Bike fit - how could I have got it so wrong

[kingrollo]

Because all the bike set up in the world wont affect the bikes geometry, and hence how it behaves and feels in your hands and under your butt. You won't know how that feels, and thus whether you will like it, until you've had a spin.

dunno, look at stack and reach figures and you can see a bike that has long, stretched out position...or one that will put you more upright.

dont think i have ever test rode a bike before purchase...look at TT , stack and reach....then a trip to adrian timmis who fine tunes the position

 

[si_c]

I'm curious about the possibility of a bike fit, but then my bike is comfortable for 10 miles, 100miles and 200miles, so I'm not sure what the point would be.

That being said I do keep tweaking the position slightly. Only last month I raised the saddle height by a few mm having already ridden nearly 20k km on it, no doubt I'll change something else in a few months. I need a new saddle though at some point, so that's a whole new round of tweaks and changes to be made.

 

[alicat]

I had a bike that I couldn't get one with. After a bike fit to make it fit my asymmetric body, I was in love with the bike again.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

[QUOTE 5451367, member: 9609"]I can't see it making much difference unless you are doing huge miles or you have musco-skelital issues. Within reason your body should be able to cope with mild variances in positions, I have never had a bike fit and have no problems knocking out 5 to 7k a year.[/QUOTE]

The difference in horizontal distance measured between the seatpost centre line and the handgrip position on the bars between the shortest and longest bike I ride is three inches, yet I find they are all perfectly rideable. I don't believe it is essential to have bikes fitted to within a fraction of an inch of each other, apart from the saddle height which I think is the most sensitive dimension when it comes to maladjustment. The longest frame I have, a '91 Raleigh brazed MTB with a 125mm long stem, is a bit too stretchy, and I've now trial fitted a 100mm 1 1/8" stem taken off an old scrap Trek 850 MTB, which has made a huge difference. I know when I'm really comfortable and when I'm not, so I wouldn't ever consider having a bike fit.

 

[screenman]

Nothing to do with it costing money then John. The few bob I spent on a bike fit was good value and help
cure a 40 year old problem.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I had one, he made some changes, it felt better, I was happy to give him the money, WOW as a Yorkshireman did I really say that?

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Nothing to do with it costing money then John. The few bob I spent on a bike fit was good value and help cure a 40 year old problem.

Everything to do with me not wanting to waste money on something that isn't going to achieve anything. I don't have any injuries or conditions that cause ride discomfort, so I don't stand to gain much, if anything from a fit. You may be bothered about speed, aero positioning, and max power output - I'm not. My criteria is simply if I can hop on a bike and ride it at a moderate pace for 2-3 hours without hobbling around like a cripple when I get off afterwards, then the set-up is good enough. When I first get on a new-to-me bike, I just tweak things DIY and road test until I get the maximum comfort and minimum fatigue by trial and error. The only three things you can adjust without swapping components are bar height, saddle height, and saddle positioning. None of this is rocket science to do at home.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

I had a bike fit in Bath where I bought my Surly DT. It was so out it was untrue but included as ‘free’ in the sale so I didn’t bleat too much.

Would I be talking out of turn to ask how much a fit costs? And what do you do with the N+1 scenario?

 

[screenman]

I had a bike fit in Bath where I bought my Surly DT. It was so out it was untrue but included as ‘free’ in the sale so I didn’t bleat too much.

Would I be talking out of turn to ask how much a fit costs? And what do you do with the N+1 scenario?

Mine was only £185 and I adjusted my other bikes to
suit.

 

[vickster]

I had a bike fit in Bath where I bought my Surly DT. It was so out it was untrue but included as ‘free’ in the sale so I didn’t bleat too much.

Would I be talking out of turn to ask how much a fit costs? And what do you do with the N+1 scenario?

Physios I have seen charged around £90. 90 minutes, includes full history and physio assessment

Much better than the £150 I spent on a Retul fit previously

 

[biggs682]

@User9609 I am with you all the way .

@rugby bloke hope you enjoy your ride tomorrow

 

[derrick]

I know loads of people who love bike fits. they keep going back for another.

 

[HLaB]

[QUOTE 5451367, member: 9609"]I can't see it making much difference unless you are doing huge miles or you have musco-skelital issues. Within reason your body should be able to cope with mild variances in positions, I have never had a bike fit and have no problems knocking out 5 to 7k a year - just recently had to change a failed crank and the replacement is shorter, so I have two cranks of different lengths. been like that for maybe the last 500 mile and I had forgot about it until this thread - can't say it has made any difference. I'm sure a lot of this stuff is in the mind, psychosomatic or whatever the technical term is..[/QUOTE]
I think it has something to do with the intensity you ride at too. For instance if my bottom bracket bearings start to fail on a bike I ride hard, that few mm extra movement on one side gives me an ache in my hip but on bikes where I am not riding as hard the differences aren't noticed by my body.

 

[Drago]

I know loads of people who love bike fits. they keep going back for another.

Add or lose more than 5 or 6 pounds, age 2 or 3 years, and the original fit won't be quite appropriate.

 

[buzzy-beans]

For me and at my age, the telling and most significant aspect of my riding position is all based around the amount of change in the angle of my hip and knee joints which is why I spend ages in getting the saddle height exactly spot on as well as having shorter cranks.

Personally I would never bother to have a bike fit as I can see far better ways of spending my limited resources.