Originally Posted by
lighthorse
It is amazing to me to read all of the posts concerning how to fit your bike. I found on the internet three or four completely different methods to measure and fit your bike. If you have access to more than one LBS you will likely have access to more than one fitting method. I just can't look at this process as a scientific process with a single solution for all.
I have four different bikes. Each fits me completely differently. My Trek 1500 puts me upright with most of my weight being transferred to the bike through my sit bones. My Scattante puts me in a very low position and my weight is transferred almost equally through feet, hands, and sit bones. The other two bikes are somewhere in between the Trek and Scattante. I don't consider any of my four solutions perfect nor do I find any of them a bad fit. They are just different.
So when members here ask about fit I just shake my head and move on. It is too hard to describe, and too personal a decision to impose my considerations on someone else. Guess I feel that it just depends.
Does anyone actually have multiple bikes of different design that have the same exact fit for them?
There is some consistency in saddle height and leveling, but not in fore-aft position. Plus the concepts have evolved over time. In early days people told us to put the arch of your foot with sneakers on the pedal, pedal at bottom full extension, and that your knee should just lock without pushing your heel down. Then LeMonde and Hinault (among others) disseminated the idea that the saddle to pedal axis should 1.09 times your inseam, measured in a specified way. Latest is for your knee angle from locked position to be between 25 to 30 degrees with the foot at bottom full extension. For me the second two methods work pretty will to find the starting point, then I do fine adjustments to taste from there.
Handlebars/stem/levers are rather open-ended.
I got fitted on my Mondonico last October, and it has been a good model for fit for my other three road bikes, a Trek, a Woodrup and a Masi. But I've now modified the Trek to have longer reach as a (successful) experiment, and the Mondo to carry Campy Ergo levers and shift system, so my use of the hoods is different. I'm still experimenting with what's best for this new setup. But the saddle height is not changing much. Right now the Mondo feels like I'm pushing too hard at stroke bottom, so I need to raise the saddle by maybe two millimeters. I know if I go up by 5 mm I'll have chafing and excess sit-bone pressure. The Woodrup remains a sweet place to pedal, and the Masi is just too small for me, but such a smooth supple ride!
So my response is a definite maybe, overall!
Road Fan