Adjustment period for new fit
 

I’m a cat 3-4 racer and my last fit before Friday was 2016. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to see what developed. My initial fit was at a triathlon shop (I bought my Felt F3 there) using Retul. Since, I’ve had people tell me my saddle is too low or at least on the low side. At this point, I’m very used to that position.

My new fitter is a friend who used to manage a bike store and went through specialized’s fit school, years of experience. He ended up raising my saddle about 1.5-1.75 cm and changing stem length up to match. I rode it on the trainer yesterday and it just feels so weird. How long should I try it before going back?

First and foremost, trainer is not a good place to test out a fit, you gotta do it outdoors, simulate racing conditions, do it in a dynamic environment.

Second, if you're looking at a 1.75cm change anywhere as the end goal, you should implement it .25-.5cm at a time over a period of time. Winter is good for this.

With that much adjustment, either your first fit was pretty bad, or the new one is, or both.

All good to know. Thanks.

If I didn’t have pain previously, what gain could I potentially have with a higher saddle (assuming it is correct and I adjust it over time in increments)?

Extra leg extension and rearward position could account for quite a lot....

I'm going to sound like a dick here, but wasn't this a topic of conversation during your fitting?

Yeah - what was the goal of the fit?

Faster position? Tough without a wind tunnel. Although if your saddle was too low, then raising it *could* give you some extra power to to more leg extension that you didn't have before.
Comfort? Did you mention your hands were numb or anything being uncomfortable?
Was it just an update to your fit to see what has changed over the years?

It will feel different, because it is different. Give it 10-12 rides inside and outside to see whats up. 1 ride isn't enough.

You don’t-

Kinda. Basically he said “more power”.
Which to me makes sense if it’s more glute less quad.

Tronny pal, if I were you, I would stop reading this thread that you started at this point and just give the new fit that your friend set up for you a fair shake by giving it more time, more rides -- and most importantly, communicate any feedback or questions that you may have during this adaptation period back to your fitter.

I am afraid if you don't, you may get influenced by our views prematurely and derive little to no benefit at all from the fit session you just had.

How much time? It depends. Your fitter should be able to advise you on that.

Last season I had my position reevaluated and changed. I was set up a little higher and more forward than I needed to be. It was working, but wasn't the most comfortable position. A bad side effect was that I wasn't engaging my glutes as much as I could be.

During my refit, I was told that it takes about 2 months for solid sustainable adaptation to happen. He was right because almost exactly 2 months after the fitting I went on a tear of great results, including a 50 mi and 100 mi P1,2 RR wins. I didn't see crazy new power numbers but I think the benefit of the position change was greater efficiency or MPG for the effort I was putting out.

So based on my experience, I would say give your new position a solid 2 months to take root.

Weeks, at least. And I’d agree that the trainer isn’t the best place to try out a fit; you just don’t ride n the trainer the same way you do when you have to balance.

You can get comfortable with surprisingly bad fits. I’ve seen this with my own bikes. Getting someone’s opinion on fit is always good, providing that person knows what they are doing.

A fit should just be a starting point, though. One fitter likes to put my saddle higher than I’m comfortable and consistently wants to set me up with more stack than I’d like (I feel too upright). We start with what he thinks is good, but I usually drop the saddle a bit and drop the stem a bit.

A thought about bike fit: it shouldn't be like a suit that the tailor altered and you simply wear if you think it looks good. The 'fit' should be a set of numbers that one can readily measure with simple tools, reproduce and verify on the bike in question and on other bikes.

More rpm's and better muscle activation of all the muscles used.

The largest parts of a 'good bike fit' is how it feels to you and whether or not you are trying to fix an injury, perhaps created by a poor fit. Shouldn't care what some person says, 'you 'look' too low'..Feel and comfort trumps 'look' every time.

Too many bike fitters rely on numbers, angles and what proper 'ranges' are for those..Those are just starting points to a fit that 'feels' right, fitting is an art, not a science..
1.5-1.17 CM?? Yeegads, thats HUGE...go back to seat height and stem..if that 'feels' the best. If it isn't 'hurting' you somehow..the original fit is correct.