Paying a bit of money for a bike fit is the best money you can spend on a bike IMO.
I'd rather spend the money on something worthwhile, like buying the bike itself or practical improvements like puncture-resistant tyres that have a tangible benefit. As far as I'm concerned bike fits are nothing more than snake oil for cyclists. There must be a total of several million adults in the UK who ride a push bike on a fairly regular basis. I very much doubt whether more than 1 or 2 percent of them have ever had a bike fit. Does that mean the vast overwhelming majority are missing something? Do all the "great unfitted" also need to have a fit to get the most from cycling? I never have felt the need. In fact until recently I had never even heard of "bike fits"! Sure, I see loads of comically wrong-sized bikes being ridden and loads of silly low saddles, but I also see a lot of perfectly sensible looking set-ups - done in all probability on a trial and error DIY basis with comfort as the criteria.
A lesson I learned is something is often worth what you pay for it, my fit was £185 well spent.
If that were true, my highest quality machine should be the most comfortable. It isn't. The bike I own with the most instant hop-on comfort and ride enjoyment is actually a heavy-ish 45 year old gas pipe all-steel 3-speed roadster that cost me a fiver and whose saddle came off a skip bike and was repaired by me using thin packaging foam and duct tape. You can imagine what it looks like but it rides lovely. The only drawback is the gearing isn't headwind or gradient-friendly so it mostly gets used on fairly still days in flattish terrain.
It’s all about what is comfortable for you. If it’s not comfortable, it’s no good. The ‘wrong fit’ might be more neuromuscularly ‘better’, or mechanically ‘better’, but if it’s not working for you, that counts for nothing ultimately.
Agree totally, and this is why I regard pro bike fits as a complete waste of money. I can tinker around all day with the adjustable bits on a bike without it costing me a penny. A pro fit has to be time-constrained for commercial reasons whereas a DIY session doesn't.
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Without wishing to hijack the thread, would you bother with a pro bike fit if you were comfortable on your bike to start with? Maybe I've just been lucky but I've never suffered any particular aches & pains inspite of having dodgy knees, back & neck.
Some cyclists seem to have an urge to spend money on cycling related stuff just for the sake of it. It's some sort of compulsive behaviour, as though if they aren't spending large they cant be getting the most out of it. New bikes just because they are new, endless pointless drivetrain "upgrades" of, at best marginal benefit etc. Years ago you just bought a bike, got on it and rode it. It was that simple! You didn't replace stuff until it wore out and you didn't buy a new bike every year or two just because the colour scheme had changed compared with your current one.
