*****

[14max]

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[DarrenCT]

go to

http://www.strongframes.com/how_to_order/taking_your_measurements/body/


DK told me to do this...

i got all these measurements, talked with DK and various things (including beer) and he came up with my bike. fits like a charm!

[Ti Designs]

Some day fitting questions are going to be multiple choise... (I would answer D - none of the above)

Fitting should have more to do with the person doing the fitting than any one system used. The best a system can hope to do is take the available data and suggest a position based on a tested population. In other words, if you're perfectly average you might get the perfect fit - nobody is.

There are lots of fitting systems out there, the Fit Kit is one of the oldest and in my opinion not the best. When I started doing fittings I was shown how to take the measurements and fill out the forms from their charts. Then I was toldto take a step back and put the rider where they needed to be. In other words, it's often wildly off, depending on where you are on the bell curve.

There are also lots of "take measurements and send them to..." systems. I have yet to see a good measurment of flexability, which is a very large factor in bike fit. I have a lot of experience with Seven Cycle's measurement based fitting system where they design "your bike" based on your numbers. I've taken to double checking their results using the Size Cycle because like any other system like this, there just isn't enough data.

When I went to Serotta Fit School, under the direction of our own Paul Levine, I found a system based on flexability - keep the rider within their own range of motion. The Serotta system has one huge advantage over many others, the Size Cycle. Having your body on an adjustable bike that doesn't try to shoehorn you onto an existing bike that doesn't fit means that most of the data is there - both measurements and range of flexability are right in front of the fitter.

Now I get to add a few things that few fitting schools talk about. Riders come in for fittings having spent lots of time on some bike. That position could be 100% wrong, but the combination of the position and rider feedback should give the fitter data that can't be found otherwise ('cept maybe by building a bike that doesn't work). If a rider can spend hours on a bike in comfort, and you're going to change that position, you had better understand the change in the stresses and strains of the system. Lastly, there's how the rider rides. This has been covered in the fit area of this forum. I feel there's enough difference between how people ride on the road and how they ride on a trainer that going for a ride on the road with the fitter has real value. Things like how the rider climbs out of the saddle are best left to real road rides. The position doesn't work on a trainer and the rider's perspective really doesn't tell them where they are on the bike.

Lastly, if the fitter is most concerned with making you look like some pro racer, run away!!!

[14max]

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[bleusky]

I'm headed for a fitting today to get good, solid numbers for the Kirk. I want to be sure the experience is worth the $ being spent. I've heard very good things about both the Serotta and the Fit Kit. Which is worthwhile and should I consider one more than the other?


Give Dave a ring and see if there is a fitter in your area he has worked with or recommends.

[Pete Serotta]

When Dave gets back from the show, give him a call and follow his recommendation....


PETE

[14max]

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[Peter P.]

Good recommendations. After my fitting with the Fit Kit today I'm more confused than before and need a second opinion

The fitter had some very strange numbers to throw at me. According to Fit Kit I should be riding a 58cm frame. Being 6'2" with 34.5" inseam, this seemed odd to me. The other number that stood out is that my seat angle is supposed to be 75*! What?! The last, and most disturbing, number was the top tube length of 54.5cm - 56cm (depending on stem length). I'm pretty sure that I won't be going with the Fit Kit recommendations and will be sized up on a Serotta cycle instead...

Geez; by your inseam alone, the 58cm frame seems fair; it'll get your seat height where it needs to be without too much or too little post exposed, therefore, assuming a level top tube, your handlebars will be at the right height.

But the top tube and seat angle dimensions? They are far out of line with what I might consider "in the range", but I'm not there to measure nor view your position.

Oh, but I wasn't paying attention-those numbers were derived from the Fit Kit. Definitely pay the money and seek another opinion, such as that Serotta fitting you're going to.

Tip: don't tell the Serotta fitter you had the Fit Kit did, so they won't be influenced. Compare the numbers in private, or confide in the fitter afterwards, to compare the results and ask their opinion on the vast differences.

[H.Frank Beshear]

Go here (http://www.ifbikes.com/images2/fit_form.pdf) have someone you trust take down all the measurements, measure at least twice to confirm them. Send the measurements to Dave, he'll put them into the handy dandy cycloputertron and it will give the magic numbers. When I had mine built Dave also liked the form at his friend Carl's (http://www.strongframes.com/how_to_order/taking_your_measurements/body/) Web site. Trust Dave. I did. Frank