Any fitter recommendations in the Philadelphia area?

[jeffkoller91]

I've never had a real fit done before on my previous bikes, but I recently purchased something from the PL classifieds that is definitely a step up in quality compared to anything I have previously owned. I'd like to make sure I'm using the bike to its fullest potential and am as comfortable as possible on it while riding. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations of fitters in the Philadelphia area? I live in city center but would be willing to drive somewhere if it were worth it.

[Velocipede]

BeFitting Bicycles in Wayne PA is excellent. They do fit seminars at Philly Bike Expo. They aren't taking fit appointments right now tho due to the whole virus thing. But reach out to them. Isaac is a great guy.

[flying]

Originally Posted by jeffkoller91

a step up in quality compared to anything I have previously owned. I'd like to make sure I'm using the bike to its fullest potential .

You know this is just my opinion but...it sounds like your not a totally new rider so...If I were you I would ride it. Set it the same as your last bike settings & ride...ride...ride

Things will show themselves if your attentive.
If you find yourself moving on saddle more often back or front ok small setback adjustments

If you find your reach feels like you would be more comfortable stretched more or need less etc then adjust stem/reach.
You can actually test these with various hand placements while riding then make small changes before next ride.

etc etc etc

I have never really understood someone else fitting anyone who rides already
How will they tell you how to feel? No two bodies are alike. How will they adjust you based on your current fitness or ??? Because we all know fit does in fact change with fitness. As your core strengthens fit changes.

It is not as you say the bikes full potential it is yours.
As you slowly adjust to your bike make the changes you thoughtfully considered during ride in small amounts & always ride ride ride between changes. Small changes are not known immediately takes time

You should NOT be changing something every ride.

Anyway it may not be the popular method but instead of hundreds given to some guy who will tell you sit like this ....instead buy a few stems, & start
Take your time you may find you need a setback post or not...you may find your way more comfy/breath better & enjoy the handling/steering on a 40 bar instead of the 42-44 etc

You may like your cleats further back than what is "popular"

In the end it is not only cheaper but you have actually learned something about yourself/your bike fitting & not just accepted the expert fitters opinion & force yourself into it

Good Luck & again this is just my opinion

[jeffkoller91]

Originally Posted by Velocipede

BeFitting Bicycles in Wayne PA is excellent.

Awesome, thank you for the recommendation!

[jeffkoller91]

Originally Posted by flying

Anyway it may not be the popular method but instead of hundreds given to some guy who will tell you sit like this ....instead buy a few stems, & start
Take your time you may find you need a setback post or not...you may find your way more comfy/breath better & enjoy the handling/steering on a 40 bar instead of the 42-44 etc

I definitely agree and see this mindset as well. I took a very similar approach with my last bike which was an older Lemond Zurich and I spent the first couple seasons with it dialing in the fit via trial and error. I eventually felt pretty good about the fit but I never felt like I had it quite right so was curious to try out a fitting process.

I now have a more modern Ritchey Road Logic and what comes with the modern frame is also the modern prices of parts...I definitely need a shorter stem to get the fit closer to what I had on the Lemond but I worry about getting a new stem and not having quite the right length. I figured if I wanted to play around with different stems or seat posts I may be burning a hole in my wallet, although I could always try something out and see if I can resell it here if it doesn't work.

In the end, I would probably be spending a comparable amount of money taking either approach (likely a less with trial and error especially if I resell things). I definitely need to give it some thought, but I appreciate your insight on things.

[flying]

Originally Posted by jeffkoller91

I definitely agree and see this mindset as well. I took a very similar approach with my last bike which was an older Lemond Zurich and I spent the first couple seasons with it dialing in the fit via trial and error. I eventually felt pretty good about the fit but I never felt like I had it quite right so was curious to try out a fitting process.

I now have a more modern Ritchey Road Logic and what comes with the modern frame is also the modern prices of parts...

In the end, I would probably be spending a comparable amount of money taking either approach (likely a less with trial and error especially if I resell things). I definitely need to give it some thought, but I appreciate your insight on things.

Hi Jeff

Congrats on the Ritchey Road a very nice frame

I know what you mean about parts & what I have usually done is buy something like Kalloy Uno Stems for usually $20 & lightweight at 116 gr for even a 120mm

Same with seatposts carbon off ebay for good prices

Once dialed in I can change to other pricier brands if a benefit is perceived.

Like you say you can sell off extras later if you want or hold for other fittings

I am sure many swear by various fitters & their methods for good reason

Good Luck with the new build & hope to see pics too

[jeffkoller91]

Thanks for the tips! Especially given the shut down of everything right now, I'm liking this option more and more.

I think I have been too much in the mindset of making sure everything matches and is of top quality, I never really considered buying something that is a downgrade for sizing purposes and then swapping it out later. That idea definitely eases the worries of spending too much trying to figure out the right fit of things.

[flying]

Originally Posted by jeffkoller91

Thanks for the tips! Especially given the shut down of everything right now, I'm liking this option more and more.

I think I have been too much in the mindset of making sure everything matches and is of top quality, I never really considered buying something that is a downgrade for sizing purposes and then swapping it out later. That idea definitely eases the worries of spending too much trying to figure out the right fit of things.

Yes that is understandable worry about spending too much but...really I think the Kalloy Uno Stems are very good & once dialed in you can always swap if you like a certain brand instead. Same with the seatposts. I have had good brands like FSA SB32 as well as no name China Carbon setback posts. All fine

But mostly I think your still not only saving $$ but what your paying is a very small tuition to learn about your personal fit.

I am sure many fitters software/alignment/technique is fine for many but it is generic in a sense. They cannot know or take into account idiosyncrasies
IMHO but tend to be more generic

In any case as you said things are different in the world right now anyway so look at it as an adventure/learning experience

Just take the time...allow yourself a good amount of miles between small changes to settle in. While most look mainly at stack & reach concentrate also on setback...It really is important & something you can easily test

[pdmtong]

Assuming you have average proportions and are riding a stock size frame (that was designed for average proportions) I think you can figure this out with two seatposts and three stems

You can figure out your saddle height on your own. Raise it in 5mm increments until you feel your hips rocking and/or knee locking out when pedal at 6:00 then drop it 5mm.

Get a Zero set back and 25mm setback post and try various saddle setbacks in 1cm increments from 0-8cm. See what feels good for your knees and for your muscle engagement

Bar drop and reach...for a given frame there are usually three stem lengths within the most common fit window. EX: eTT 56.0 usually sold or ridden with 100-110-120
So buy some stems cheap off the classifieds. See where your hands naturally want to be on the hoods and there is your stem length. I have found that I have a pretty narrow bar drop range - like 2cm. Any less than 6cm drop and it feels too tall. More than 8cm drop is not an all day position for me. 7.5cm is about right for me. That was easy enough to figure out with some spacers.

It takes some time but I think you can get pretty close on your own. A lot has too do with your fitness and flexibility too. If you aren't loose or have a poor core, it seems like a waste of $300 to be fit for a body that isnt a good starting point for a professional fit. Just do it yourself, get fitter/stronger and then pay for a fit to get the last 10%.

Note all of this is mentioned with the idea of comfort but says nothing about how you are balanced on the bike. That balance is what takes a comfortable ride into feeling like you are molded into the bike. With a stock body and stock frame you might achieve both just adjusting for comfort.

[jeffkoller91]

Originally Posted by pdmtong

Assuming you have average proportions and are riding a stock size frame (that was designed for average proportions) I think you can figure this out with two seatposts and three stems

You can figure out your saddle height on your own. Raise it in 5mm increments until you feel your hips rocking and/or knee locking out when pedal at 6:00 then drop it 5mm.

Get a Zero set back and 25mm setback post and try various saddle setbacks in 1cm increments from 0-8cm. See what feels good for your knees and for your muscle engagement

Bar drop and reach...for a given frame there are usually three stem lengths within the most common fit window. EX: eTT 56.0 usually sold or ridden with 100-110-120
So buy some stems cheap off the classifieds. See where your hands naturally want to be on the hoods and there is your stem length. I have found that I have a pretty narrow bar drop range - like 2cm. Any less than 6cm drop and it feels too tall. More than 8cm drop is not an all day position for me. 7.5cm is about right for me. That was easy enough to figure out with some spacers.

It takes some time but I think you can get pretty close on your own. A lot has too do with your fitness and flexibility too. If you aren't loose or have a poor core, it seems like a waste of $300 to be fit for a body that isnt a good starting point for a professional fit. Just do it yourself, get fitter/stronger and then pay for a fit to get the last 10%.

Note all of this is mentioned with the idea of comfort but says nothing about how you are balanced on the bike. That balance is what takes a comfortable ride into feeling like you are molded into the bike. With a stock body and stock frame you might achieve both just adjusting for comfort.

Thanks for the suggestions! Do you recommend a specific order of dialing things in? I recently got a shorter stem and that seems to have made a big difference. I want to play around more with the set back next just with the post I currently have, but I was unsure if the order of things really mattered (I come from a technical background and this is essentially an optimization, but if you were to settle in one parameter then vary another, you are likely to be caught in a local minimum rather than a global minimum which would be if you could vary everything at once...I wasn't sure if there was a recommended order to avoid this).

I also got a trainer recently and figured it would be a good way to vary the fit and try things out quickly. Is getting the fit set on the trainer going to translate differently than on the road or should they essentially be the same?

[pdmtong]

Smarter people here than me but I think a trainer can get you close but the proof is always on the road since that is a very dynamic feedback environment

I would focus on the saddle height and setback first snce that has everythign to do with your knees and power. let's say you are best at 5cm setback but don't yet know it. So start at zero setback. probably feels weird. now try 2cm, then 4 cm. starts feeling better. now try 6, maybe 8. whoa feels less better. so you start in place where you definitely have a dont like it reaction and then start adjusting to you find your tolerance range. of course you can do this with the post you have, the clamp position on the rails will not be centered but for sure you can validate the setback.

As for reach/drop...bunch of stems for sale today in the classifieds. $20-30...so you buy them and resell for same or less. cheap way to self-test

also see this calculator
http://yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/stem.php

if others read this and think it is whacked, please chime in.

[jeffkoller91]

Thanks! I will give that a shot.

[skiezo]

Originally Posted by jeffkoller91

I definitely agree and see this mindset as well. I took a very similar approach with my last bike which was an older Lemond Zurich and I spent the first couple seasons with it dialing in the fit via trial and error. I eventually felt pretty good about the fit but I never felt like I had it quite right so was curious to try out a fitting process.

I now have a more modern Ritchey Road Logic and what comes with the modern frame is also the modern prices of parts...I definitely need a shorter stem to get the fit closer to what I had on the Lemond but I worry about getting a new stem and not having quite the right length. I figured if I wanted to play around with different stems or seat posts I may be burning a hole in my wallet, although I could always try something out and see if I can resell it here if it doesn't work.

In the end, I would probably be spending a comparable amount of money taking either approach (likely a less with trial and error especially if I resell things). I definitely need to give it some thought, but I appreciate your insight on things.

Most good LBS have a large variety of used/new take offs stems and posts in different lengths and angles that they my be willing to lend out.
I have done that with my LBS to find the best stem egomanics for my riding style.

[djg21]

Originally Posted by jeffkoller91

I've never had a real fit done before on my previous bikes, but I recently purchased something from the PL classifieds that is definitely a step up in quality compared to anything I have previously owned. I'd like to make sure I'm using the bike to its fullest potential and am as comfortable as possible on it while riding. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations of fitters in the Philadelphia area? I live in city center but would be willing to drive somewhere if it were worth it.

If your still looking for a fit, https://www.bikyle.com/. I used to ride with a bunch of guys from the shop at Trexlertown years ago. The shop had a great reputation, and the guys I raced with seemed pretty solid.

[reuben]

Originally Posted by Velocipede

BeFitting Bicycles in Wayne PA is excellent. They do fit seminars at Philly Bike Expo. They aren't taking fit appointments right now tho due to the whole virus thing. But reach out to them. Isaac is a great guy.

Good to know.

They're open again, and I'm headed there next weekend for a fit. I spoke with Isaac on the phone, but may be working with Victoria. Not really sure which one I'm booked with, but kinda looking forward to it.

I was told to bring shoes, shorts, and a mask (duh).

I spoke with Mosaic, asking about a couple of fitters in my area, and they recommended that I travel to Befitting. This wasn't necessarily a slight on my local fitters, as Mosaic said they had simply done more business with Befitting and had plenty of happy customers as a result. It could be just a volume thing.