What’s a good web site for basic info on bike fit?

[Louis]

A relatively new engineer at work wants to do triathlons, but all she currently has is an MTB, so she’s starting to ask questions about road bikes. Is there a site out there that provides a basic introduction to road bike sizing / fit (not necessarily super-aero time-trialing positioning) to bring her up to speed?

TIA

[MattTuck]

my buddy talks about his position. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXg3ce44Xnw)


you can also try this one: http://cyclingtips.com.au/2010/04/science-of-bike-fitting/



Ok, here you go.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

and if you're looking for more 'numerical' solutions:

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO

[irideslow8401]

A relatively new engineer at work wants to do triathlons, but all she currently has is an MTB, so she’s starting to ask questions about road bikes. Is there a site out there that provides a basic introduction to road bike sizing / fit (not necessarily super-aero time-trialing positioning) to bring her up to speed?

TIA

youtube sounds like a winner..otherwise, real bike fit or test ride at the tri shop

[Doug Fattic]

Peter Jon White has a reasonably good one here: <http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm>

A very good one page summery about bicycle fit was written by Ti Designs for some subject thread here in Paceline. I'm too lazy to try and find it but i can copy and paste it again if it isn't found. I was impressed enough to save it anyway.

[Pyramor]

Take a look at Steve Hogg's website. http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/ He has some rather unorthodox theories about bike fit gleaned from about 25 years of fittings. I have solved several problems by following his advice.

[jmikeq]

Competitive cyclist fit calculator is pretty good.

[weisan]

Peter Jon White has a reasonably good one here: <http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm>

A very good one page summery about bicycle fit was written by Ti Designs for some subject thread here in Paceline. I'm too lazy to try and find it but i can copy and paste it again if it isn't found. I was impressed enough to save it anyway.

Doug-pal, please repost, thanks!

[rounder]

Check with Smiley. He understands engineeringspeak and fits triathletes.

[hainy]

If you aren't able to visit Steve Hogg his website is the next best option. You can also sign on as a member and ask questions for a small fee.

[firerescuefin]

Kind of a good intro as well.

http://www.coloradocyclist.com/bikefit

[Louis]

Thanks guys - that's a great start for her. I'll send her the links.

Louis

[Doug Fattic]

Doug-pal, please repost, thanks!

Here is what Ti Designs wrote a couple of years ago when someone asked on Paceline how to get a proper fit on a bicycle. It is possible he revised and edited it before he hit the send button but my impression is that he didn't. He just knows the subject well and like Mozart writing music it just flowed out essentially correct. I was really impressed and wrote and asked him if I could share his one page explanation with my framebuilding class students. Mind you I think I wrote a good explanation myself for my framebuilding class manual but the advantage of someone else's wording is that another approach may be able to turn on the light bulb brighter. I hope he reads this subject tread heading and chimes in again. I was tempted to put in headings and paragraph breaks but he didn't so I didn't. It is good stuff anyway. This is what he wrote in a previous post on Paceline:

Ti Designs Bike Fit

Bike fit isn't that complicated, there are both goals to adjust for and limitations to get in the way. Let's start with saddle height and fore/aft position. I have what I call a safe starting saddle height where the ball of the foot and the heel are at the same height at the bottom of the pedal stroke. The reason is simple, go higher and the pedal will tug at the bottom of the foot with each pedal stroke. One tug isn't so bad, 80 tugs/minute will cause tendonitis behind the knee. In season, with enough mileage this position can go up a bit as the connective tissue has gotten stronger. The fore/aft position is a bit tougher. If you sit in a chair with your upper legs about level and put your feet on the ground so you can lean forward, you'll find that your feet know where they need to be - pretty smart for feet! If you saw yourself from the side you would see that your feet find their way under the center of gravity of your unsupported body from the hips up (the chair or saddle support everything below that). As you sit on that chair you'll notice that your quads don't have to work very much to hold yourself up. Now, move your feet back a couple of inches and try that again. As soon as your center of gravity moves forward of the balls of your feet, either you quads fire to hold you in place or you fall on your face. Then try moving your feet too far forward and you'll find your hamstrings fire to keep you from falling in on yourself. The starting point I use with fore/aft is where your feet are under the center of gravity of your upper body. With this established, and the pedal stopped at 3:00, you should be able to take most or all of your weight off the bars - it's just like sitting in a chair and leaning forward. Then we need to look at limitations, so I have the person pedal the bike. The foot angle and the hips are good points to look at when seeing if someone is within their own range of motion. The foot going toes down between 4:00 and 5:00 is an indication that there's something wrong. If the rider was right over the pedals the longest distance to the pedal would be at 6:00. As the seat moves back that position rotates up the pedal stroke. So while the saddle height may be set based on the position at 6:00, the combination of height + setback may be too long. The bigger indication is what's going on at the hips, the SI joint and the spine - and we haven't even gotten to where the bars need to be yet. This is where we talk about hip angle. Everyone has a limit to their hip angle - 'cept my yoga teacher. I can't lift my knee up to my nose, I get about 110 degrees and that's it. Every time the pedal comes over the top of the pedal stroke it closes down the hip angle. If you run out of range of motion while this happens one of three things happen. The crank bends, your leg breaks or your hip gets pushed up out of the saddle. I'm guessing the first two don't happen much, so let's worry about the hip getting pushed up - it's more of a problem than you think. I call it pushing one side over with the other, and it's abusing your lower back and SI joint in the process, to say nothing of making the saddle less comfortable. As far as handlebar reach, drop and position, I have a few goals. I want the hoods to be where the rider can leverage the most of their body weight on the pedals while still being within their range of motion. I want the tops to be where the rider can take most of the strain out of their lower back muscles. The drops will probably be outside of the range of motion - I'm OK with that. The drops are what I call the scary handling position; it's about center of gravity, not pedaling... Now here's where it gets tricky. Not everyone whose hips bounce in the saddle is outside of his or her range of motion, some are just lazy. I use the dreaded one leg pedal stroke drill to see what's really going on. See, everything you learn from walking around all your life is about weight on your feet. Things just feel weird without weight on your feet. So when that pedal comes up the back side of the pedal stroke, most people are still pushing down. You're supporting weight on that foot and the pedal is coming up, that lifts the hip. The one leg pedal stroke drill forces the rider to use the hip flexors to pull the pedal over the top. With that it's easy to tell the difference between range of motion and just being lazy and letting the pedal push your foot over the top.

[merlinmurph]

Haven't heard much from the man.....

[DRietz]

I've read a lot of Hogg's stuff and been fitted by a Steve Hogg-trained fitter.

Now I fit bikes using the same principles he does. I find his methods to be very anatomically-minded, and I like that a lot. He knows that no two riders are alike and his fit methodology speaks to that.

[firerescuefin]

I've read a lot of Hogg's stuff and been fitted by a Steve Hogg-trained fitter.

Now I fit bikes using the same principles he does. I find his methods to be very anatomically-minded, and I like that a lot. He knows that no two riders are alike and his fit methodology speaks to that.

I've read a lot of his stuff...I mentioned him to A. Pruitt and got a look like I was an idiot to even bring up his name.

That being said...I find his take fascinating....and would like to get Hogg'd (what they call it) someday....and see what I think

[fuzzalow]

I've read a lot of Hogg's stuff and been fitted by a Steve Hogg-trained fitter.

Now I fit bikes using the same principles he does. I find his methods to be very anatomically-minded, and I like that a lot. He knows that no two riders are alike and his fit methodology speaks to that.

Agree with that. I read and have read everything I could possibly get or find on fitting during all of my time in cycling. Hogg's approach made the most sense to me and it was only after I figured most of it out for myself that I found out about him. Would have saved me some effort to know of him sooner but as long as the endpoint is reached then all is good. The journey is the reward.

I've read a lot of his stuff...I mentioned him to A. Pruitt and got a look like I was an idiot to even bring up his name.

This might be from Hogg's somewhat controversial view on positioning cleats mid-foot, or something like that. I'd consider myself a fan of Hogg but this concept was one I could not square with. So I dismissed it out of hand. His bike fitting concepts however are very straight forwards and quite orthodox - he just explains it better than most that I have read. YMMV.

[ultraman6970]

Hogg has really interesting insights in his web site.

[hainy]

I have known Steve for a long time and of course I have been fitted by Steve for both my current custom bikes.

What you read on his website is only one tenth of what he goes through at a fit session of about 3 to 4 hours.

I know Sydney, Australia is a long way to come but what a great excuse for a holiday and the riding is great.

If you live in Aust you have no excuse.

Cheers

Hainy

[rustychisel]

If you live in Aust you have no excuse.

Cheers

Hainy


errrr, I already fit pretty well..... :p

[weisan]

Ah, yes, I remembered that post now, makes a lot of sense, thanks Doug-pal.