my saddle 10mm and pushed it back 5mm. He lowered the bars 5mm and put a 110 mm stem on it and that was a wrap. I have a 6 cm drop and he raised the saddle to 79 cm. I have a 35" inseam and giving me a shorter stem really flatten my back out. I always rode trying to flatten my back out and he told me to relax my back to where it is normal. I couldn't believe the difference. My back is as flat as I was trying to get it by forcing it before. Now tomorrow I'll give it a test run. He told me it would take a little time to adjust to the new setup.

Thanks for all the replies guys.